Times Union: Commentary: Legislation's side effect — higher prices for consumers

By: Kendra Hems

The trucking industry is crucial to New York’s economy. Nearly 90 percent of New York’s communities rely exclusively on trucks to transport their goods, and the vast majority of trucking companies based in New York are small, family-owned, multi-generational businesses. These companies work hard every day to ensure that goods and materials are transported safely, efficiently and cost-effectively.

But the state Legislature has once again passed legislation projected to dramatically increase liability costs. If signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the new Grieving Families Act — like its 2022 predecessor — would allow more people to file wrongful-death claims and would allow them to seek higher sums in damages. Regardless of the bill’s good intentions, it would drive up insurance premiums for the trucking industry, increasing the cost of freight and leading to higher prices for consumers.

This could not be coming at a worse time for our economy. The COVID-19 pandemic seriously strained our supply chains, and inflation and economic uncertainty have extended the financial strain. Any policy that increases the cost of doing business will undermine trucking companies' efforts to ensure uninterrupted access to goods, building materials and fuel.

When Gov. Hochul vetoed the previous version of the wrongful-death bill earlier this year, she expressed her concerns with the measure’s unknown and unintended long-term economic consequences. According to an analysis of that legislation from actuarial firm Miliman, the cost of annual insurance premiums would have increased by more than $2 billion across all sectors of the economy. The amended bill does not resolve the concerns raised by Hochul or the business community.

Before passing the measure a second time, legislators should have studied its fiscal ramifications for both the public and private sectors. Any amendments to the current law regarding damages in wrongful-death lawsuits must mitigate unintended consequences and protect the supply chain from a torrent of outsized settlements and verdicts.

For New York to remain a hub for manufacturing microprocessors and to reduce our reliance on foreign suppliers, we need a strong and reliable supply chain. That cannot happen if trucking companies spend more on insurance premiums and uncapped liabilities. Trucking fleets are already seeing an increase in massive verdicts.

Lawmakers should focus on policies that ease New York’s economic burdens, not legislation that will compound the crisis. Gov. Hochul must veto this legislation. And then lawmakers must fully study the financial implications of this bill before passing it again.

Kendra Hems is president of the Trucking Association of New York.