Legislative Bulletin: Governor Releases 30-Day Amendments
February 18, 2022
ACTION ALERT: Send Your Lawmakers LTC Budget Letters TODAY!
Now that our 2022 grassroots advocacy efforts are well underway, it is time to reenforce our message and priorities to legislators via email letter writing. Digital advocacy letters are an easy way to engage in budget advocacy and ensure that your lawmakers understand your top SFY 2022-23 budget priorities.
LeadingAge NY released the below budget advocacy letters last week, and so far, we have had only 50 advocates contact lawmakers via these links. However, because some of those advocates used more than one letter - and because each letter sent automatically goes to an individual’s Senator, Assembly Member, and the Governor with just a few clicks - those 50 advocates have successfully sent a total of 264 letters. While these numbers indicate a decent advocacy reach, we know our network can do much more!
This is a critical time for legislators to hear from you! Please use the links below to send messages to your legislators and the Governor TODAY!
Invest in High Quality Nursing Home Care in This Year’s Budget
Invest in ACF/AL Providers and Workforce in This Year’s Budget
Provide Adequate Reimbursement and Investment to HCBS
Ensure Access to Safe and Affordable Senior Housing in this Year’s Budget
Oppose Competitive Procurement of Medicaid MLTC Plans
Support Adult Day Health Care in This Year’s Budget
Our LeadingAge NY network of advocates has a broad and powerful reach, and it is critical that we engage with as many lawmakers as possible at this critical early stage of the budget process. After you send your letters, we strongly encourage members to share these links with colleagues and members of your board. This is a simple way to strengthen our collective message to the Legislature.
As a reminder, members of the Legislature are currently finalizing their own proposals and priorities that they then will communicate to legislative leadership for inclusion in one-house budgets. The one-house budgets are an important piece of the overall state budget process; in order to have a budget ask included in the final enacted budget, it must be included in the Senate one-house, the Assembly one-house or the Executive Budget Proposal.
Governor Releases 30-Day Amendments
Late last night, budget legislation containing 30-day amendments to the Executive Budget were published. While the vast majority of the amendments are technical in nature, a brief summary of the substantive modifications to the Executive’s proposed Budget as it relates to LeadingAge NY membership is provided below.
The 30-Day Amendments:
- Propose to make the 1 percent Medicaid payment increase permanent. The original proposal would have required an extension after two years.
- Propose to remove ACFs from entities that are eligible to participate in the Vital Access Provider Assurance Program (VAPAP). The original proposal would have added ACFs as well as residential health care facilities to entities eligible to apply for VAPAP funding. VAPAP is a Medicaid program, while ACFs other than Assisted Living Programs (ALPS) are non-Medicaid providers.
- Proposes to increase the Healthcare Worker Bonus appropriations to reflect an increase in the income eligibility ceiling from $100,000 to $125,000.
- Proposes to include additional employers and programs funded by the office for the aging as qualified employers for the Healthcare Worker Bonus program. However, the Amendments do not include ACFs in the bonus program, nor does it expand the employee definition to include workers such as dining or housekeeping.
- Modify the proposal relating to accessory dwelling units (ADUs) by omitting the requirement for localities statewide to allow ADUs, instead focusing on protections for tenants of pre-existing ADUs for which owners seek legalization.
- Omit a proposal to encourage residential densification near public transportation access points by barring localities statewide from taking action that would prohibit the development of multifamily housing on any land within 60 miles of New York City or within a half mile of a designated transportation hub if residential development is already allowed for that property.
Now that the 30-day amendments have been released, each chamber of the Legislature is expected to accelerate their work on their one-house budget proposals. One-house budgets are expected to be finalized by mid-March. A Final State Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget, agreed upon by the Senate, Assembly, and the Governor, will be due before April 1, 2022. For those interested, the 30-day amendment legislation is posted on the Department of Budget website here.
Continue Your Grassroots Advocacy Work as Lawmakers Return to the District
State lawmakers completed their legislative session work for the week on Thursday, marking the beginning of a week-long recess from the 2022 Legislative Session. Both the Assembly and the Senate are expected to return to Albany to resume legislative work on Monday, Feb. 28th.
While next week will be a break from standard legislative floor work and committee activities, budget discussions are expected to continue. We are hearing that next week we are likely to learn which lawmakers will be sitting on budget-related sub-committees. Additionally, having lawmakers back in the district without session-related obligations means that there may be opportunities and more time available for LeadingAge NY members to connect with legislators on the local level.
As many venues have moved into a new phase of re-opening and lowering covid-related restrictions, there are some lawmakers that have returned to hosting or attending in-person events. Whether it be via an in-person event or simply by placing a phone call to your legislators’ district offices, we strongly encourage members to connect with lawmakers during next week’s recess, express the challenges your organizations are facing, and relay our top 2022 Budget Priorities. Members can easily look up your legislators’ contact information here.
Thank You for Participating in 2022 Advocacy Days!
Over the course of just eight business days, LeadingAge NY and our member providers have organized and participated in almost 50 meetings with state lawmakers and legislative staff in coordination for our 2022 Advocacy Days! Within the 50 virtual meetings we were able to track, our network of provider advocates and allies has connected with over 70 state lawmakers, communicating our top budget priorities and concerns. Key legislative offices we’ve spoken with include Assembly Health Chair Gottfried, Senate Health Chair Rivera, Senate Finance Chair Krueger, Assembly Ways and Means Chair Weinstein, Assembly Insurance Chair Cahill, as well as Senate and Assembly central staff.
THANK YOU to our LeadingAge NY membership who have helped to organize and participate in these meetings; and thank you for sharing your experiences and concerns with lawmakers. We have seen how impactful your stories are with these offices, and having you be a part of this early component of budget advocacy is so critical. Thank you for taking the time to participate in meetings amidst everything you are doing for the people in your care.
Tell Us Who You Are Meeting With!
LeadingAge New York knows that many of our members are strong advocates within their regions. We greatly appreciate your diligent advocacy work to ensure that lawmakers understand the significant workforce and financial challenges long-term care providers are experiencing as you try to provide the best quality of care and quality of life possible to residents and older adults.
If you have been meeting with lawmakers this year, or have meetings scheduled for February/March, please take a moment to tell us who you are meeting with! Understanding our membership’s advocacy activities is critical to ensure that our budget message is aligned and reaching everyone that it needs to. It also ensures that our advocacy is effective and efficient, allowing us to properly follow up with lawmaker offices to re-enforce the message we are aiming to convey to the Legislature. Follow-up is a key component of grassroots advocacy so please be sure to let Sarah Daly (sdaly@leadingageny.org) know who you are meeting and speaking with! Members can also opt to use our Advocacy Engagement Form to update us on your activities.
If you have not yet connected with state lawmakers on your top budget priorities, there is still time to do so! You can easily find your lawmakers’ contact information here and ask to set up time for a 15 minute phone call or virtual meeting. Additionally, members can use our LeadingAge NY Budget Issue Briefs to inform your conversations and share with lawmakers as a “leave-behind” material. Of course, in addition to meetings, members are strongly encouraged to use the budget advocacy letters linked above.
LeadingAge & LeadingAge New York Coronavirus Resources
LeadingAge NY continues to closely follow all COVID-19 news and we are doing our best to keep members informed of updates, recommendations and guidelines from the Department of Health (DOH).
LeadingAge NY and LeadingAge National Member resources are linked below.
LeadingAge NY Coronavirus Resources
LeadingAge NY COVID-19 Weekly Update calls – Mondays at 11 a.m. Click here to join the call from your computer, android or apple device. Or you can join the call by dialing in: 877 853 5257 (Toll Free); Webinar ID: 852 964 255.
*Please note: Next week’s COVID-19 Update call will be held on Tues., Feb. 22nd at 11 a.m. in observation of President's Day. All information for joining remains the same.
LeadingAge National Coronavirus Resources Page
COVID-19 Group in the MyLeadingAge Member Community
LeadingAge National Coronavirus Policy Updates – Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. Past call recordings are available here and you can register here for future calls.
*Please Note: LeadingAge National will not be holding a Coronavirus Policy Update on Mon., Feb. 21st in observation of President's Day.
Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org