ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday once again vetoed a bill that would have changed New York’s wrongful death statute by letting families sue for emotional damages, saying it would have sent insurance premiums spiraling.
Hochul’s decision was one of dozens of signings or vetoes her office announced late Friday. Among the bills, Hochul vetoed legislation that would have created a new consumer advocate for dealing with utilities and signed one to outlaw online “casino sweepstakes.”
One of the higher profile pieces of legislation was the wrongful death proposal, which advocates call the “Grieving Families Act.”
Forty-eight states allow family members to sue and be compensated for emotional loss when a loved one dies.
But not New York or Alabama.
Under a law enacted in 1847 and still on the books, New Yorkers are limited to winning civil court judgments for “pecuniary loss,” or the potential earning power of the deceased person.
This means children and adults who don’t work outside the home are valued less than members of the active workforce.
And the law prohibits claims for grief and mental anguish caused by wrongful deaths, such as medical malpractice.
Four times now, the State Legislature has passed a bill to change the 19th century law. Four times, Hochul has vetoed it, citing potential costs to consumers.
“While well-intentioned, these changes would have likely resulted in higher costs to patients and consumers as well as other unintended consequences,” Hochul said in a statement Friday.
“For the fourth year in a row, the Legislature has passed a bill that continues to pose significant risks to consumers,” the governor said. “At a time when the state is facing an affordability crisis and many struggle just to meet basic needs, genuine concerns continue to be raised that the bill may lead to increased costs, including increased insurance premiums and increased financial stress to our health care systems, including those that serve disadvantaged communities.”
Hochul said she remains committed to working with “affected families” but that “further deliberations are needed” to find an acceptable solution.
Hospitals and doctors, insurance companies and some small businesses have fought against the bill and had urged a veto.
Other legislation
The governor vetoed a bill to create a “utility consumer advocate.” Backers said the independent office would have increased oversight of utility rates and represented consumers’ interests in utility matters.
The governor nixed this and a slew of bills to create new offices, commissions and task forces — saying they collectively would cost some $30 million.
The New York Public Interest Research Group called the veto a big win for utility companies, saying: “This legislation would have helped level the playing field and would have helped ratepayers keep their money, instead of forking it over the utilities.”
Hochul signed a bill making New York the latest state to ban online “casino sweepstakes” that purport to be not about wagering money but in fact, according to officials, offer just that.
In most scenarios, a “social gaming” site offers virtual tokens, coins or the like for free that are said to be worthless and just for fun in a sweepstakes game. The catch: A player basically can exchange the freebies for something of value (money) to be wagered. The State Legislature almost unanimously supported a ban.
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