Legislative Bulletin: Welcome to the 2015-16 Legislative Session
Welcome to the 2015-16 Legislative Session!
The 2015-16 Legislative Session kicked off on Wed., Jan. 7, but in a rather quiet way. Due to the death of Governor Cuomo’s father, former Governor Mario Cuomo, the Governor’s State of the State Address has been pushed to Wed., Jan. 21 – leaving the Capitol eerily quiet for the first day of session. The State is slated to operate in a surplus during the 2015-16 fiscal year, so we will be counting on you to help us ensure that seniors and aging services are at the forefront of lawmakers discussions and get their fair share of funding during upcoming budget negotiations. The Governor’s Executive Budget Proposal is set to be released on Tues., Jan. 27. We will alert members of key budget issues following a review of the budget documents.
Advocacy Day is Tues., Feb. 10!
We hope that you will help ensure that long term care is properly represented in this year's budget by participating in the LeadingAge New York/Adult Day Health Care Council Annual Advocacy Day on Tues., Feb. 10 in Albany. Also joining us for our Advocacy Day is the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State, with whom LeadingAge NY has recently affiliated. Click here to register for Advocacy Day. The day will begin with registration and breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by legislative meetings between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and a luncheon with guest legislative speakers between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. (please avoid scheduling legislative meetings during this time). Advocacy Day materials, including issue briefs, talking points and parking information will be sent via email to participants the week before Advocacy Day and posted on the Advocacy Day website as the date approaches. We will also host a conference call on Fri., Feb. 6 to brief those attending the Advocacy Day, details to be announced shortly. If you need assistance with scheduling legislative meetings, have difficulty with registration or need specific accommodations, please do not hesitate to contact Alyssa Lovelace at 518-441-5111.
Legislative Update
With a new session, comes new legislation; however, that’s not to say we won’t be fighting some old battles. Legislation imposing nurse staffing ratios has already been introduced. The bill, S.782 (Hannon), amends the Public Health Law to create specific staffing ratios for nurses and other direct-care staff in hospitals and nursing homes. The NYS Nurses Association (NYSNA) has identified the bill as their top priority this year and has planned a strong grassroots advocacy push to get it passed. The fact is that research does not reflect that high staffing levels produce higher quality of care or quality of life. In fact, the only outcome if this legislation is passed, will be higher Medicaid costs and less quality of life programming for nursing home residents. LeadingAge New York opposes this legislation and has joined a coalition of other provider associations to roll out an aggressive advocacy campaign opposing the bill.
Since the 2014 session ended in June, LeadingAge NY has been hard at work perfecting language for other priority association legislation that would allow individuals residing in the community to access services from their local continuing care retirement community through a Continuing Care at Home contract. We are pleased to announce that this bill was recently signed into law by Governor Cuomo, and will take effect on April 1, 2015. Thank you to all of our members and activists who helped us get this bill passed and signed into law.
Our New Online Advocacy Tool
In years past, we have used an advocacy tool known as Capwiz to allow easy letter writing campaigns. This year, we are launching a new advocacy campaign tool, known as Phone-2-Action. This is a letter writing campaign and social media program, which requires the same information you’ve typically been asked for, such as your name, address and ZIP code, in order to send a letter to your lawmakers or find out their contact information. We’re still ironing out a few kinks, but once the tool is up and running properly, we will let you know.
Not to Be Missed…
Our Advocacy Action Calendar, which lists important legislative dates and advocacy opportunities, is now available on-line. We have also recently released the 2015 Public Policy Agenda which lists the association’s priorities, by service line, for the upcoming year. As always, for assistance with these advocacy opportunities or to learn more about the critical pieces of legislation we will be following during the 2015-16 legislation session, please do not hesitate to contact Alyssa Lovelace or Ami Schnauber at 518-867-8383.
Support Your PAC!
We are excited to announce that the LeadingAge NY Political Action Committee (PAC) has launched its new 2015 PAC campaign, “Supercharge Your PAC!” A well-funded PAC allows us to support candidates and lawmakers who support funding for long term care, senior housing and services, and enables us to be involved in both the legislative and political process. Help us raise our voices in the Legislature by supporting your PAC – contribute today!
Save the Date! The LeadingAge NY PAC Golf Tournament will be held on Mon., May 18 at the Ballston Spa Country Club – this is a new, beautiful location! Registration and contests will begin at 10 a.m. with a shotgun start at 11 a.m. Registration and sponsorship information will be available soon on the 2015 LeadingAge NY PAC Golf Tournament website.
Call for Nominations!
The 2015 LeadingAge New York Annual Awards Program, including the Employee of Distinction Program, is now accepting nominations. Each year, LeadingAge NY is pleased to celebrate the many talented and dedicated employees of member organizations through the Annual Awards and Employee of Distinction Programs. Click here to learn more and submit your nominations. Please note that Innovation of the Year and Employee of Distinction Awards have separate nomination forms. Please be sure to submit the correct form.