23 Jun 2023 Legislative session recap

Thursday, June 8, was the last scheduled day of 2023 Legislative Session but both Houses had agreed to extend the session to June 9.  The Senate adjourned on the 9 but the Assembly was unable to finish on June 10 and returned on June 20 and 21 – leaving advocates with the hope that the Assembly would pass priority bills that had already passed the Senate.  Unfortunately, the key bills championed by I/DD and health/Medicaid advocates did not pass the Assembly in the final days before they adjourned.  Both Houses of the Legislature have now adjourned session at the call of their respective leaders, concluding the regular 2023 Legislative Session.

896 bills passed both Houses during the 2023 NYS Legislative Session with more than 600 of them passing in June.  The bills will be sent to the Governor for her signature or veto.  The Governor has until the end of 2023 to act on these bills and ten days after the bill is sent to her from the Senate or Assembly – whichever House first passed the bill.

There were a number of bills that were priorities for the I/DD community.  Unfortunately, none of these bills passed both Houses.  A couple passed the Senate but did not pass the Assembly when they returned to Session last week.   These bills include:

• Direct Support Wage Enhancement(DSWE) bill (S.4127/A.5268) which would have provided a permanent annual funding allocation of $4,000 per eligible employee to be used for the purpose of enhancing the hourly rate of pay for all staff that have direct care/support responsibilities for individuals with I/DD. The Senate Bill – S.4127 – remained in the Finance Committee and the Assembly bill –A.5268 –remained in the Ways & Means Committee.
• Early Intervention 11% Rate Increase –6998 (Paulin)/S.6902 (Rivera), which provides an 11% increase for Early Intervention rates effective 7/1/2024. The Senate Bill – S.6902 – is in the Finance Committee and the Assembly bill –A.6998 – is in the Ways & Means Committee.
• OMIG Reform Bill – 5329-A (Harkham)/A.6813 (Paulin) – passed the Senate but remained in the Assembly Ways & Means Committee
• Human Services COLA – S.1291 (Brouk)/A.4046 (Gunther) – establishes an annual human services COLA and is in Senate Finance and Assembly Social Services Committees.
• Andre’s Law – 900 (Brisport)/A.1166 (Epstein) – Prohibits sending NY Students and adults to any out of state facility or school that uses aversive conditioning or electric shock which are in the Senate Disabilities Committee and the Assembly Children and Families Committee.
• TBI Conflict of Interest – 6221-A (Paulin)/S.6960 (Rivera) – Ensures that the state implements TBI/NHTD Waiver federal conflict of interest requirements in a manner that ensures limited disruption of certain services. The Bill is in the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways & Means Committee.
• FQHC Telehealth Parity – 6733 (Rivera)/ A.7316 (Paulin) – Provides that FQHCs receive the same reimbursement rate for telehealth, regardless of the location of the patient and clinician, as an in-person clinic visit. Passed the Senate but remained in Assembly Rules.

The bills that passed both Houses included issues that received media attention including:

• Clean Slate Act –S.7551-A/A.1029-C would automatically seal criminal convictions after a waiting period. Most felony convictions would be sealed eight years after someone finished their incarceration, so long as their parole and probation are completed and three years for misdemeanor convictions.  Exceptions include Sex crimes won’t be sealed, nor will Class A felonies like murder or arson.
• Slavery Commission – S.1163-A/A.7691would create a nine member NYS Community Commission on Reparations Remedies to study the history of enslaving African people in New York, as well as the role the state, city and federal governments played in keeping freed slaves from going back to their homeland. The commission would then be tasked with recommending remedies to the Legislature, including possible compensation and criteria for determining who is eligible.
• New School Holidays – two bills passed both Houses that would create new school holidays – one bill would make Diwali — the festival of lights, celebrated by Indian and other South Asian cultures — a holiday in New York City. The other bill would make Lunar New Year, important in Chinese and other Asian cultures, a statewide holiday. New York City schools already observe Lunar New Year, but Diwali would be an addition to the schedule, should Hochul sign the bill into law.

CP State will provide a compilation of the status of legislation of interest to the IDD community.  Because 2023 is the first year of the two year Legislative Session (2023-2024), all bills that did not pass both Houses will be returned to the appropriate committee in each House for action in 2024.