BREAKING: State Lawmakers Cut Hochul's Car Insurance Scheme From Their Budget - Streetsblog New York City

"The Uber-backed plan to lower car insurance rates has drawn criticism from legal professionals and crash victim advocates who say the legislative changes would strip crash victims of rights while misstating the drivers of high costs. Hochul and the car insurance industry have argued that fraud and "jackpot" payouts have increased costs for insurance companies so much that they can't reduce premiums."

"The one-house budgets serve as the state Legislature's first opportunity to stake an official position on the governor's executive budget proposal. The absence of language on car insurance in each chamber's budget rebuttal could signal a lack of consensus among state lawmakers or between the governor and the state Legislature itself."

"Each house also left out approval for robotaxi pilots in upstate New York and Long Island, now that the governor has ditched it. The plan was reportedly a victim of political calculus as Hochul rallies union support for her insurance proposal. Organized labor balked at the prospect of taxi and rideshare drivers losing their jobs to robots."

New York's state Senate and Assembly submitted one-house budgets that omitted Governor Hochul's controversial car insurance proposal. The plan, backed by Uber, aims to lower insurance rates by limiting crash victims' rights to collect damages, with supporters claiming fraud and excessive payouts drive costs. However, legal professionals and crash victim advocates oppose the changes, questioning whether the proposal addresses actual cost drivers. The omission from both chambers' budgets suggests lack of consensus among lawmakers and between the governor and legislature. Both houses also excluded approval for robotaxi pilots, which Hochul abandoned due to union opposition over job losses. The Stop Super Speeders Act, implementing speed-limiting devices for reckless drivers in New York City, was included by the state Senate.

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