ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Since the deadly Schoharie limousine crash of 2018, limo safety has been under a microscope at both the state and federal levels. Sen. Jim Tedisco said legislation was passed by both the Senate and the Assembly to extend the New York State Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Task Force, which expires on May 31 unless Gov. Kathy Hochul signs it.
"We had a tragic accident where 20 lives were lost because there were a lot of missteps and mistakes by, I think, groups and individuals that allowed this limousine to get on the roadway," explained Tedisco.
Three and a half years after the tragic crash in Schoharie, efforts to improve safety are still underway. The New York State Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Task Force was created with the goal of making safety recommendations. The report was supposed to be released last year, but now time is running out as the task force is set to expire in May.
"I sent a letter to the speaker saying, 'Send the bill to the governor so she can sign it, so this task force is extended through 2023, May of that year, and the report would now be due this October.' The speaker has not sent that bill for signage to the governor yet. And we only have a couple weeks until we go into May, and it will be abolished."
The Office of the Governor said the legislation has yet to be sent, but said that Hochul will review the legislation.
Tedisco said that another roadblock is that the inspector general has not finished her investigation into the DMV and the Department of Transportation, which could play a role in the state’s limo task force report. "We need that investigation," he said. "We need to give that to our task force which we appointed. If it’s abolished in May and the speaker doesn’t send it over to the governor, that bill to extend it, they will not be able to give us their report on their investigation.
