Hochul: 'Stupid thing to say' New York's Climate Act raised energy costs

And 'political courage' is needed on auto insurance proposals, Hochul says.

Good afternoon — It’s Wednesday and Recycling Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Hochul said her anticipated proposals to amend New York’s landmark Climate Act won’t lower utility bills and that the law didn’t cause them to rise.

• On her proposals to curb car insurance costs, Hochul said lawmakers need some “political courage” to stand up against “entrenched interests.”

• Lawmakers are making a fresh push to repeal the state’s excise tax on medical cannabis products as part of this year’s state budget.

• Senate Corrections Chair Julia Salazar is seeking to require all prison employees to go through body scanners to cut down on contraband in those facilities.

• A new bill seeks to change how the state incentivizes renewable energy projects and a bill to require disclosure of AI tools by police has been freshly amended.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Andrew Finkelstein, Liz Moran, Donald J. Trump, Jeremy Cooney, Julia Salazar, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Daniel F. Martuscello III, Linda B. Rosenthal, Zrllnor Myrie, George Borrello, Michelle Hinchey

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News on the state budget, including proposals, negotiations and results.

Hochul on Wednesday (New York Governor’s Office)

🚗 Hochul says lawmakers need ‘political courage’ against ‘entrenched interests’ on auto insurance

Opponents of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposals intended to lower the cost of car insurance were in Albany on Tuesday to lobby against her legislation.

I only know that because I came into the state Capitol Wednesday to find a box of documents outside my office door from the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.

Each of them included notes on what was said about Hochul’s proposals during those meetings.

The only reason I won’t quote from them is that I wasn’t in these meetings and didn’t have time to call dozens of legislators to ask if their positions were recorded accurately.

But they did prompt me to reach out to some of my sources in the state Legislature Wednesday to get a sense of how Democrats in both chambers feel about Hochul’s proposals. Based on those conversations, there’s plenty of opposition to them.

Hochul is making a strong push against those opponents to reach an agreement as part of the state budget on her package, which would:

• Limit damages for drivers who engaged in unlawful behavior at the time of an accident

• Change New York from a no-fault model, where damages can be paid out regardless of who’s at fault for a crash, to one where drivers deemed mostly at fault receive limited coverage for damages

• Redefine what’s considered a “serious injury” after a crash to prevent individuals from receiving large payouts that may not align with the severity of their injuries

• And bolster the state’s efforts to crack down on insurance fraud and staged car crashes

She placed new pressure on lawmakers who oppose her proposals Wednesday, saying they’re choosing to side with trial lawyers over their constituents.

“They need elected officials who are willing to take on the deeply entrenched interests that have prohibited anyone from even touching reforms in our legal system or to go after criminals,” Hochul said. “So, you know what? We need a little more political courage in public life these days.”

When asked who those “entrenched interests” were, Hochul didn’t call trial lawyers out by name. But she said they had their own motivation for opposing her plan.

“There are organized groups that have a financial self-interest in keeping the status quo,” Hochul said.

Opponents of Hochul’s proposals have pushed back on that framing, saying she has support from large groups as well. Those include car insurance companies and ride-sharing company Uber.

“There is a reason those companies resist opening up their books to the public or to regulators,” said Andrew Finkelstein, president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.

“That transparency would show how profitable those companies are, and how they discriminate against drivers based on their zip code and their credit ratings without regard to their driving record,” he said. “That’s why growing numbers of legislators, consumer advocates and civil rights activists are urging the Governor to slow down when it comes to her so-called reforms.”

One burning question on the minds of many is when Hochul and lawmakers will reach an agreement on the state budget, including her proposals on car insurance.

I asked Hochul if she would hold up the state budget to reach a deal in that area.

“That is called negotiating in public,” said Hochul, who opposes that practice, whatever it is.

(Will Waldron/Times Union)

🔥 Hochul says anyone ‘with a rational brain’ will understand her Climate Act push

Gov. Kathy Hochul is still expected to unveil her proposed changes to New York’s energy and emissions mandates this week, she said Wednesday.

We know that she wants to extend the deadlines for those mandates, including a required 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. But we don’t know how long of a delay she intends to propose.

She’s also interested in changing how the state measures its progress in reducing those emissions. I wrote about that in detail on Friday.

There are different interpretations of the intent of those proposed changes.

Utility bills have grown expeditiously in New York in recent years. Opponents of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which established the state’s energy and emissions mandates, say that law is to blame.

Those same opponents have said Hochul is proposing changes to the law to lower current costs. That’s not true, she said Wednesday.