Consensus on Budget Revenue, Legislature Determining Budget Priorities This Week, Assembly Prioritizes Minimum Wage and Family Leave
Leaders Reach Consensus on Budget Revenue
Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders reached agreement last week on the revenue number for the state’s 2016-17 fiscal year, estimating that there is $225 million more in revenue than originally predicted in the governor’s original executive budget proposal. You can read the full Consensus Economic and Revenue Forecast Report" here.
Reaching an agreement on revenue numbers is a key part in the budget negotiating process, and an indication that the state’s 2016-17 budget will likely be passed by the April 1st deadline.
Legislature Determining Budget Priorities This Week!
With the revenue consensus agreement complete, the Senate and Assembly will be finalizing their budget priorities this week and will pass their one-house budget resolutions next week. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THEY HEAR FROM YOU THIS WEEK! Please take a moment today to reach out to your legislative representatives – those that represent your workplace as well as where you live. Let them know what your priorities are in the upcoming budget. Below are links to all of our key issues. Please call, tweet, post to Facebook or email your lawmakers. Let your friends and family know you’ve advocated and ask them to do the same.
Invest in Senior Housing and Support Services: Ask your lawmakers to invest in affordable housing with support services to provide low-income seniors with access to safe places to live and basic supports in the community. Use this link to send a letter directly to your elected representatives. Also, you can Tweet, Facebook and email your lawmakers by texting HOUSING to 52886.
Ensure Medicaid and MLTC Rate Adequacy: Ask your asking lawmakers to reject the Governor’s proposed $23 million in cuts to Managed Long Term Care (MLTC) plan premiums and allocate an additional $90 million to support payment of MLTC premiums that are aligned with the costs of delivering care. Click here to support our efforts by sending a letter to your elected officials, tweeting them or posting a message on their Facebook page.
Reject Transportation Carve-Outs: Ask your lawmakers to reject the proposed carve-out of transportation services from the MLTC benefit package, from Adult Day Health Care Program rates, and from nursing home rates. Click here to support our efforts by sending a letter to your elected officials, tweeting them or posting a message on their Facebook page.
Invest in Adult Care & Assisted Living Services: Ask your lawmakers to increase the state’s SSI rate for low-income seniors living in ACFs and assisted living settings by at least $15 per day to bring the rate up to an adequate level. You can advocate on this issue by visiting our SSI Increase Advocacy page to send an email, Tweet or Facebook your lawmakers.
Fully Fund Minimum Wage Increase: Ask your lawmakers to fully fund any increase to the minimum wage. Find our campaign here and don’t forget, to Tweet, Facebook and email your lawmakers by texting MINIMUM WAGE to 52886.
Action Needed on E-Prescribing Bill: Please help us educate lawmakers about the challenges of e-prescribing in the nursing home setting by visiting our campaign, to email, Tweet and Facebook your lawmakers on this issue.
Majority Leader, Senator Flanagan States Priorities
Senator Flanagan outlined some of his conference’s priorities in this year’s budget, which include a permanent tax cap and spending cap and broad-based tax cuts. The senator did not list the minimum wage proposal among the priorities but when asked by reporters, he said Republicans are still gathering information on the costs and details of raising the minimum wage to $15.
Republicans who control the Senate have complained that Cuomo did not include a funding stream for his minimum wage proposal in his budget, resulting in businesses and non-profits having to bear the cost of a wage hike.
Assembly Prioritizes Minimum Wage and Family Leave
With budget negotiations slated to begin in the upcoming weeks, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Tues., that a minimum wage increase and a paid family leave program should be included in the state’s budget. He went on to say that he does not want the proposed $15 minimum wage to be done outside of the budget because he feels it needs to be funded.
NY State Businesses Endorse Raising Minimum Wage: The Governor announced on Wed. that eighty-eight New York State businesses have endorsed his proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The companies include both big and small businesses from the North Country to New York City. The full press release and list of the businesses can be found here.
State Senator John A. DeFrancisco (R-I-C, Syracuse) held his own press conference on Tuesday to express concern over the governor’s proposed minimum wage increase. DeFrancisco was joined by business owners, farmers, the not-for-profit sector, food service, and from the healthcare and long-term care providers throughout Central New York.
Senator DeFrancisco said “Many of my constituents have called my office and met with me on several occasions to express their concern that a $15/hour minimum wage could force them to lay off workers, raise consumer prices, or even close their doors for good. I am standing by my principals and standing with my constituents, who are telling me that this will hurt them and their employees badly.”
Governor Advocates for Paid Family Leave Proposal
Governor Cuomo pushed his paid family leave proposal last week, publishing a guest editorial in newspapers in Buffalo and on Long Island, and announcing that AARP has endorsed his proposal.
The state’s business community has expressed concerns about the Governor’s proposal, which has been described as “the most expansive and least business-friendly Paid Family Leave law in the country.”