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Legislative Bulletin: CCRC Advocacy Day Recap

CCRC Advocacy Day Recap

Thank you to all those who participated in LeadingAge NY’s Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) Advocacy Day on Tuesday! Attendees stormed the Capitol to drum up support for the CCRC Revitalization Act, a bill that would eliminate many of the barriers to developing and efficiently operating CCRCs, as well as legislation that would exempt CCRCs from DFS’s burdensome cybersecurity regulations. Lawmakers were also encouraged to support legislation that would allow adult care facility (ACF) and assisted living providers that employ nurses the option to provide nursing services directly and reject the “Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act,” which would create specific staffing ratios for nurses and other direct care staff in hospitals and nursing homes at a cost of approximately $1.06 billion to nursing homes statewide. Help us continue the momentum from Tuesday by engaging your legislators on these initiatives via email, Facebook, and Twitter and setting up additional meetings back in the district!

Additional resources that we encourage you to share with your lawmakers are linked below:

With Just 18 Session Days Left, Help Build Support for Other Key Priorities

As the end of session rapidly approaches, LeadingAge NY continues to push a number of other legislative priorities and asks that you keep encouraging your lawmakers to sign on:

  • Hospice in the ALP (As of this week, there are four Assembly co-sponsors (Arroyo, Errigo, Hyndman, and Walsh) and eight multi-sponsors (Abbate, Barron, Dickens, Jones, Magee, McDonald, Rivera, and Taylor). There are still no Senate co-sponsors.)
  • SSI Increase for ACFs (As of this week, there are 20 Assembly co-sponsors (Arroyo, Aubry, Blake, Bronson, Colton, D’Urso, Glick, Gunther, Jaffee, Joyner, Lupardo, Magnarelli, McDonald, Niou, Pichardo, Rozic, Seawright, Skoufis, Taylor, and Woerner) and three multi-sponsors (Magee, Simon, and Thiele). There are still only four Senate co-sponsors: Hannon, Helming, Savino, and Valesky.)
  • Affordable Independent Senior Housing Assistance Program (There are still only five Assembly co-sponsors (Barron, Colton, Jaffee, Rozic, and Taylor) and one multi-sponsor (McDonough). There is only one Senate co-sponsor: Funke.)

Action Alert: Call Congress to Voice Your Support for Affordable Senior Housing

On Tuesday, LeadingAge NY and LeadingAge National participated in the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) “Our Homes, Our Voices” Call Congress Day in support of additional program funding for affordable senior housing. Lawmakers are currently debating how much they are going to spend on housing programs next year, and with the Trump administration proposing a 22 percent cut to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) budget, members are encouraged to keep up the calls! It is imperative that Congress know that any cuts to funding would be harmful to those who rely on HUD-assisted senior housing.

LeadingAge National has provided the following sample script for your use:

As your constituent, I am asking you to support more funding for affordable senior housing.

The need for affordable housing to seniors with low incomes far exceeds the supply of such housing. Only 1 in every 3 eligible older adults receives housing assistance, and affordable housing communities for seniors have long waiting lists. Homelessness among seniors is also increasing.

I am asking you to protect affordable housing and reject the 22 percent HUD budget cut sought by the Administration. HUD provides affordable housing to about 1.5 million senior households. The HUD budget request would underfund every HUD housing program. Congress must ensure these homes are preserved.

Also, please oppose any proposal to raise rents for residents of HUD-assisted housing. Congress should not raise rents of the poorest households, including seniors.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Resigns Following Abuse Allegations

On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman stepped down in the wake of allegations that he physically assaulted at least four women. The incidents were first reported in The New Yorker on Monday night and prompted widespread condemnation from leaders on both sides of the aisle.

Following Schneiderman’s resignation, it was announced that Solicitor General Barbara Underwood would take over as acting attorney general, becoming the first woman to hold the post. She will serve in that role until lawmakers appoint a replacement to fill out the last eight months of Schneiderman’s term. On Thursday, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced that the Legislature would be accepting applications to fill the vacancy, with a “bipartisan, bicameral committee” scheduled to “review applicants’ resumes and conduct public interviews” this coming Tuesday. Though the majority and minority conferences of both houses were invited to participate in the process, Senate Republicans have indicated that they will not be involved.

Assemblyman Oaks Announces Retirement

Last Friday, Assemblyman Bob Oaks announced that he will not run for re-election in November, citing a desire to spend more time with his family and his belief that “it is time for someone younger to challenge the status quo and stand up for small businesses and small communities.” The Assemblyman, a Republican, was first elected in 1992.

Join LeadingAge NY at Our Upcoming Annual Conference & Exposition!

Finally, if you have not already, there is still time to register for LeadingAge NY’s upcoming Annual Conference & Exposition! The conference, to be held at the Saratoga Hilton and Saratoga Springs City Center from Tues., May 22nd to Thurs., May 24th, will feature a number of engaging and informative sessions for professionals of all service lines. On the advocacy front, Dan Heim, LeadingAge NY’s Executive Vice President, and Ami Schnauber, our Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy, will be presenting a session on Thursday afternoon on the important legislative and budget issues currently facing members. Ami will also be giving a presentation that morning with Paul Larrabee, Executive Vice President and Managing Director at Corning Place Communications, on how members can leverage social media to bolster their marketing and advocacy efforts. We hope to see you at these sessions and at the LeadingAge NY advocacy booth outside the entrance to the Exposition Hall!

To register for the conference, please click here.

Contacts:

Ami Schnauber, aschnauber@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8854

Jeff Diamond, jdiamond@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8821