Legislative Bulletin: Legislature Returns to Albany Next Week Amidst Ongoing State Budget Work
April 14, 2023
Legislature Returns to Albany Next Week Amidst Ongoing State Budget Work
Although an “on-time” New York State Budget was due on April 1st, at the start of the 2023-24 State Fiscal Year (SFY), a final state budget agreement still evades us. The State Legislature was scheduled for a Legislative Recess for the first two weeks of April; a time that legislators typically return to the district for a break after having completed budget work and prepare for remainder of legislative session. However, the slow pace of budget negotiations and the delay in addressing any issues outside of bail reform and housing meant that legislators had to return to Albany on April 3rd and April 10th to pass budget “extenders” to ensure the continued payments for key state operations such as Medicaid services and state worker payroll.
While the budget extenders have bought lawmakers more time to come to a final agreement, the work remained very slow this week, with no budget conferences or “table targets” established as far as we know. With legislators returning to Albany next week to resume the scheduled legislative session and committee meetings, we expect that budget work will pick-up at a much more urgent pace. State appropriations from the last budget extender run out on Monday, and according to the Comptroller's office the next extender (or budget) is due by noon on Tuesday, April 18th in order to process Thursday's institutional payroll.
It is possible that legislative leaders and the Governor may make progress toward a budget agreement over the coming days and put forth a final package of budget bills late next week. However, it is just as possible that negotiations could continue to be stalled by overarching issues, delaying work at other key budget tables such as health and education.
LeadingAge New York will continue to keep members apprised of state budget developments and advocacy action needed; and we thank you in advance for staying engaged with us at this critical time!
Help Keep LTC & Aging Services Top-of-Mind for State Legislators!
With budget discussions continuing well into April, it is critical that we work together to keep long-term care and aging services top-of-mind for legislators. We have worked hard since January to educate the entire Legislature and the Governor on our budget priorities, and why the proper funding of long-term care is critical to ensuring the quality care of our most vulnerable. Your advocacy has been incredibly impactful. However, we need to keep the pressure on to ensure these issues remain at the forefront as final budget decisions begin to be made.
LeadingAge New York has UPDATED the below service-line specific digital advocacy letters to help us keep the pressure on legislators for the remainder of 2023-24 budget discussions. Each letter takes only a minute or two to send. Simply enter your information to automatically send an email to the Governor and your State Senator and Assembly Member! The letters can also be edited via the text box, to reflect any organization specific information or reflect the perspective of families and staff that wish to use them.
Please use the below links to send messages to your legislators and the Governor TODAY!
- Nursing Home Budget Letters – several letters available for family members, staff, residents, etc.
- ACF/ALP & Low-Income Seniors Budget Letter
- Home & Community-Based Services Budget Letter
- Managed Long-Term Care Budget Letter
- Adult Day Health Care Budget Letter
- CCRC Budget Letter
- Affordable Senior Housing Budget Letter
After you send your letters, we strongly encourage members to share these links with residents, families, staff, board members and volunteers. This is a simple and easy way to amplify our message!
Additionally, LeadingAge New York has created a new set of social media messages and graphics! These messages have been crafted for a general public, family member, resident, consumer audience, and are aimed at raising awareness of long-term care underfunding. If members choose, the messages can easily be tailored to capture the attention of the Governor & State Legislators OR they can be used to enlist your social media following in budget advocacy.
The NEW social media messages, graphics, and instructions for how we recommend members use these tools are available here. The messages themselves are crafted so you can simply copy & paste into your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. To add an image to your message, simply download & save the graphic and add it to your post. Please reach out to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org with any questions.
Early Bird Pricing Available for LeadingAge NY Annual Conference!
Join LeadingAge NY from May 22nd to 24th in Saratoga Springs for this year’s Annual Conference, packed with cutting-edge content from experts in the long term care field! Earn up to 15.5 hours of National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) and other continuing education units (CEUs). You will not want to miss the NEW-THIS-YEAR Exposition Lounges, the Experience Center, or the Micro Learning Happy Hour!
The detailed program including registration, educational sessions, brochure and hotel information can be found on our website here, and registration is NOW OPEN! Early bird pricing is available until April 21st. Additionally, we will be hosting our Annual Golf Tournament at the Saratoga Lake Golf Club on the first day of the conference, May 22nd. We hope to see you there!
Federal Workforce & HUD Appropriations Hearings Set for Next Week
Next week will be busy with congressional committee hearings that are relevant for LeadingAge membership. First, on April 18th, the House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) fiscal year 2024 budget. HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge is the hearing’s sole witness. Members can watch a live webcast of the hearing, which will begin at 10 a.m., here.
Then, on April 19th, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Health Subcommittee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) will hold a legislative hearing to examine current federal government programs to support health care workforce and improve primary care. Ms. Carole Johnson, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, is among the witnesses scheduled to testify at the two-panel hearing. More information on the hearing can be found here and the hearing can be streamed here.
Interestingly, these hearings will be held as LeadingAge National hosts its 2023 LeadingAge Leadership Summit and in-person Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. The summit is scheduled for April 17-19 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, and members can still click here to register to attend if you have not already done so! This year, the Leadership Summit is structured in a way that allows attendees to participate in lobby efforts without missing any educational sessions or opportunities. Sarah Daly & Annalyse Komoroske Denio of LeadingAge New York will be attending the summit and lobby day, and will be attending meetings with any New York membership that plans to participate. We hope to see you there!
LeadingAge & LeadingAge New York Coronavirus Resources
LeadingAge NY continues to closely follow all COVID-19 news and we are doing our best to keep members informed of updates, recommendations and guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH).
LeadingAge NY and LeadingAge National Member resources are linked below.
LeadingAge NY Coronavirus Resources
LeadingAge NY COVID-19 Weekly Update calls – Mondays at 11 a.m. Click here to join the call from your computer, android or apple device. Or you can join the call by dialing in: 877 853 5257 (Toll Free); Webinar ID: 852 964 255.
LeadingAge National Coronavirus Policy Updates – Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. Past call recordings are available here and you can register here for future calls.
Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org