Car insurance will be a big deal this year. Huge in fact. The governor made that, rather than details of the plan that could lower premiums on the backs of crash victims, crystal clear to reporters in Albany on Tuesday.
"Did you hear me say I'm taking on the high cost of car insurance? That is not going to be easy to flip. I'm just giving you an example," Hochul said of her state budget priorities.
The problem is her lack of clarity on how this won't shortchange pedestrians and cyclists injured or even killed by car drivers, which doesn't track with her intentions to lower premiums for motorists in New York.
The governor made it clear that reforming auto insurance won't be an easy lift in what is otherwise a fiscally conscious spending proposal, but she didn't tell Streetsblog or other reporters why.
It could be that her partners in the state Legislature are more conscious of the plight of non-drivers than she. It might be that the insurance lobby will kick into full gear once we have budget bills to consider. She may also be conscious of a growing progressive wing that is expecting carrots, not sticks, as they seek fulfillment of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's agenda.
"We're working hard with a very ambitious package to find ways to cut the high cost of car insurance, which is the highest in the nation," Hochul said.
But what is ambition if you let Uber and car-focused policy dictate affordability?
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In other news:
- The Town of Amherst is preparing to pay a $2.35 million settlement to the victim of a crash resulting from a police chase of a stolen vehicle (The Buffalo News)
- Here's the rest of Kathy Hochul's budget plan (City & State)
- Syracuse's I-81 viaduct is beginning to be undone. Here's what to expect: (The Syracuse Post-Standard)
- A Watervliet man convicted of assault for a horrific dirt bike crash that nearly killed a SUNY Albany student (The Times Union)
- Ulster County Area Transit's Yellow Route has changes coming to it's midday Kingston service (Spectrum News Hudson Valley)
- Human drivers are worried that autonomous vehicles backed by Gov. Hochul will endanger their livelihoods (NY1)
