Legislative Bulletin: Preparing for Final Four Weeks of Budget
February 28, 2020
The New York State Budget Process establishes a budget that will fund the state from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021. Right now, we are in the thick of legislative action on the state budget, and over the next 4 weeks a complete SFY 2020-2021 budget will be finalized.
Call to Action: Send Budget Letters to Lawmakers Today!
This is a crucial moment in budget advocacy, and we need LeadingAge NY members, board members and our allies to send letters to their state lawmakers on our key budget priorities! Unfortunately, while we have had some people send letters, not many letters have been sent to the Democratic Majority of either House. With the state of politics in NY as it is, we need all lawmakers, especially Democrats, to hear our budget concerns. We need to create a ground swell of support for the following budget requests.
Please use each of the links below to send your lawmakers letters now!
- Budget Letter on Medicaid Cuts
- Budget Letter on Workforce
- Budget Letter on Affordable Senior Housing Resident Assistants
- Budget Letter on Prevailing Wage
Once you have sent your letters, please share these links with your colleagues and board members and ask that they do the same. If enough letters are sent, we may see our proposals and amendments included in one-house budgets!
Where We Are in the 2020 State Budget Process
The New York State Budget Process establishes a budget that will fund the state from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021. Right now, we are in the thick of legislative action on the state budget, and over the next 4 weeks a complete SFY 2020-2021 budget will be finalized.
This week, the Senate and Assembly each published their Economic Revenue reports. The Joint Revenue Consensus Report, which is an agreement between the legislature and the governor, is the next step in the state budget process and is expected by midnight Sunday, March 1st. If no consensus is reached, as was the case last year, the Comptroller is required to issue a binding forecast by Thursday, March 5th.
The consensus will inform the legislature of the final dollar amounts that they can use in their one-house budgets to restore any proposed cuts. Although we have not yet heard from the legislature on their agreed upon schedule for Budget consideration, we are anticipating that the one-house budgets will be finalized in the second week of March.
What all of this means is that the entire month of March will be crucial for budget advocacy. There is a lot to be determined in the state budget negotiations, but one thing we know is that we need our LeadingAge membership to actively reach out to their lawmakers, bringing attention to our key issues and concerns.
Members are encouraged to visit our Advocacy Action Page to send letters to lawmakers with just a few clicks. We also encourage you to use our budget issue briefs on the Advocacy Day page to inform phone calls and meetings with elected officials. Anything you can do in these final weeks of budget negotiations will help “move the needle” in the favor of long-term care providers. Thank you for your advocacy!
Final Countdown to Advocacy Day
Tuesday, March 3rd, will be a day of grassroots advocacy focusing on housing, ACF/AL, and aging services and we need your help to send a strong message to the state legislature!
If you have not already done so, register now for our March 3rd Advocacy Day! You can click here to find your legislators. While it may be too late to schedule a meeting with lawmakers, you will likely be able to join already scheduled meetings or catch your legislators “off-the-floor” outside of the Senate or Assembly Chambers.
For those already planning to attend Advocacy Day who were not able to join us for our Advocacy Day Prep call, a full audio recording of the call is available here. Meeting Materials for the day are linked here and parking information, directions, etc. can be found here.
MRT II Re-Opens Portal for Proposal Submissions
The Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT II) announced this afternoon that it will re-open the MRT II Online Public Submission Portal at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 2nd. The Team indicated in a press release that the final deadline for submission is now 11 a.m., Wednesday March 4th.
LeadingAge NY has already submitted a slew of recommendations that would support long term care providers and at the same time provide Medicaid savings and efficiencies. LeadingAge NY members are encouraged to submit any proposals of their own by using the Medicaid Redesign Public Proposal Intake Form.
In addition, the MRT announced earlier this week that they would hold a second Public Comment Forum in New York City on Monday morning. The forum will begin at 11 a.m. and once again be held at the John E. Reeves Great Hall, FIT, 218 West 28th Street New York City, NY 10001. Registration begins at 10 a.m.
Although they have yet to announce a second or third MRT II meeting, the MRT II homepage is being updated regularly. LeadingAge NY is watching for further announcements from the MRT II and will share updates as they become available.
Join Us in Washington D.C. for LeadingAge Leadership Summit and Lobby Day!
Please consider joining us for the LeadingAge Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. April 20 – 22! The daily demands of the aging services field leave little time for providers to step back and think about the larger philosophical questions about our work, and our field. With the Leadership Summit, LeadingAge has designed an event for forward-thinking leaders to connect, engage in dialogue, and deepen their knowledge about the future—how we can shape it, and the paths to get there together.
Importantly, the Leadership Summit is designed to go hand-in-hand with the LeadingAge Lobby Day in D.C. on April 22nd. This year’s lobby day offers the opportunity for New York providers to speak about the federal issues that are impacting their work.
We need LeadingAge NY members to help advance key workforce recruitment and retention initiatives, increase funding for affordable housing programs, reduce the regulatory burden on nursing home providers, and bolster efforts to improve access to housing, care, and services for older adults. And best of all, lobby day meetings are organized by LeadingAge National so members can focus on their travel and simply show up for a great day of advocacy! Click here to register today!
Contact: Ami Schnauber; 518.867.8854; aschnauber@leadingageny.org
Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org