Legislative Bulletin: Budget and Leadership Updates

Budget Preview
This week, Gov. Cuomo gave us a glimpse of some of his 2015-16 budget priorities by releasing two parts of his 2015 Opportunity Agenda. The first part of the agenda, “Restoring Economic Opportunity,” includes a $1.66 billion property tax credit program that gives relief to homeowners and renters who need it most. The new proposal will consist of a Real Property Tax Credit for households whose tax property tax burden exceeds six percent of their income. The second part of the agenda includes $1.5 billion for the Upstate New York Economic Revitalization Competition. The competition is expected to help continue to restore economic opportunity to regions across Upstate New York by increasing job growth, community revitalization and population sustainability. The 2015-16 Executive Budget is set to be released on Wed., Jan. 21, the same day as the Governor’s State-of -State. We will issue a brief summary of the budget, followed by a more detailed analysis.

Are You Registered for Advocacy Day?
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/Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State Annual Advocacy Day on Tues., Feb. 10 in Albany. 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 Friday, 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 518-867-8844.

Governor Announces Several New Appointees
Gov. Cuomo announced over 60 appointments to his administration, earlier this week. Within the three rounds of appointments, there were a number that were made of interest to LeadingAge NY and the membership, including the appointees listed below. Click here to learn more about the appointees.

Howard Zucker, commissioner, Department of Health (DOH)
Dennis Rosen, Medicaid Inspector General
Sally Dreslin, M.S., R.N, executive deputy commissioner, DOH
Tracie M. Gardner, governor’s assistant secretary of health;
Kisha Santiago-Martinez, governor’s assistant secretary for housing;
Catie Marshal, deputy commissioner for policy and communications, NYS Homes and Community Renewal; and
Mary Beth Labate, State budget director, New York State Division of the Budget.

The Assembly: Speaker Silver Retains Control
Sheldon (Shelly) Silver has once again been named Speaker of the NYS Assembly. The Assembly convened last week and elected Speaker Silver, making this his 11th term as Speaker of the Assembly. There were only two no-votes out of the 150 seats that make up the State Assembly. Speaker Silver has been under fire recently for a federal probe by Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara related to the Speaker’s income outside of the Assembly. Just this week, an article was published in the New York Post citing a coup that was rejected by the head of the Assembly Republicans. The Speaker has been a member of the Assembly since 1976 and has held his post as Speaker since 1994. Click here for his biography.

The Senate: Role of the IDC
While the Independent Democratic Coalition (IDC) has maintained their separate conference with a separate appropriate from the Senate Majority, it looks like they won’t have a seat in the “three-way” budget negotiations, and they will not have any control over the floor operations in the Senate Chamber. Sen. Jeff Klein, who for the past two years has shared control as co-Senate president, recently was named simply as co-coalition leader. Sen. Klein could once again share control of the Senate with Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, however, Sen. Skelos is not expected to say that he is not the sole leader of the chamber. Sen. Valesky, who is part of the IDC, recently held the position of Chairman for the Senate Aging Committee; he has since been named to the Rules Committee, along with fellow IDC member, David Carlucci. We are still awaiting final committee assignments within both houses, and will update members when this information becomes available.

There Are Lots of New Legislators – Is One of Them Yours?
There are 27 new State lawmakers who were elected in November; 10 senators, including 7 Republicans; and 17 new members of the Assembly. Click here learn more about these new legislators and if they’re representing your district. Not sure who your legislators are? Simply click here, enter your ZIP code in the appropriate field and contact your lawmakers to introduce yourselves and your organizations. A great way to connect with your lawmakers is at our upcoming Advocacy Day on Tues., Feb. 10. See the story above to learn more about Advocacy Day, or visit our Advocacy Day website.

Bills, Bills and More Bills!
As is typical at the start of the legislative session, we have seen a flurry of bill introductions in the past week. Most significantly, nurse staffing ratio legislation (A.1548 (Gottfried)-S.782 (Hannon)) was introduced in the Assembly to match the bill in the Senate. The bill 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. 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.

As session gets underway, we will be issuing Advocacy Alerts to members regarding the staffing ratio legislation, as well as other priority legislation that we track. Please be sure to keep an eye on your inbox for these Advocacy Alerts and keep up-to-date on session happenings and advocacy opportunities with our 2015 Advocacy Action Calendar, which lists important legislative dates and advocacy opportunities, is now available on-line.

Support your PAC!
It's that time of year again to “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.