Legislative Bulletin: New York Budget Negotiations Will Extend Past March 31st Deadline
March 29, 2024
New York Budget Negotiations Will Extend Past March 31st Deadline
New York State’s Fiscal Year runs from April 1st to March 31st, making the Easter holiday the final day of Fiscal Year 2023-24. As March comes to a close and the deadline for the 2024-25 state budget agreement nears, the Legislature and the Governor have decided to extend budget talks into the first week of April and allow legislative staff to enjoy the holiday weekend.
Wednesday evening, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she would propose and approve a budget extender to provide government funding until April 4th. In her announcement, Hochul expressed her optimism that the State was close to a final budget agreement, but recognized that many New Yorkers wished to spend the holiday weekend with loved ones. On Thursday, the Legislature passed the budget extension legislation, and the Governor swiftly signed the bill ensuring existing state funding and operations through early next week.
While officials had expressed interest in avoiding a repeat of last year’s delayed budget, minor disagreements on key issues such as housing, education, and taxes, combined with the Easter holiday weekend, have resulted in another late budget. Despite these difficulties, there is a general commitment among officials to come to a comprehensive budget agreement that addresses the needs and concerns of New Yorkers as soon as possible. Members can read more about this week’s budget work and discussions here.
LeadingAge New York will continue to keep members apprised of state budget developments and advocacy action needed. With budget work ongoing, it is certain that we will need you to use your voice to keep the pressure on policy makers next week. But for now, we are wishing our members a restful weekend! Stay tuned for more next week.
Assembly Passes Additional Nursing Home Survey Posting Requirements
As the State has been working toward a final budget agreement over the last several weeks, the Legislature has simultaneously continued its work on bills, passing and calling many up for debate. Unfortunately, over the last two weeks, two bills which LeadingAge NY opposes have been passed by the Assembly.
First, on March 19th, the Assembly passed bill A.5370 (Paulin)/S.5732 (Skoufis) which would require the Department of Health (DOH) to disclose, within 7 days of its receipt, the aggregate data from HERDS reports submitted during public health emergencies (PHEs) to the entities reporting, government entities, and the public. While LeadingAge NY supports the intent to increase transparency around PHEs and the resources, needs and services of health care providers, the legislation requires clarification and an extended timeline for implementation and publication of data.
Following floor debate from Assembly Member Ed Ra, the bill passed the Assembly and was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. LeadingAge NY memo of concern is available here.
Second, on March 28th the Assembly opted to pass bill A.2188 (Dinowitz)/S.3498 (Sanders) which would require every nursing home facility in the State to prominently post the most recent star ratings for health inspections, staffing, and quality measures pursuant to the inspection rating system of the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Posting would be required on-site and online. LeadingAge NY opposes this bill, as homes are already required to publicly post their overall CMS 5-star ratings, and it would pile on to the bewildering array of posters that are already required to be displayed in nursing homes.
The bill was debated on the floor by Assembly Member Josh Jensen, however, it ultimately was passed with a 99/46 vote. Now, the bill sits in the Senate Health committee and awaits further advancement. Members can click here to vocalize your opposition to additional survey posting requirements!
Send Budget Advocacy Letters to Legislators and the Governor!
As state budget negotiations extend into next week, we need to keep the funding needs of long-term care and aging services providers top-of-mind. Our window of opportunity to urge for better funding of long-term care is closing. Please send a message to your legislators TODAY!
- Nursing Home Budget Letters – several letters available for family members, staff, residents, etc.
- Authorize Nursing Home Medication Aides
- Adult Care Facilities/Assisted Living Budget Letter
- Home & Community-Based Services Budget Letter
- Adult Day Health Care Budget Letter
Share Flyers with Your Network of Advocates!
To help drive traffic to these digital letters and expand our network of advocates, LeadingAge NY has created flyers that can be printed or shared electronically with your workforce, families, and community members. Flyers are linked below for member usage:
- Medication Aides in Nursing Homes Advocacy Flyer – NEW; please share with staff & board members
- Workforce Advocacy Flyer – please share with staff teams
- Family Advocacy Flyer – please share with families
- General Constituent Advocacy Flyer - please share with volunteers/community members
New Social Media Toolkit Now Available!
In response to the one-house budget proposals, LeadingAge New York has launched a new set of social media messages aimed to highlight the need for LeadingAge NY top budget priorities! These messages have been crafted to target the Governor and legislative leaders as they work toward a final budget agreement for SFY 2024-25.
The NEW social media messages, graphics, and instructions for how we recommend members use these tools are available here. The messages themselves are crafted so you can simply copy & paste into your Facebook and attach our recommended graphics/video. If used for Twitter/X, LinkedIn or Instagram, the only things that need to be updated will be the legislators’ social media ‘handles’ (@) – the names should light up in blue when legislators are effectively tagged in the post.
The pre-written social media messages are also crafted to resonate for an audience of family members, residents, consumers and the general public. They are versatile and can easily be re-purposed to enlist your social media following in budget advocacy.
With the use of social media advocacy, we have the power to influence state funding decisions and secure INVESTMENTS in LTC, rather than CUTS. Thank you for your advocacy as we near a final budget agreement!
Please reach out to Sarah Daly at sdaly@leadingageny.org with any questions about press, social media, and advocacy activities.
REGISTER for LeadingAge National Leadership Summit and Lobby Day!
LeadingAge NY members are strongly encouraged to join us in Washington DC from April 15th-17th for LeadingAge National’s 2024 Leadership Summit and Lobby Day! Importantly, the national Lobby Day effort will be held on the final day of the summit, on April 17th, and is your chance to meet face to face with members of Congress and advocate for improved federal funding and policies to support aging services for older adults and our workforce.
You do not need to be a lobbyist or policy wonk to be an advocacy champion. Your on-the-ground expertise is our most valuable asset in advocacy. Together, we can amplify our voice to raise awareness about the most critical issues impacting aging services providers, our employees, and the older adults and families we serve. Click here to register for the Leadership Summit and Lobby Day!
Contact: Sarah Daly; 518.867.8845; sdaly@leadingageny.org