Legislative Bulletin: State Approves Twelfth Budget Extender
May 15, 2026
State Approves Twelfth Budget Extender
Yesterday, Governor Hochul and the NYS Legislature introduced the twelfth Emergency Appropriation and budget extension of the year, moving the state budget deadline to Mon., May 18th.
LeadingAge NY had been hearing that the Governor and Legislature are increasingly motivated to reach a final budget agreement and may begin to print and pass budget legislation next week, perhaps before Memorial Day weekend. That was the rumor – at least until Thursday, when legislators left Albany with less progress toward a final agreement than they had been hoping for. It is very likely now that the State will need to approve a thirteenth budget extension on Monday.
Unfortunately, the longer state budget discussions drag on, the more likely it becomes that our priorities could be lost in the shuffle, or that dollar investments could decrease. Nothing will be certain until bills are in print, and we are hearing that health budget issues are continuing to be debated. Your advocacy will remain critical until we see a final budget agreement.
As of this writing, the State Budget is 45 days late. We know that this has been another drawn out state budget process, and we thank our membership for advocating fiercely with us throughout the last several months!
Below, members will find a budget advocacy alert that remains relevant. Please continue to advocate with us over the coming days and until we begin to see budget bills in print!
ACTION NEEDED: Please Continue to Advocate for Key Budget Requests
With details still open on the state’s health care spending plan for SFY 2027, we need members to help us advocate and keep pressure on state legislators. Constituent voices matter most, so if you have not advocated with us this week, please be sure to share social media posts on personal or professional platforms and consider calling your legislators today to help ensure our priorities are included in the final state budget for SFY 2027. In addition, please consider engaging your organization’s board members, volunteers, and resident family members in advocacy!
LeadingAge NY members are strongly encouraged to like and share recent news articles posted by LeadingAge NY. Links to LeadingAge NY social media posts are available below. When you share these posts to personal and professional platforms, please consider tagging the governor, legislative leaders, and your state legislators.
- NEW: NY lawmakers have to solve our long-term care crisis | Opinion (nursing home funding)
- Aging-in-place advocates call for funding $2M resident assistance pilot in older adult housing:
When posting on social media, we encourage members to tag the Governor and legislative leaders. Facebook handles are available here: @Governor Kathy Hochul, @Andrea Stewart-Cousins, @NYSAssemblyMajority Speaker @Carl E. Heastie, @Hon. Gustavo Rivera, @Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, @State Senator Liz Krueger
Don’t forget to use our hashtags: #ProtectOlderAdults #FundLongTermCare!
In addition, please continue to call state legislators!
If you have not connected with your state legislators in the last few days, please call your state legislators’ Albany offices today to remind them of the budget requests that are most important to you!
- Members can find state legislators’ contact information here. Please call the Albany office of both your State Senator and Assembly Member. Please also call any other state legislators whom you have spoken to this year.
- Service line-specific talking points for phone calls are available here.
- Try to keep your top budget requests for phone calls to 3-4 items.
- If legislators ask for additional details on these budget requests, feel free to download and share any of these state budget issue briefs.
- Calls will only take a few minutes and can make all the difference.
Thank you for your continued advocacy, and please let us know if you receive any feedback from the people you speak to. We will continue to keep members apprised of any updates.
ACTION ALERT: Authorize Certified Medication Aides (CMAs) in Nursing Homes
LeadingAge New York wholeheartedly supports both the legislation and Executive Budget Proposal to authorize certified medication aides (CMAs) to work in nursing homes. CMAs are specially trained certified nurse aides (CNAs) who help to administer routine medications to residents under the supervision of a registered nurse (RN). CMAs would allow the state to mitigate the long-term care staffing crisis and strengthen the career ladder for nursing home staff.
Approximately 38 other states already allow medication aides to work in nursing homes. In New York, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) allows unlicensed direct care staff who receive advanced training to administer medications. It is time for New York to authorize the role in nursing homes!
LeadingAge NY strongly supports the bill, A.1272 (Clark), and executive budget proposal that would authorize the employment of CMAs in NY nursing homes. Members who wish to join us in our support for this proposal are strongly encouraged to click here to email legislators today!
SFY 2026-27 State Budget Advocacy Resources from LeadingAge NY
- Comprehensive Executive Budget Summary
- Budget Issue Briefs
- Digital Advocacy Letters
- Social Media Advocacy Campaign
- Summary of One-House Budget Proposals
Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org