Gearing Up for 2013 Advocacy
Welcome to the 2013 legislative session – it’s so hard to imagine that January is already here! There is a lot in store for us this year – newly elected lawmakers, new legislative leaders, new district lines and new (and yes, some old) legislation.
The Legislature will gavel in tomorrow, Wed., Jan. 9, to officially begin the legislative session, followed by Gov. Cuomo’s State of the State Address, which will be available for viewing on the governor’s website. It’s expected that on Wednesday, the Senate will put forth new rules that will allow the leader of Independent Democratic Coalition, Jeff Klein, and Senate Republicans, led by Dean Skelos, to have shared control over the Senate.
Among the governor’s rumored priorities for 2013, which he will outline in his Address tomorrow, are: gun control, Hurricane Sandy aide, an increase to minimum wage, preserving the property tax cap, campaign finance reform and education reform. Please keep an eye on your inbox on Wednesday – we will be emailing members a synopsis of the governor’s 2013 executive budget proposal following the State of the State.
We are expecting to see the governor’s final Executive Budget released on Tues., Jan. 22, followed by about eight weeks of budget negotiations. A final budget is expected to be submitted by Thurs., March 21 – making this a particularly early budget year. With the Legislature working to pass a balanced budget in the face of a $1 billion deficit, your advocacy this budget season is as crucial as ever. Following the passage of the budget, the Legislature will break with the Assembly returning on April 8 and the Senate returning on April 15 – just in time to begin work on our legislative and regulatory agendas!
To give you an idea of LeadingAge New York’s priorities for the 2013 legislative session, we have developed our budgetary/legislative and regulatory agenda. In order to accomplish this year’s goals, we will need your help! Be sure to take a look at this year’s Advocacy Action Calendar, which includes a list of dates that the Legislature is in session and days that we will need your help advocating – including:
- February Fridays, which will be dedicated to letter writing campaigns
- March Mondays, which will be set aside for making phone calls to lawmakers
- Advocacy Day, to be held on Tues., Feb. 5 in meeting rooms 2-4 of the Empire State Plaza in Albany
- ACF/AL Advocacy Day, to be held on Tues., April 23
- CCRC Advocacy Day, tentatively scheduled for Tues., May 7
As always, if you have any questions about our 2013 agenda, advocacy opportunities or want to learn more about what this session has in store for the long term care community, please feel free to reach out to us. Also be sure to check out our Government, Politics and Advocacy blog for daily happenings in Albany and throughout the state, as well as our Legislative Action Center to learn more about our advocacy initiatives!