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  6. » The Legislature is Back in Town, ACF/AL Advocacy Day Next Week, CCRC Advocacy Success and Continued Advocacy, Priority Legislation Continues to Move and Comptroller's Budget Report

The Legislature is Back in Town, ACF/AL Advocacy Day Next Week, CCRC Advocacy Success and Continued Advocacy, Priority Legislation Continues to Move and Comptroller's Budget Report

The Legislature is Back in Town

Legislators returned to Albany this week after a nearly three-week break to begin the last leg of the Legislative Session. Legislators returned to witness several newly elected members seated in the Assembly and Senate, the sentencing of the ex-Speaker of the Assembly, the passing of a long time senior Senator and announcements of retirement. Hold on because we are bound to see more activity with the sentencing of ex-Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, election politics escalating and less than 20 days left of the session.

On Tues., there was the unfortunate passing of Senator Libous. The Senator succumbed to a seven year battle with cancer. He served 14 terms in the Senate representing the 52nd Senate District.

Also on Tues., the longest-serving member of the Senate, Senator Farley, considered the “father of hospice” announced that he will be retiring from the New York State Legislature. The Senator was a member of the Senate Republican Conference and represented the Senate’s 49th district for 20 terms. The Senator explained that his wife of 57 years has several health issues and that he would like to retire to spend more time with her and the rest of his family.

Ex-Speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver was sentenced to 12 years on Tues. Governor Cuomo stated, “Today’s decision sent a simple message that officials who abuse the public’s trust will be held accountable. Justice was served.” This may finally spark legislators to pass ethics reform legislation in the final 6 weeks of session.

The Assembly Majority welcomes two new members, Alice Cancel and Jaime Williams. Both were victorious in the special election held on April 19th.

Alice Cancel will represent the 65th Assembly District in Lower Manhattan. Assemblymember Cancel has been a fierce advocate for affordable housing and local school districts.

Jaime Williams will represent the 59th Assembly District and is very passionate about her community.

In the Senate, Democrat Todd Kaminsky won the state Senate’s 9th district seat, replacing the ex-GOP Senate Leader Dean Skelos. Kaminsky is a former assemblymember and was endorsed by President Obama as well as his famous uncle, Mel Brooks, who offered robocalls on behalf of his nephew in the waning days of the campaign. This is a big win for Democrats as they head into the Nov. elections because it gives them a one-seat Senate majority. However, due to democratic Senator Simcha Felder conferencing with the Republicans and the five Independent Democratic Conference members forming a coalition with the Republicans. We do not anticipate seeing any change in the control of the Senate until after the outcome of the Nov. general election.

ACF/AL Advocacy Day Next Week

LeadingAge NY is holding its annual Adult Care Facility (ACF) and Assisted Living (AL) Advocacy Day in Albany on May 10th. We will be focusing on the role of the nurse in ACFs and the need for an increase to the SSI rate. Make sure to register here.

We have updated the SSI advocacy letter on our website, and we continue to urge everyone to advocate on this issue. Emails aren’t enough! We need to get this message out on social media. Please multiply our message by tweeting and posting on Facebook as well.

CCRC Advocacy Day, Success and Continued Advocacy

Yesterday, LeadingAge New York held the annual CCRC Advocacy Day to discuss our CCRC revitalization legislation, our opposition to mandatory staffing ratios and the need to allow a nurse to practice within their full scope of practice in adult care facilities. We thank everyone that attended and contributed to making the day a success. Help us build support for our efforts by continuing to set up meetings with your local legislators to advocate. All the resources you need are available here: Local Advocacy Plan. After your meetings, make sure to fill out the feedback form to let us know how your meetings went.

Priority Legislation Continues to Move 
With only 18 legislative session days remaining, lawmakers continued to introduce and debate legislation this week. LeadingAge NY has issued several memoranda this week in regards to important bills on committee agendas. Bills that we submitted memoranda for include:

A.2141 (Gottfried)/S.1049 (Montgomery) – This bill would require a registered nurse to be on staff five days a week at enhanced assisted living or special needs assisted living. The bill was moved to the first report calendar in the Assembly. Leadinage NY opposes this bill because the Department of Health is already required to approve each facility’s plan for the types of residents they serve. Read our full memo of opposition here.

A.2553-A (Benedetto)/S.4542-A (Klein) - This bill would require the New York City planning commission to hold a public community forum prior to approving the location or continued operation of a supportive housing facility or social services center. We are happy to report that the bill was held in committee by the sponsor. LeadingAge NY opposes this legislation because it would add unnecessary steps to an already daunting public approval process for such developments. Read our full memo of opposition here.

If you care about these issues, please share your concerns and the memoranda above to your local legislators.

Nurse Staffing Ratios Bill Advocacy

The A.8580-A (Gunther) Nurse Staffing Ratios bill has been referred to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

There isn’t much time left in session and this is the time for the final push! Please let your lawmakers know that you oppose this irresponsible mandate on nursing homes. If you have taken action already, please take additional action on our campaign by texting RATIOS to 52886 and email, tweet, Facebook message or call your lawmakers today!

Comptroller’s Budget Report

On Wed., the State Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli released his report on this year’s enacted budget. The report states that there was a significant increase in school aid, as well as a multibillion dollar reduction in personal income taxes to be phased in over nearly a decade. Other significant issues included paid family leave and the minimum wage increase.

According to the report, Governor Cuomo’s $15 minimum wage plan will cost the state’s Medicaid program more than $100M over the next two years.

DiNapoli stated, “The state budget approved in April had good news for schools and low-wage workers, but once again it was done behind closed doors and includes a shift of money to public authorities.” Read the full report here.