As state budget negotiations continue with less than a week until the April 1 deadline, the major points of contention between Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly are Hochul’s proposals to change the state’s car insurance policy and New York’s landmark 2019 climate law.
Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris told reporters Thursday that the Legislature has concerns over whether Hochul’s proposals will adequately address affordability, as the governor blames special interest groups for distorting her message.
“I’m not a special interest and they’re not special interests,” she said of New Yorkers. “We need to be louder than the special interests. They’re trying to hijack my agenda, which is exclusively focused on affordability for New Yorkers.”
As Hochul and lawmakers prepare to likely go into overtime, Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York and Floyd Vergara, senior policy advisor for Clean Fuels Alliance America, offer perspective on how similar policies have worked in the governor’s favor in other states.