Thursday Headlines: Brass Tax Edition
NY1 statehouse reporter Bernadette Hogan sent shockwaves through the Empire State — and both of Streetsblog’s insurance-obsessed newsrooms — with a late afternoon tweet that suggested, dare we say it, that Gov. Hochul had blinked?
Hogan reported that Gov. Hochul offered the state Legislature a deal: In return for lawmakers’ support on the bulk of her car insurance premium cut proposal, the governor would drop her proposed changes to joint and several liability.
Her rationale for gutting that section of insurance law has often focused on the MTA and other entities with a public fleet that could be left holding the bag for most of an award following a crash, even if they are less than 50 percent responsible.
However, if other parties can’t pay the victim, then who will?
Some lawmakers see her interest in a compromise as a good jumping-off point, but still hold their concerns that her proposal will strip crash victims of their legal rights while not even delivering savings.
More news:
- LIRR union leaders and the MTA are set to meet on Monday in hopes of avoiding a strike. (Newsday)
- Some insiders think that the MTA dropped the ball on a Penn Station redesign, opening the door for President Trump to run wild. (Gothamist)
- A youth nonprofit used its official email to promote an event with congressional candidates – a big no no. (The New York Post)
- Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman promised tax relief for small businesses if his Republican campaign for governor succeeds. (The New York Post)
- Could New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani be forced to pick between free buses and fair fares? (amNY)
- Former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin is waiting on the state to reimburse $10 million in legal fees after his federal corruption case got dropped. (City & State)
- Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie wants reporters to challenge the concept of a governor-dominated budget process. (State of Politics)
- State lawmakers passed their sixth budget extender through April 27. (NEWS10)
- The budget is late, but it’s been much worse before, dragging all the way into August. (The Journal News)
- State comptroller candidate Adem Bunkeddeko’s campaign finance records are riddled with errors. (The Times Union)
- The race to replace Assembly Member Donna Lupardo is heating up in the Binghampton area. (WSKG)
Read More:
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