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This weekend, Gov. Kathy Hochul for the third time vetoed legislation known as the Grieving Families Act, which would update the state’s wrongful death statute and allow families to sue for emotional damages.
"There does seem to be a philosophical difference disappointingly about the need to reform our statutes," state Senate sponsor Brad Hoylman-Sigal, D-Manhattan, said.
Hochul explained in her memo the bill would substantially reshape the legal framework for wrongful death actions by expanding the types of damages that may be recovered, expanding the class of person who may seek such damages and extending the statute of limitations. Hoylman-Sigal said Hochul’s concerns about costs to patients and consumers were essentially a retread of last year’s memo.
"We don’t want to negotiate against ourselves and the truth is the governor did not bring us an alternative proposal. There were no negotiations this year. We never received a counter-offer," he said.
The governor said the Legislature, which has passed the bill three times now, has not made changes she suggested in previous rounds of negotiations. Those include capping the age of victims for whom family members could seek and exemption for the health care industry.
"I think it’s time for us to regroup, go back to the advocates that support this bill, including experts and insurance, the medical profession, those who work in our court system and determine what the next best step is," Hoylman-Sigal said.
Lawmakers have passed the bill with overwhelming bipartisan support each time. However, they have yet to give real consideration to overriding the governor’s veto, which would require a two-thirds vote in each house.
"It would be something I would support in an issue so important as reforming a 175-year-old statute. I hope it never has to come to that because I support the governor and work very closely with her," Hoylman-Sigal said.
Regardless, Hoylman-Sigal said he will continue to fight for the bill and urge his Senate colleagues to pass the bill a fourth time. Assembly sponsor Helene Weinstein has retired so a new member will have to pick up the effort there.
"I believe the governor and supporters of the Grieving Families Act are actually in agreement that we need to change our outdated statute," Hoylman-Sigal said.
