March 28, 2024

Governor Hochul Extends Budget Deadline

Governor Hochul issued bills to the legislature yesterday to extend the budget deadline until April 4, with the recognition that, “…many New Yorkers would like to spend the holiday weekend with family and loved ones.” This will allow state operations to continue while the Enacted Budget is negotiated and complete. The Governors announcement can be found here.

As we know, the New York State Senate and Assembly adopted their one-house budget resolutions in response to the 2024-2025 Executive Budget and now those final details are being discussed. More information on the contents of those bills can found in the March 18 update.

To fully meet the complex needs of New Yorkers with I/DD and reverse more than a decade of disinvestment, state leaders must include the Direct Support Wage Enhancement and a true 3.2% COLA investment in the final budget.

Now is a critical time raise our voices! Together, we have the power to drive meaningful change. Let’s seize this opportunity and ensure that the voice of New York’s I/DD community is heard loud and clear.

The Rally is On!

The news of the extended budget deadline means our upcoming rally next Wednesday could not be at a better time!

We will join with our NYDA partners again to rally in The Well of the Legislative Office Building (LOB) on Wednesday, April 3 at 11:00 AM. If you joined us last year, you know this is a larger space to fill than the War Room, so we want to get as many people there as possible. Share this flyer widely with your stakeholders, which includes registration link, and register now!

Call your Legislators!

At this point in the process, direct calls are the most impactful, so make the calls and make that impact! Call your legislators over the next two weeks, particularly the Senate and Assembly majorities.

Call their Albany office from Monday to Wednesday and ask to speak to them directly about a time sensitive issue in the budget. If they are unavailable, ask to be added to the members’ “call list.” Thursday to Friday, call their District Office with the same message. You can find your legislators contact information here. To find their District Office number, click the link to their website and select the ‘contact’ tab. 

Through our partnership with New York Disability Advocates (NYDA), we have assembled comprehensive talking points and a call script to aid your communications with your legislators. As always, please visit our budget advocacy toolkit for important resources as you speak to your lawmakers. 

Send a Letter!

Nearly 1,500 advocates have participated in our latest letter writing campaign. That’s great, but we can do better! Let’s double this number by the rally on April 3 so we can be sure that every legislator and legislative leader knows exactly what we need them to do. If you have sent a letter, you can send it again. After that, be sure to share it on your own social media feed!

In the News

This week, New York Disability Advocates (NYDA) joined 12 other NYS member associations representing more than 1,000 community-based human services organizations, in signing on to an Empire Report op-ed echoing our need for a true COLA that supports the people we serve. 

Newsday ran an op-ed by Walter Stockton, president and chief executive of the Kinexion, joining us in the call for a true 3.2% COLA and Direct Support Wage Enhancement.

Katy Neas, the new CEO of The Arc US, was featured on an NBC News segment for Developmental Disabilities Awareness month, enhancing understanding of developmental disabilities and encouraging support, individualized expectations, and inclusion for people with I/DD.