Capitol Confidential with Dan Clark

By: Dan Clark

Wrongful Death Bill: I was able to get my hands on the bill jacket for the wrongful death bill that Hochul vetoed late last year, and it shows that supporters faced a mountain of opposition from trade groups — and government representatives themselves.

For the past two years, the state Legislature has passed a bill with nearly unanimous support that would allow families to sue for emotional damages in a wrongful death action.

Right now, state law only allows damages to be sought based on pecuniary loss, or the deceased person’s financial worth.

Only seven members of the state Senate and 12 members of the state Assembly opposed it last year.

It was re-introduced last week by state Sen. Brad HOYLMAN-SIGAL, who hopes to see it approved for a third year.

But Hochul has vetoed the bill for the past two years, saying it would drive up insurance costs and “risk the financial well-being of our health care facilities.”

🗣️ What They Said: Well, now we know from the bill jacket that health care facilities weren’t the only stakeholders who asked Hochul for a veto.

New York City’s mayor also urged a veto. His office wrote that “this bill could lead to unsustainable liabilities for defendants, including the City and other municipal governments.”

The New York State Association of Counties and New York Conference of Mayors called for a veto for the same reasons.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority — a public benefit corporation — also wanted a veto, saying the bill would “lead to a significant increase in unnecessary and costly litigation, and potentially inconsistent and inequitable results.”

It was no surprise to me that insurance groups opposed it, because it would raise costs for them, but schools were against it for the same reasons.

The NYS Council of School Superintendents wrote to Hochul that new litigation could break the bank for schools because they also continue to “undergo serious financial strain from changes authorized by the Child Victims Act.”

We knew that health care trade groups, like the Greater New York Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New York State, were against the bill.

I also counted 17 individual hospitals and health systems that wrote to Hochul asking for a veto.

The amount of opposition overwhelmed the bill’s supporters, but there were several of those as well.

There were 17 people who personally wrote to Hochul asking her to sign the bill based on their stories of loss and financial hardship.

The Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus also called for a signature.

And state Sen. Anthony PALUMBO, R-Suffolk, also asked Hochul to sign it.