Before the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, Gov. Kathy Hochul must decide whether she’ll approve or deny the passage of more than 150 bills into law.

That’s out of the 896 jointly passed by the state Senate and Assembly as of last June.


What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Kathy Hochul must decide whether she’ll approve or deny the passage of more than 150 bills into law out of the 896 jointly passed by the state Senate and Assembly as of last June

  • One bill awaiting her signature is the “Grieving Families Act.” It would change New York’s current “wrongful death statute”

  • Hochul must also decide if she’ll give the state comptroller’s office more oversight of how the government spends taxpayer’s money in an emergency

With a Jan. 1 deadline fast approaching, Hochul is under the gun.

One bill awaiting her signature is the “Grieving Families Act.” It would change New York’s current “wrongful death statute.”

“[The bill] does not allow currently, for families who’ve lost loved ones, due to the fault of someone else to file for non-economic damages — meaning pain and suffering,” Democratic bill sponsor, Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal said.

If signed, families mourning the loss of a loved one. For example, a death tied to medical malpractice would also get more time to file claims.

But Hochul already killed a similar version last year.

She explained if signed into law, it could lead to higher costs.

Amidst outcry from hospitals and insurance companies — powerful groups that oppose it this time around too.

“It’s about the value of an individual to a family, and that’s not based on dollars and cents,” Hoylman-Sigal added.

Hochul must also decide if she’ll give the state comptroller’s office more oversight of how the government spends taxpayer’s money in an emergency.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state overrode normal rules aimed at delivering quick responses to combat the deadly disease.

“The reason it’s urgent now… We’re seeing more and more exemptions of prior approvals added in specific programs and lines of the budget, and exempting a lot of spending — billions of dollars is a major, major waste and corruption concern,” said Patrick Orecki, director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission.

Hochul herself got into hot water, when a company owned by campaign donor Charlie Teblee received a multi-million dollar contract with the state Department of Health to deliver at-home test kits.

As it gets down the wire, Hochul has worked through the list.

She recently vetoed a group of bills that would create commissions to study issues like mental health or a state-run cryptocurrency task force.

One bill in that group would have probed the surge of retail theft and how shoplifting has impacted the profits of small businesses.

“That seems, particularly in the city. I mean, they’re shutting down retail establishments because there’s so much shoplifting,” Republican Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay told NY1.

Mayor Eric Adams organized a task force that released a report aimed at curbing shoplifting last fall with members including the city’s five district attorneys and state Attorney General Letitia James.

“The number of the people committing these crimes is relatively small,” he said. “That commission could probably provide insight into how to combat that problem.”

Hochul also has to worry about consequences of a veto override.

If the legislature disagrees with a bill denial, both chambers would have to override the measure with a two-third majority vote.

Democrats hold a majority in the 63-member state Senate and 150-seat Assembly, but officials say the move is difficult. The leaders of both chambers must determine whether an issue is worth spending political capital on and picking a fight with Hochul.

So far, there’s no indication that the bills awaiting Hochul’s signature would prompt such a move.

“We have had a great partnership with the administration and work toward the goal of her signing all the bills we pass. We look forward to many more bill signing ceremonies,” said state Senate spokesman Mike Murphy in a statement.