April 9, 2026

State Budget Deadline Extended Another Week

On April 7, the NYS Legislature introduced and Governor Hochul signed a second Emergency Appropriation bill that would extend the budget deadline and fund government operation through April 14th. Other than voting for the extension, the legislature remains out of town and not conducting other business. There is no indication that anything has been firmly decided and everything remains on the table. Even though it is quiet in Albany, we must remain diligent with our advocacy.

It's important for us to keep our budget asks top-of-mind as negotiations continue!

Our message to the Governor and Legislature is to include the full 4% TII in the Enacted Budget, with no less than 2.7% available for providers to invest in the full spectrum of care costs. A 4% increase will cover inflation over the past year AND continue the progress New York has made to strengthen our system of care. Check out our updated info sheet to learn more.

There has never been a more critical time to keep the pressure up and have our voices heard! Please take a moment to send a letter to the governor and the legislature asking for inclusion of the 4% TII!

In the News: Capitol Pressroom Interview and Syracuse Op-Ed on NYS Budget

This week, The Capitol Pressroom explored how the governor's budget proposal might impact New Yorkers with disabilities with Michael Seereiter, president and CEO of the New York Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation. In the interview, Seereiter provided context for our budget requests, and emphasized the need for continued advocacy. Give it a listen and share! You can view the transcript here.

Further West, our very own Ellen Gutmaker, CEO of Arc of Onondaga, and Paul Joslyn, CEO of AccessCNY and a board member of New York Disability Advocates (NYDA), provided a poignant op-ed focused on the need to support our workforce and providers through the 4% TII. In the article, they clearly relayed the realities faced by frontline staff every day and stressed their role as essential to the lives of people with disabilities. You can read their message on syracuse.com, or view the PDF here.

Careforce Housing Affordability Package Makes Progress

Our overall budget package included legislation focused on creating housing opportunities and lowering costs for the direct care workforce. The three bills we introduced are now making their way through committees!

These housing affordability initiatives would provide low-income housing preference, employer-assisted housing grants, down payment assistance, and interest rate reductions for direct care staff. You can read the full bills here:

• S8672/A10457 - Employer-assisted housing matching grant act
• S8675/10449 - Careforce first-time homebuyers act
• S8676/10445 - Care workforce housing preference act

To support this advocacy, The Arc New York, NYDA, and its partner organizations are providing memos of support to the various committee Chairs, members, and sponsors. Read The Arc New York’s memos of support for S8672, S8675, and S8676.

New Resource: Voter Engagement Toolkit for Chapters

The Arc of the United States introduced their 2026 voting toolkit packed with resources to support our voter engagement efforts. It includes fact sheets, social media assets, tips for helping voters access and navigate voting, a video on election season rules for 501(c)(3) organizations, and more. Whether your chapter is planning a full voter engagement effort or just needs ready-to-use tools, this is a strong place to start.

An easy tool to share right now is The Arc’s Election Center landing page. People can register to vote, check their registration status, find voter information, find elected officials and candidate information. The Arc will send those who register a reminder to make a vote plan and vote on election day.

The Arc’s voter webpage contains actionable and educational options including links to the Election Center, a pledge to vote, a way for people to share their voting stories, and several plain language voter resources, including:

• Why Voting Matters to People with Disabilities
• How to Get Informed & Make a Plan to Vote
• Voting Rights for People with Disabilities Who Have a Guardian
• How In-Person Voting Works
• What to Do if Your Voting Rights Are Denied
• Questions To Ask People Running for Office
• For Families and Supporters: Tips for Helping Someone with a Disability Vote
• We will continue to draw from the toolkit throughout the coming months as we seek to engage our advocates during this important election year.

Explore the full toolkit here.

Take Action Now to Protect your Voting Rights!

Voting is a basic right. But for many people with disabilities, voting is not easy. Inaccessible polling places, transportation barriers, and strict ID requirements are all real obstacles that keep eligible voters from voting.

 And right now, things are getting worse:

• Congress is debating the SAVE America Act, a bill that would add new barriers to voter registration and make mail-in voting harder.
• On March 31, the President signed an executive order that could block the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to millions of eligible voters. Learn more here.

For people with disabilities, that's a big deal. More than half of voters with disabilities cast their ballot by mail in 2020, and that right needs to be protected. People with disabilities have every right to register, vote, and receive the help they need to do so.

Send a letter now telling Congress to protect voting rights for people with disabilities!

This and all advocacy updates are archived on The Arc New York website for future reference. Please contact us if you have questions regarding any of this information.