On January 25, 2010, Mayor Bloomberg provided testimony in front of the joint New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee about the impact of Governor Paterson’s proposed budget on New York City.  In this testimony, he clearly endorses the concept of meaningful lawsuit reforms, some of which are actually included in the Governor’s budget proposal.

The Mayor commended the Governor’s budget on several points including, “… end a requirement that the City pay extraordinarily inflated 9 percent interest to plaintiffs on court-ordered civil judgments.  Today, no one gets 9 percent. The fairer, Treasury-bill-pegged rate the Governor proposes would save the City at least $1 million a year.”

Later in his testomony, he called on the State leaders to adopt several other initiatives including, “common sense tort reforms already on the book in many state, which would save our City more than $140 million a year in civil judgement.”

Again, we at New Yorkers for Lawsuit Reform couldn’t agree more!

Governor Paterson’s budget 2010-11 budget proposal, released earlier today, recognizes the need for lawsuit reform by exempting the MTA from frivolous lawsuits but continues to ignore the rest of the State and the many benefits — both fiscal and economical — which New Yorkers could reap from comprehensive, commonsense lawsuit reform.

Click here to see NYLR’s full statement.

Check out this editorial from today’s Albany Times Union.  We concur that working for a firm so closely connected with the Trial Lawyers Association represents a significant problem for Senator Sampson and points to the vast influence that the trial bar has had and continues to have over New York State politics.

Mark Kriss, executive director of New Yorkers for Lawsuit Reform, provided comment on Governor Paterson’s State of the State address made earlier today.  “Now is not the time for half measures.  Governor paterson and the members of the New York State Legislature need to adopt commnsense and meaningful lawsuit reform now … before it is too late.”  See the whole statement here.

New Yorkers for Lawsuit Reform has sent a letter to Governor Paterson and leaders of the New York State legislature asking them to take up the issue of meaningful lawsuit reform in 2010 to help revitalize our economy.  Click here to see a copy of the press release.  Here’s to a happy and more prosperous new year for everyone in 2010 and to our State’s leaders finally considering making real reforms which will expand our economy, increase job opportunities, help to balance our budget, lower taxes and make health care more affordable and accessible.