Hochul says fourth Grieving Families Act veto should come as no surprise given lack of changes
On the heels of her fourth time vetoing the bill, Gov. Kathy Hochul had harsh words for those propelling New York’s Grieving Families Act at an unrelated event Monday.
“Don’t pass the same bill four times if you want a different result,” she said.
Last week, Capital Tonight reported that sources close to conversations expressed that a veto was likely impending because there hadn’t been an attempt by the Governor’s Office to initiate three-way negotiations, which would have represented a path forward.
Hochul indicated that it shouldn’t have come as a surprise, given that the bill, which was passed, was essentially unchanged from last year. In her veto memo, the governor told lawmakers that she couldn’t sign the bill in part because suggestions she had made previously for narrowing its scope had not been included.
While expressing some sympathy for those impacted, she doubled down on that point Monday.
“We’re willing to have conversations and I want to have those conversations,” she said. “It’s absurd to call what is happening negotiations. It’s hard for people that are affected, but I also have to look at the New York state economy at a time when we have some of the highest insurance rates in the nation.”
Earlier this year, reports suggested that the governor had proposed a significant narrowing of the bill’s scope and who it would apply to in 2024, which were ultimately not accepted by lawmakers, and there is a history of both sides suggesting a lack of adequate communication in trying to reach a compromise on wrongful death compensation reform, where the governor and advocates have serious differences.
Hochul indicated that an eventual compromise was possible, but reiterated that she would need to see a substantial paring down of the bill in order to get on board.
“So, we’re helping the people we want to help without driving up insurance for every other business or family in the state of New York, those are the conversations I’m willing to have, they just don’t seem to be,” she said.
Those central to the legislative push have expressed their frustration with the veto, and one impacted family member said that attempts to meet with Hochul were rebuffed.
Andrew Finkelstein, president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, suggested that the governor’s reservations amount to siding with major insurance companies over impacted individuals and families.
“This fourth dismissal is an insulting reminder to victims that New York is prioritizing big business over families who have suffered unimaginable loss,” he said. New York needs a system of accountability, a system of oversight, and a system of protection that it lacks, in stark contrast to 48 other states.”
While state Senate sponsor Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal pointed in a statement to what he describes as the outdated nature of New York’s statute, which dates to 1847.
“With this fourth veto of the Grieving Families Act, New York is once again choosing to uphold a wrongful death statute that denies families justice,” he said. “Our law creates a two-tiered system where the lives of the wealthy are acknowledged while everyone else is treated as invisible, and families are told their grief has no legal meaning. New York must pass a modern and humane wrongful death law that recognizes the value of every life and delivers the justice these families have waited for far too long.”
Capital Tonight attempted to set up interviews with both of the bill’s sponsors, but we were not able to do so on Monday.
