Legislative Bulletin: Governor Announces Executive Budget Proposal
Governor Cuomo Releases his SFY 2020 Executive Budget
On Tuesday, Governor Cuomo presented his Fiscal Year 2020 budget plan, titled 2019 Justice Agenda: The Time is Now. The proposed $175.1 billion budget, which covers the period April 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020, closes an estimated $3.1 billion deficit while holding the State spending increase to under 2 percent and increasing State Medicaid spending by $568 million.
The budget bills and legislative memoranda are posted on the Division of the Budget’s (DOB) FY 2020 Executive Budget webpage. Linked here is an initial summary of budget provisions affecting long term care, senior services, and housing providers. LeadingAge New York is closely analyzing the budget and seeking further clarity on various provisions and will be providing members with a detailed summary by early next week.
Now that that budget is here, it is time to have all hands on deck in our advocacy efforts. In the coming weeks, LeadingAge NY will be sending letters to legislators highlighting concerns and initiatives that we hope to see reflected in the final budget. There will be meetings with Assembly and Senate leadership, moving budget bills, advocacy days and resources for LeadingAge membership along the way.
It’s Time to Schedule your Advocacy Day Meetings
We are nearly two weeks away from our first of two Advocacy Days! With so many new legislators and staff and a new majority in the Senate, we need your help to educate lawmakers during State budget negotiations. Advocacy days are vital in educating lawmakers on the impact of budget cuts and now is the time to schedule your meetings!
We hope that you will join us for a full day of grassroots advocacy on:
- Tuesday, February 5th - Focused on Medicaid issues impacting Nursing Homes, MLTC, Home Care, Hospice, Adult Day Health Care– click here to register!
- Tuesday March 5th – Focused on budget issues impacting Assisted Living, Housing, Aging Services (Social Day, NORC/NNORC) - click here to register!
Please click here to find your legislators and begin setting up meetings for the day. LeadingAge NY staff are happy to assist you in scheduling your meetings, help coordinate with other members in your area, and even join you on your visits. For questions or assistance setting up legislative meetings, contact Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org.
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 Friday, Feb. 1st from 1:30 to 3 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: 983-850-547.
Joint Budget Hearing Schedule Announced
Following the Governor’s budget presentation on Tuesday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger 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 New York plans to provide testimony for the Housing Budget Hearing on Monday, Feb 4th and to testify at the Health/Medicaid Budget Hearing on Tuesday, Feb 5th.
The 28th Day of Government Shutdown
We are now on our record-shattering 28th day of the federal government shutdown and while there have been several bipartisan pushes to reopen government in the Senate and House, there seems to be no lasting resolution in sight. The impact of the lengthy shutdown will likely linger, now hitting HUD in more ways than one. According to LeadingAge, “an estimated 1175 project-based rental assistance (PBRA) contracts with December 2018 and January 2019 expiration dates will not be able to be renewed until after the shutdown, with Section 202/811 PRAC projects comprising the majority of impacted contracts”. As affordable housing providers rely heavily on reserves, low-income seniors they serve are seeing additional programs such as the Senior Food Box Program disappear.
Ami Schnauber, aschnauber@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8854
Sarah Daly, sdaly@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8845