Legislature on Spring Break, Nurse Staffing Ratios Bill Update, CCRC and ACF/AL Advocacy Days Coming Up, Primary Election Information, Special Election in New York and National Crime Victims' Rights Week
Legislature on Spring Break!
The Legislature cancelled session on Wed. and headed into recess until May 3rd. Since lawmakers will be in their districts for the next two weeks, now is the perfect time to connect with them. In the days ahead, we encourage you to reach out to your legislators and invite them to visit your organization. Thank them for their advocacy during the budget negotiations and let them know about how your organization is doing financially and some of the issues that you may be struggling with.
LeadingAge NY has developed Advocacy Action Plan and Issue Breakdown templates to assist you in planning your outreach to legislators; honing your message, and identifying your best “storytellers”. These should make your advocacy efforts a breeze – but your Leading Age New York advocacy team is always here to help assist you in any of your advocacy efforts.
Due to the three-week legislative recess, the Legislative Bulletin will be taking a short hiatus. If anything of importance arises during this time, we will be sure to let you know.
Nurse Staffing Ratios Bill Update
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) brought approximately 200 of their members to the Capitol on Wed. to lobby lawmakers to pass a nurse staffing ratio bill. Members of NYSNA also held a rally outside of the Capitol in an attempt to shore-up support. Unfortunately for NYSNA, the Legislature had adjourned the day before, so lawmakers were no longer in town.
The Nurse Staffing Ratios bill A.8580-A (Gunther) / S.782 (Hannon) currently sits in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Health Committee.
With legislators back in their districts for the next three weeks, now is the perfect time to let them know that you oppose this mandate on nursing homes. Nothing beats a face-to-face meeting in the district to get your message heard! Find the resources you need on our campaign page. Or text RATIOS to 52886 to email, tweet, Facebook message or call your lawmakers.
CCRC Advocacy Day is Around the Corner
LeadingAge NY will be holding a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) Advocacy Day in Albany on May 4th to discuss key issues affecting CCRCs. The advocacy day will focus on meeting with state agency officials, legislative committee chairs and central staff to discuss the LeadingAge NY proposed CCRC revitalization legislation, proposed nurse staffing ratios legislation, and the role of the nurse in Adult Care Facility (ACF) and Assisted Living (AL) settings. Please visit the CCRC Advocacy Day page and register here and further information will be available shortly.
We are also taking our CCRC advocacy efforts across the state. In addition to the leadership meetings on May 4th, we are asking CCRC members to schedule meetings with their Senate and Assembly representatives in their district offices or on their campuses. We have selected the first two weeks in May for the state-wide advocacy visits. You can use our Advocacy Action Plan and Issue Breakdown templates to get you started.
ACF/AL Advocacy Day Coming Up
LeadingAge NY will be holding its annual ACF and AL Advocacy Day in Albany on May 10th. We will be focusing on the role of the nurse in the ACF and the need for an increase to the SSI rate. Make sure to register here.
We have updated our SSI advocacy letters on our website, and we strongly urge everyone to continue to advocate on this issue. Even if you have sent an email, you can still advocate by tweeting and posting on Facebook to your legislators.
April 19th Presidential Primary Dates and Reminders
Please take note of the following deadlines the Board of Elections has outlined:
- April 12th was the last day to postmark an application or letter of application by mail for an absentee ballot.
- April 18th is the last day to apply IN-PERSON for absentee ballot and the ballot must be received by the local board of elections no later than April 26th.
- April 19th is the last day to deliver ballot IN-PERSON to the local board of elections (by someone other than the voter).
Keep in mind you have to be registered with one of the primary parties to vote, and if you need further information in regards to registration, please visit the Board of Elections registration information page here.
Special Election in New York
More than $2.84M has been spent in the April 19th special election to fill the state Senate seat vacated last year by former Majority Leader, Dean Skelos, with the two sides spending almost the same amount, according to the latest disclosure reports submitted to the state Board of Elections.
This is an important special election because it has the potential to sway the balance of majority in the Senate. Being an election year, this only adds to the turbulence.
National Crime Victims’ Rights Week
In honor of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in New York State, community activists, health care providers, law enforcement officials and members of the state Office of Victim Services (OVS) came together in Albany on Mon. afternoon to raise awareness about the mistreatment of seniors.
The press conference was designed to spread information on how to prevent abuse of seniors. Some of the most frequent forms of abuse included, physical, emotional and financial. The event information was posted on the Office of Victim Services website.