It's the darn lobbyists again.
Gov. Hochul is pinning pushback to her auto insurance proposal on special interest groups, like the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, rather than a growing skepticism from lawmakers and New Yorkers that her budget does little more than strip rights from crash victims.
“I’ll give you a job, friends in the press,” she said. “Go ask everybody: Are you with the governor and the people of the state of New York, or are you with the special interests?”
That theory isn't picking up much traction, though. Hochul's claim can fall flat for some because she's touting her changes to insurance law in lockstep with a special interest group: Uber, which is running an $8 million ad blitz in support of the bill.
However, a lobbying battle is underway, which can only heat up from here.
According to the latest filings with the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, Citizens For Affordable Rates, Allstate, State Farm, Progressive, Travelers and GEICO reported spending more than $125,000 combined on auto insurance lobbying this year.
Meanwhile, the New York State Trial Lawyers' Association spent more than $135,000 on auto insurance lobbying and also has a $50,000 retainer with Patrick Jenkins' firm. Jenkins is an influential lobbyist who is also a close friend and former college roommate of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. Like his counterpart in the state Senate, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Heastie also has questions about Hochul's proposal.
The governor is aiming to lower auto insurance premiums in the name of affordability while claiming jackpot lawsuits and rampant fraud are the cause of high premiums. But she wants to rein in costs by making it harder for some crash victims to get full compensation for their pain and suffering.
The state Senate and Assembly left Hochul's proposal out of their budget rebuttals as negotiations continue, likely signaling a lack of consensus among state lawmakers or a large gap in negotiating positions.
Lawmakers are skeptical for a few reasons. Some are immediately uncomfortable with the prospect of peeling back the rights of crash victims, while others question the connection between fraud, the ability of victims to seek damages and lower rates. A few lawmakers don't have much trust in insurance companies to lower rates and as customers themselves, have their own gripes with the companies.
Maybe they don't trust themselves. The last time lawmakers tried to lower insurance by tackling fraud, as New York Focus reported, it actually cost policyholders more money in the end.
This isn't the first time the insurance lobby and trial lawyers have faced off. In 2023, they went toe to toe over the Grieving Families Act, legislation that would make it easier for the families of victims and other parties close to the deceased to seek more than just economic damages in a wrongful death lawsuit.
The insurance industry won that round, and Hochul eventually vetoed the legislation.
But this time, it's not as cut and dry as preventing legislation from becoming law. The state budget process has been described by some as a "hurry up and wait" situation, and each side will see just how much they can influence the proposal before the 2027 fiscal year's spending plan is finalized.
More news:
- Democrats are attempting to disqualify Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman from state matching funds in his campaign for governor. (Newsday)
- Hudson Valley Rep. Pat Ryan is endorsing Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in Congress. (amNY)
- The state Working Families Party is endorsing Rep. Grace Meng's challenger after all. (City & State)
- Mo Brown, a progressive challenging Assembly Transportation Chair Bill Magnarelli (D-Syracuse), may be able to call on state matching funds to bolster his campaign war chest. (Central Current)
- Sag Harbor and attorneys for Justin Timberlake are getting closer to resolving a legal dispute over the release of footage from his DWI arrest. (Newsday)
- The MTA is prepared to spend $11 billion to replace more than 1,000 subway cars. (The New York Times)
- Hochul says she'd rather die than rename Moynihan Train Hall after President Trump. (The New York Post)
- Police say a man was hit by a car in Bedford on I-684 on Tuesday because he was fleeing a domestic dispute. (The Journal News)
- Some Troy residents want the City Council not to renew its contract with Flock Safety, which reads license plates but can also share data on immigrants with border agents. (WAMC)
- There's not much time left to comment on Syracuse's plan to improve how shoppers walk and bike to the Central New York Regional Market. (The Syracuse Post-Standard)
- The Regional Transit Service in Rochester is locking its bathrooms in the morning and afternoons, but not telling riders why. (WXXI)
