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Hochul signs legislation effectively saving Ithaca Carshare

Ithaca Carshare Director Liz Field says she expects the service to be back up and running in early March, after the governor signed legislation fixing a loophole in insurance law.
Vaughn Golden
/
WSKG
Ithaca Carshare Director Liz Field said she expects the service to be back up and running in early March, after the governor signed legislation fixing a loophole in insurance law.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed legislation clearing the way to save Ithaca Carshare.

Ithaca Assemblymember Anna Kelles, along with state Senator Lea Webb, sponsored the legislation effectively saving the carshare, which allows users to rent a car from a shared fleet of vehicles for short periods of time.

The bill fixes a nuance in insurance law that effectively banned out-of-state car insurance providers from providing auto insurance to non-profit organizations.

Carshare Director Liz Field thanked the governor, legislators and everyone involved in passing and signing the bill, which came just in time.

“Last week, we were going to start selling our cars and this week we know we can reopen," Field said. "So we have a lot of planning, we have a lot of fundraising to do. We've lost almost half a million in revenue this year, but we're so grateful to everyone."

The governor agreed to the legislation after narrowing the scope to only apply to transportation-based non-profit organizations serving 15 people or less at a time. Kelles said that also opens opportunities for other non-profits like Gadabout, which provides transportation for seniors, as well as programs like Meals on Wheels.

The state is imposing a six-month waiting period for the legislation to go into effect. Field said she expects the carshare to be back up and running by early March.

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Vaughn Golden has been reporting across New York since 2016. Working as a freelancer while studying journalism and economics at Ithaca College, Vaughn has reported for a number of outlets including the Albany Times Union, New York Post, and NPR among others. Prior to coming to WSKG full-time, Vaughn was a reporter for the Watertown Daily Times. Vaughn now covers government and politics for WSKG.