Legislative Bulletin: Governor Unveils Executive Budget Proposal
Governor Cuomo Unveils SFY 2018-19 Executive Budget Proposal
On Tuesday, Governor Cuomo presented his SFY 2018-19 Executive Budget, titled “Stand United to Fight for New York,” to members of the Legislature and the public. The budget proposes a $168.2 billion spending plan and largely tracks the proposals laid out in the Governor’s Jan. 3rd State of the State address. It closes a projected $4.4 billion deficit and proposes spending $26.4 billion on education (an increase of $769 million over the previous budget) and $18.9 billion on Medicaid (a $593 million increase).
LeadingAge NY issued an initial budget summary to members late Tuesday afternoon and will be sharing a more comprehensive analysis early next week. In the meantime, Hinman Straub, LeadingAge NY’s legislative counsel, has prepared an overview of all health care-related proposals. Click here to access the document.
With the release of the Governor’s Executive Budget Proposal, it is time to get our budget advocacy efforts in full swing! Over the coming weeks, LeadingAge NY will be developing letters and other advocacy initiatives on the issues we want to see addressed in the final budget. As outlined by Enterprise Community Partners in a recent opinion piece in The Times Union, one key priority will be securing a $10 million, five-year investment in service coordinators for residents of affordable senior housing. The funds, which would be used to bolster New York’s $125 million commitment to senior housing, would offer seniors “the support they need to age in place and continue contributing to their communities.” To send your lawmakers a pre-written letter, tweet, or Facebook post urging their support for this initiative, please click here.
Learn How to Maximize Your Social Media Advocacy Efforts in Jan. 24th Webinar
Only two sessions remain in LeadingAge NY and Corning Place Communications’ free social media training series! The third webinar, “Turbocharging Your Advocacy Efforts: Leveraging Social Media to Engage with Elected Officials,” will take place on Wed., Jan. 24th from 12 to 12:30 pm. Agenda items include how to directly engage with elected officials on Twitter and Facebook and how to empower your community to amplify your advocacy efforts, as well as a live advocacy demonstration on Twitter. With budget season upon us, this will be a very timely and valuable presentation. Click here to register.
LeadingAge NY is also pleased to share a recording of our most recent session, “Putting Your New Tools to Work: Tips on Building, Engaging, and Empowering Your Community of Followers.” The webinar was held on Wednesday afternoon and covered how to build a community of social media followers, the importance of establishing your “voice,” and how to engage with your followers through content and conversation. To access a recording of our introductory session, “Adding New Tools to Your Advocacy and Marketing Toolbox: An Introduction to Twitter and Facebook,” please click here.
Remember to Schedule Your Advocacy Day Meetings
We are now just over two weeks away from the first LeadingAge NY/Adult Day Health Care Council/Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State Advocacy Day on Tues., Feb. 6th! The day will focus exclusively on issues pertinent to nursing homes, home care, hospice, adult day health care (ADHC), and Managed Long Term Care (MLTC). If you have not done so already, now is the time to register and begin setting up meetings with your legislators. Keep in mind that if your lawmakers are not available for a formal meeting on Advocacy Day, you can inquire about meeting with them “off the floor” (speaking with them briefly outside the Assembly or Senate Chamber) or speaking with their top staff. Alternatively, if you are not able to join us in Albany, you can always request to meet with them back in their district office. LeadingAge NY can assist with scheduling if necessary and asks that those who do set up their own meetings email their schedules to Jeff Diamond at jdiamond@leadingageny.org.
Registration for our March 6th Advocacy Day, focusing on issues related to housing, adult care facilities (ACFs), assisted living (AL), aging services programs, and Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), is available here.
Advocacy Day Prep Call Set for Feb. 1st
In preparation for Advocacy Day, LeadingAge NY, the Adult Day Health Care Council, and the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State will be hosting a conference call for all attendees on Thurs., Feb. 1st from 2:30 to 4 pm. We plan to go over our materials (which will be distributed prior to the call), review important logistics, and answer any questions that participants may have. To join, please dial 1-888-585-9008 and enter the Conference Room code: 821-898-111.
Legislature Releases Joint Budget Hearing Schedule
Following the Governor’s budget presentation on Tuesday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Catharine Young and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Helene Weinstein announced the schedule for the Joint Legislative Budget Hearings. These hearings provide an opportunity for the Legislature to hear from state agency heads and the public about the impact of the Governor’s budget proposal. LeadingAge NY plans to provide testimony for the Housing Budget Hearing on Wed., Jan. 24th and the Health/Medicaid Budget Hearing on Mon., Feb. 12th.
Congress Scrambles to Avoid Government Shutdown
Lastly, congressional lawmakers are racing against the clock to pass a short-term continuing resolution (CR) by midnight tonight, when the federal government is set to shut down. A measure to fund the government through Fri., Feb. 16th was passed by the House on Thursday night but is expected to run into opposition from Democrats and a handful of Republicans in the Senate. The major issue at the center of the budget negotiations is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides legal protections for nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. Democratic lawmakers have been holding out for a deal to extend the program, which expires on March 5th.
Information from LeadingAge National on what a government shutdown might look like for beneficiaries of federal programs and providers can be accessed here.
Contacts:
Ami Schnauber, aschnauber@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8854
Jeff Diamond, jdiamond@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8821