PIANY’s top legislative priority for the 2023 legislative year is passage of legislation that would make important changes to New York state’s antiquated photo inspection system. Today, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed (A.3172-A/S.5889) into law—making this top PIANY priority a reality!
The law takes effect 180 days from today and will allow insurance carriers to submit a waiver to the New York State Department of Financial Services making photo inspections optional for certain auto insurance customers. This flexibility will give those customers relief from needing to locate and commute to an available photo inspection site to obtain a photo inspection.
The legislation’s swift passage through the Assembly and the Senate combined with the governor’s signature signaled the level of support and commitment this measure had from state leaders.
PIANY would like to thank all the PIA members who participated in PIANY’s grassroots campaign advocating for this measure during each stage of the legislative process. PIANY would like to extend an expression of gratitude to Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, D-96, Sen. Neil D. Breslin, D-44, and Gov. Hochul for their exceptional leadership on this issue.
Learn more about photo inspection reform here.
Get involved
If you want to get involved with PIANY’s legislative and advocacy work, there are many ways to engage with the association:
- Participate in PIANY’s District Office Visit Program;
- Become a member of Agents Advocacy Coalition; and
- Watch your PIA Northeast publications and PIA Northeast’s social-media channels for important New York updates, and share them with your followers.
Bradford J. Lachut, Esq.
Bradford J. Lachut, Esq., joined PIA as government affairs counsel for the Government & Industry Affairs Department in 2012 and then, after a four-month leave, he returned to the association in 2018 as director of government & industry affairs responsible for all legal, government relations and insurance industry liaison programs for the five state associations. Prior to PIA, Brad worked as an attorney for Steven J. Baum PC, in Amherst, and as an associate attorney for the law office of James Morris in Buffalo. He also spent time serving as senior manager of government affairs as the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, a chamber of commerce serving the Buffalo, N.Y., region, his hometown. He received his juris doctorate from Buffalo Law School and his Bachelor of Science degree in Government and Politics from Utica College, Utica, N.Y. Brad is an active Mason and Shriner.
