sample letter to governor hochul august 2023

It’s helpful to send a physical letter, and then follow up with an email, but if you can only do email, that’s okay.

To email governor Hochul, use the contact form on the her website:
https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form

To send a physical letter:

The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
New York State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

DATE, 2023

SUBJECT: Please sign S.5959b/A.5718b immediately to save nonprofit auto insurance

Dear Governor Hochul,

I’m writing [on behalf of YOUR ORGANIZATION or MUNICIPALITY] to urge you to sign S.5959b/A.5718b into law as soon as possible. This bill solves an auto insurance market failure for nonprofits by allowing nonprofit organizations to obtain auto insurance from a nonprofit Risk Retention Group.

With a 6-month waiting period built into the bill before it can go into effect, we urge you to sign it immediately.

This bill will save Ithaca Carshare, allow the carshares in Albany and Rochester to move to a nonprofit model and expand their Electric Vehicle fleets, and help all nonprofits across the state access much-needed auto insurance so they can better serve their communities.

This bill will also allow Buffalo to relaunch their nonprofit carshare that closed in 2015 due to this auto insurance market failure.

Carshares are membership-based organizations providing 24/7 access to fleets of vehicles for members to drive whenever they need a car. Ithaca Carshare was the first carshare in New York State and opened in 2008. They initially received seed-funding from NYSERDA in 2006, but it took two years to open because they couldn’t find auto insurance.

Carsharing greatly reduces traffic congestion and carbon emissions, and helps New York meet its climate action goals. NYSERDA has invested $3 million so far in carshares across the state, and has slated millions more in funding over the next few years to invest in Electric Vehicle carsharing across the state.

By signing this bill into law, you’re helping all nonprofits across the state access much-needed auto insurance, you’re saving carshares across the state, and you’re giving all New Yorkers and the environment a win by supporting clean transportation alternatives to personal car ownership.

Please consider signing this bill immediately. Thank you for your timely consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

[Your Name, Title, etc]

ENCL.
CC:
Elizabeth Fine, Chief Counsel to the Governor
Cherell Beddard, Assistant Counsel to the Governor

Please also email a copy of the letter in PDF form to: legislative.secretary@exec.ny.gov
CC: Elizabeth Fine, Chief Counsel to the Governor (Elizabeth.Fine@exec.ny.gov)
CC: Cherell Beddard, Assistant Counsel to the Governor (cherell.beddard@exec.ny.gov)
Please also BCC: liz@ithacacarshare.org & jennifer@the-cct.org

And if you want to mail a physical copy to Elizabeth Fine:

Elizabeth Fine, Chief Counsel to the Governor
633 3rd Ave FL 37
New York, New York 10017