Legislation aimed at better protecting passengers in limousines is moving forward at the capitol.

Last week, an agreement was reached between the Senate and the Assembly, and the bills quickly passed both houses of the legislature Tuesday. Earlier in the day, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an agreement between him, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on the 10-point safety package.

“Limousines and celebrations go hand in hand. And we want to make sure it’s kept that way,” Stewart-Cousins said. 

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Lawmakers in the Senate say the bills were created based on testimony from families involved in crashes, including the crash in Schoharie in 2018.

Included in the legislation are requirements for special licensing for drivers and the use of seat belts. They also give the Department of Transportation the power to impound limousines that do not meet current safety standards.

"These comprehensive reforms will give authorities much-needed new powers to get dangerous vehicles off the road, weed out bad actors and put into place common sense safety standards that will increase public safety in every corner of New York," Cuomo said in a statement. "The horrific crashes that sparked this action shook this state to its very core and we stand with those who lost loved ones in these accidents and worked tirelessly to help prevent future tragedies once and for all." 

Kevin Cushing has been at the front of the push for more than a year, after his son, Patrick, was on board a limo celebrating a birthday when it crashed in Schoharie killing 20 people.

“You need to be able to get into a limousine and know you can safely get out of it...Patrick would never want to see this happen again,” Cushing said.

The 10-bill package will make its way to the governor’s desk, where he already agreed to sign it into law. Meanwhile, the families who lost loved ones in the Schoharie crash will continue to advocate at the federal level to help bring change across the country.