It was a big day for the state Legislature in Albany on Tuesday, May 26, as the fourth budget bill revealed what auto insurance, Tier 6 pension and climate law changes would be coming for New Yorkers.
Lawmakers deliberated the Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation, or TED, bill for hours, but ultimately passed it in the Assembly. A 15th budget extender bringing the total spent on keeping state government open to $36.2 billion since April 1 was also passed on Tuesday and will last through Thursday, May 28.
“I’m hoping to complete the process of passing the budget by Thursday,” Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow, a Westchester County Democrat, said on the Assembly floor on Tuesday.
Here’s what the latest budget bill includes.
Tier 6 pension system changes include tiered contribution levels
Through this year’s state budget, those in the state’s Tier 6 pension system can now retire without any benefit reduction after turning 58 years old and working at least 30 or more years in the system.
Additionally, members’ contribution levels are changing. Here’s how:
The total cost of the pension reform changes in the final budget deal struck between state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are now expected to be closer to $557 million per year, down from the initial roughly $1.5 billion per year price tag under a prior proposal, according to several media outlets
Some state climate law rollbacks come to fruition
The state has pushed back the issuance of regulations to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions to 2028 and will instead require New York to reduce statewide greenhouse gases by 60% by 2040.
Additionally, the state will no longer count upstream emissions from the transmission and extraction of fossil fuels imported into New York or count the combustion of biogenic materials as having carbon dioxide emissions. New York is also lengthening the timeframe for methane emissions to convert to carbon dioxide from 20 years to 100 years.
Trial lawyers group disappointed by car insurance changes
With the passage of Tuesday’s budget bill, the definition of “serious injury” has been changed to no longer include non-permanent injuries or impairments that prevent the injured individual from performing their normal daily activities for at least 90 days within a 180-day period after the injury or impairment took place.
Those who are injured in car accidents and found at fault as well as being convicted of driving an uninsured vehicle and responsible for insuring the vehicle, convicted of driving a car while impaired at the time of the incident or convicted of operating a car while committing a crime can now only receive up to $100,000 in non-economic losses.
A previous memo from the New York State Trial Lawyers Association says the “serious injury” definition change would deny court and compensation access to crash victims who suffer traumatic brain injuries, concussions, comas and other significant but not yet permanent injuries, leaving them unable to work with overwhelming medical bills.
After the budget bill’s passage, the group said they are “deeply troubled by the rollback of pure comparative negligence” as well as “by rollbacks that specifically target working families.”
“Uber and Big Insurance waged the most expensive legislative attack in New York history, attempting to strip key protections through a budget deal that bypassed the normal legislative process and public scrutiny,” a statement from the state Trial Lawyers Association reads.
“At the end of the day, Gov. Kathy Hochul recognized that predatory practices like redlining must end and that insurers must be held accountable,” the statement continued. “NYSTLA remains ready to work with the governor to advance reforms that protect consumers and hold insurers accountable. We can protect New Yorkers on the road and in their pocketbooks.”
Changes to state’s environmental review process
Here are some additional changes of note included in Tuesday’s budget bill:
How advocacy groups are responding to budget bill passage
Paul Zuber, executive vice president of The Business Council, said the business advocacy group is “happy” to see the budget agreement reflects much of what they advocated for “to address the affordability challenges of New York’s employers.
“We commend Governor Hochul and the State Legislature for listening to the concerns of the business community by holding the line on corporate taxes, amending provisions within the CLCPA that were causing significant compliance burdens, advancing long-overdue SEQRA reforms, and addressing important auto insurance reforms,” Zuber added.
And the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York applauded the auto insurance reforms included in Tuesday’s passed budget bill but said “more work remains to fix the Empire State’s broken civil justice system and combat the trial lawyers’ costly agenda.”
“With fewer incentives to file unnecessary lawsuits and exaggerate claims, billboard lawyers will have fewer opportunities to get rich while the rest of us pay higher prices and inflated bills,” Tom Stebbins, the group’s executive director said in a statement.
“The shady lawyers, funders, and other unscrupulous actors involved in staged accident rings can finally be brought to justice, not just the drivers who are often victims themselves,” Stebbins added.
Emily Barnes covers state government for the USA TODAY Network-New York with a focus on how policy and laws impact New Yorkers’ taxes, communities and jobs. Follow her on Instagram or X @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Pensions up, climate goals pushed back; inside NY’s huge new budget deal
Reporting by Emily Barnes, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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