Legislative Bulletin: 2025 Legislative Session Kick-Off

January 10, 2025

New York State Legislature Returns to Albany for 2025 Session

The New York State Legislature returned to Albany on Wednesday, Jan. 8^th for their first day of the 2025 Legislative Session. The first day of the 2025 session was accompanied by welcome speeches from legislative leaders, welcome receptions and the re-introduction of hundreds of bills being carried over from the previous session, as well as the introduction of many new pieces of legislation. Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Heastie were reelected to their leadership positions within the Legislature and delivered remarks to their respective chambers about their party’s priorities, largely focusing on affordability.

While the first day of session was short and sweet, the Legislature is expected to begin its work in earnest next week with several Senate and Assembly committee meetings expected to be scheduled. Keep in mind, only one bill that LeadingAge NY opposed last year was ultimately approved and signed by the governor. This means that many bills that we successfully opposed in 2024 will be back this year to move through the legislative process.

As always, LeadingAge NY will be tracking all legislative news and activities very closely, and will urge our membership to engage with us in advocacy whenever necessary. And of course, keep an eye out for these Legislative Bulletins, which will come to you every Friday for the duration of this year’s session.

REGISTER NOW for 2025 Advocacy Day in Albany!

With the New York State Legislature back in session, and the anticipated release of the 2025-26 Executive Budget Proposal on Jan. 21^st, it is critical that we have as many members as possible join us in Albany for our 2025 Advocacy Day on Feb. 4^th! During our in-person advocacy day, we will be urging State legislators to support and appropriately fund the entire continuum of long-term care/aging services providers; including nursing homes, assisted living/adult care facilities, home care agencies, senior housing, adult day health care, managed long-term care and more!

Please join us for our LeadingAge NY Advocacy Day to support our efforts!

When: Feb. 4, 2025

Where: Meeting Room 5, The Empire State Plaza Convention Center (279 Madison Ave., Albany, NY 12242)

How:

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER for LeadingAge NY's 2025 Advocacy Day!
Once you are registered, CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR AND ASSEMBLY MEMBER's Albany offices to request an in-person meeting on Tues., Feb. 4^th. As an additional resource for individuals new to advocacy, we have developed this Legislative Scheduling Guide to assist members in setting up meetings.
Once your meetings are scheduled, please send your meeting details to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org and Saleena Ali at sali@leadingageny.org. This is critical to enhancing our organization, collaboration, and overall advocacy impact.

Please note that we recommend members schedule their own legislative meetings, as it often results in a timelier response and the legislator themselves joining the meeting. LeadingAge NY is also happy to assist you in scheduling your meetings, however, if you would like this level of support and assistance, it is critical that you register as soon as possible!

During our Advocacy Day, LeadingAge NY will:

Provide breakfast & lunch;
be available to join you for your legislative meetings;
provide legislative materials and “handouts” for legislators;
assist in any necessary follow-up from meetings;
provide a meeting room, directions, parking information, logistical support and more!

Finally, to ensure that members are familiar with what is in the SFY 2025-26 Executive Budget Proposal (once released) and all details of our 2025 Advocacy Day, LeadingAge NY will be hosting a Budget and Advocacy Day Prep Call on Fri., Jan. 31^st at 11 a.m.

More information on our 2025 Advocacy Day can be found here. Please reach out to Sarah Daly (sdaly@leadingageny.org) with any questions.

ACTION ALERT: Keep Pressure on Gov. Hochul with Social Media & Digital Letters!

Advocacy at this time of the year is absolutely critical to the success of our budget initiatives. As we await the release of the Executive Budget Proposal on January 21^st, we need all nursing home members to work together to maintain the attention of the Governor, and urge for the update and reform of nursing home Medicaid reimbursement.

Yesterday, Sitrin Health Care Center posted a NEW resident video on their Facebook! It is an excellent video amplifying our nursing home budget request to the governor.

Please take a moment to LIKE & SHARE the post on Facebook today!

Facebook – Please LIKE & SHARE
Add this caption to the post when you share, and check that the Governor’s tag highlights in blue, to be sure she sees it:

Despite recent one-time investments, New York’s nursing home Medicaid reimbursement falls short by $1.6 billion statewide! Inadequate Medicaid funding impacts residents, families, staff and health care consumers of all ages.

@Governor Kathy Hochul, please prioritize the quality care, safety and dignity of older adults by fully funding Medicaid! Bridging the Medicaid funding gap should begin with a 20% increase for nursing homes and a commitment to prioritize quality! #OlderAdultsMatter

Want to get involved? Click here to learn more: https://bit.ly/3OdUlFh

After you SHARE the video on your personal and/or your organization’s Facebook, please ensure you are implementing the entire suite of nursing home advocacy resources available!

Please use the nursing home advocacy resources below!

Click here to send an email (again) to the Governor!
Ask your board members to contact the Governor (again) using this digital letter!
Print or share via email, this Workforce Advocacy Flyer
Print or share via email, this Family Advocacy Flyer
Print or share via email, this Constituent/Volunteer Advocacy Flyer
- Spanish speaking resources now available on our website!

Thank you for joining us in advocacy at this critical time! If you have questions or challenges in implementing these resources, please do not hesitate to reach out to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org.

Need to Know: The New York State Budget Process

As we celebrate the welcoming of a new year, fresh starts, and the beginning of a new legislative session, it is important that we also note that next week we will find ourselves at the very beginning of the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025-26 Budget cycle. Since we may have some new readers of our LeadingAge New York Legislative Bulletin, we wanted to share some reminders about the state budget process and some important timeframes to be aware of.

The State budget cycle will officially kick off next week, with the Governor’s State of the State address set for Jan. 14^th at 1 p.m. During this address, the Governor will highlight some of the key priorities we can expect to be included in the SFY 2025-26 Executive Budget Proposal. While this address will give us a sense of what may be in the Executive Budget, much will remain uncertain until we see the proposed Executive Budget legislation, which is due to be released no later than Jan. 21^st.

From the time that we see budget bills, through February and early March, stakeholders and members of the Legislature will review the Executive’s proposal and begin to recommend changes and amendments to the Governor and legislative leaders. In mid-March, both the Senate and Assembly will put forth their one-house budget proposals, amending the Executive’s proposal to reflect the priorities of each house of the Legislature.

Following the completion of the one-house budget process, “three-way negotiations” will begin between the Executive, the Senate, and the Assembly. These negotiations typically take place in the final weeks of March, with the goal of coming to a final budget agreement before April 1, 2025.

Interestingly, in recent years state budget discussions have continued through the first week of April, and this year’s legislative calendar reflects that the Legislature is scheduled to stay in Albany until April 9^th before going on their April recess. It is not unheard of for budget negotiations to extend beyond the due date of April 1^st, and with the legislative calendar being what it is, we may already anticipate a late budget.

While this may be a lot of information for members to consider all at once, please be assured that LeadingAge NY will be here to guide you on advocacy and keep you informed every step of the way. However, your involvement in this process is critical to the success of our advocacy, our budget objectives and our shared mission. We thank you in advance for staying engaged with us in all 2025 advocacy activities, and look forward to what we can accomplish together!

Governor Unveils Top Proposals in Advance of State of the State Address on Jan. 14^th

The Governor’s annual State of the State address is scheduled to take place on Jan. 14^th at 1 p.m. The State of the State will be streamed on the Governor’s website, and will likely be broadcast by some regional and Albany-based news outlets.

While advocates and stakeholders of every industry await the unveiling of the final Executive Budget Proposal, the Governor this week began unveiling some of her top State of the State proposals including:

LeadingAge New York will tune-in to the State of the State address next week, and will report to members any major announcements relevant to the long-term care and aging services sector. Further, a review of the State of the State will also be included in next week’s Legislative Bulletin on Jan. 17^th.

Assembly Member Seawright Appointed as New Assembly Aging Chair

This week, the leaders of the State Senate and Assembly announced new committee chair and membership appointments. With over 20 new members of the State Legislature, and some prominent members of the Legislature such as Former Ways and Means Chair Weinstein retiring, there are a few noteworthy changes in committee leadership that are worth pointing out.

Assembly Member Pretlow of the Westchester area is now the Assembly Ways and Means Chair. Additionally, Assembly Member Seawright of Manhattan has transitioned to Chair the Assembly Aging Committee. Asm. Pretlow previously chaired the Assembly Racing & Wagering Committee, and Asm. Seawright previously chaired the Assembly People with Disabilities Committee.

Assembly Member Kim, the former chair of aging, has now transitioned to Chair the Assembly Tourism Committee. While we are still awaiting a comprehensive list of all Senate Committee Membership appointments, all Assembly Committee Membership appointments can be viewed here.

Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org