Many new, business-related laws
taking effect on Oct. 1
(Sept. 26, 2007) The General Assembly enacted many laws this year affecting Connecticut businesses and which take effect on Oct. 1. Measures include those on health care, energy, business law, the environment and the workplace. Here is a brief list of the most significant of these laws. For more complete descriptions, download CBIA’s 2007 Summary of Major Business Legislation.
Health Care
Public Act 07-18 (SB-229) requires managed care organizations (MCOs) to provide a listing of participating health care providers to their enrollees. If an enrollee participates in a plan in which he or she selects the primary care provider, then the MCO must notify the enrollee if that provider leaves the network.
PA 07-113 (SB-1214), among other things, and except with the approval of the Department of Insurance, prohibits health insurance carriers from rescinding, canceling or limiting coverage based solely on information submitted with, or omitted from, an insurance application if the carrier did not perform a thorough medical underwriting process prior to issuing the policy.
PA 07-185 (SB-1484) — See story
Business law
PA 07-65 (SB-1384) gives medical malpractice wrongful-death cases the same 90-day statute-of-limitations extension as other medical malpractice cases.
PA 07-176 (HB-7210) -- See story
PA 07-215 (HB-7204) establishes stringent new requirements for refuse-removal or disposal contracts with an automatic contract renewal provision.
Energy
PA 07-242 (HB-7432):
• Requires electricity companies to submit a plan to the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) each Jan. 1 for maintaining transmission and distribution systems along highways.
• Requires the DPUC to decide by Jan. 1, 2008, on interconnection standards between electric utilities and nonutility generators.
• Requires electric utilities and competitive suppliers to give a credit to all customers who generate up to 2 megawatts of electricity using Class I resources or hydropower.
• Requires municipalities to exempt certain renewable energy systems from the property tax and expands the systems eligible for the exemption.
• Requires a Connecticut Siting Council certificate for any fuel cell manufactured in the state with a capacity of up to 250 kilowatts.
• Requires distributed generation resources below 65 megawatts to meet DEP water quality standards in order to be eligible for a Siting Council certificate exemption.
• Requires an electric company or competitive supplier to waive its demand charge for a fuel cell operator during instances of loss of power or shutdown of the fuel cell that occurs during off-peak hours.
Environment and land use
PA 07-45 (SB-1358) requires proposed Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations to clarify differences with federal standards and provide an explanation why Connecticut’s standards should be different.
PA 07-81 (SB-1224) makes professionals who are licensed to conduct environmental cleanups in Connecticut subject to additional sanctions if they falsify information, engage in professional misconduct, or otherwise violate laws or regulations. They will also be required to submit additional information to the DEP during the course of an environmental cleanup.
PA 07-141 (SB-167) establishes new procedures at the local level for assessing the consistency of proposed municipal and redevelopment plans with plans of conservation and development as well as changes to relocation benefits associated with eminent domain proceedings.
PA 07-189 (HB-7249) creates a new statewide recycling program for electronic devices including computers, monitors and televisions. The program affects manufacturers of these products and requires an annual fee to support the program.
PA 07-192 (SB-1258) places new burdens on and gives record-keeping flexibility to owners of facilities with more than 10 underground storage tanks. The act also establishes new financial responsibility requirements for facilities that apply to the state’s Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Clean-up Account for cleanup after Oct. 1, 2007.
Workplace
PA 07-31 authorizes the state Workers’ Compensation Commission to establish a fee schedule using the Medicare “relative valuation” system of determining medical provider reimbursement fees, and begins the 20-day period for filing an appeal of an award or an order by the commissioner to the Compensation Review Board on the date of the decision.
PA 07-80 (SB-1036) creates additional notice requirements for a reduction or discontinuance of workers’ compensation benefits. It also increases the maximum penalty imposed on employers and insurers in certain cases when benefit payments are late, and extends by five days the deadline for appealing a decision to reduce or discontinue benefits.
PA 07-89 (SB-931) makes any employer who knowingly misclassifies the employment status of employees for the purpose of avoiding or reducing workers’ comp liability insurance potentially subject to criminal sanctions and civil penalties. It also enables the state to issue a stop-work order and assess fines against employers in violation.
PA 07-193 (SB-1292) makes permanent the alternative base period for determining unemployment compensation benefits by removing the sunset date of Dec. 31, 2007.
PA 07-237 (HB-6989) prohibits employers from requiring security guards and certain broadcast professionals to sign noncompete agreements whenever an employee seeks to engage in the same or similar job at the same location at which the employer is located or employs the employee.
|
