The way the process works in Albany is the Governor introduces her budget on the third Tuesday in January. The Legislatures holds hearings and analyzes the budget. They then come out with their one house bills which came out last night. It is at this point that the Legislature and the Governor negotiate the final budget that is due on April 1.
The One House Bills are very important in that it shows the priorities of the Legislature. Often times during negotiations, we don’t always get the high end of the ask but it does signal a priority area.
Our major focus for the last decade is on the Targeted Inflationary Increase (TII), formerly the COLA. Minimally, every year we want to make sure we keep up with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This year the CPI is 2.7%. The Governor’s Executive Budget included 1.7%. Both the Senate and Assembly have proposed making the TII total 4%. This is higher than the 2.7% CPI, and it is welcome news. However, this is still subject to negotiation. Usually we do not get everything that is in the one house bills, but it will help frame our advocacy through the rest of the budget.
It is important to note that we very much favor the Governor’s budget language which gives flexibility to providers to support their workforce but also defray the cost of running an agency such as health insurance, increased utility, gas and oil cost.
The Senate language utilizes 2.7% for the Governor’s language, and the other 1.3% would be just for non-executive workforce funding. The Senate also expands the not-for-profit entities that are eligible for the increase. The Assembly language provides 1.7% for the Governor’s language and the other 2.3% specifically for the non-executive workforce.
It gets confusing but our messaging going forward for tomorrow and the rest of the session is thanking the Legislature for proposing adding to the TII to make it 4% , but we urge them to support the Governor’s flexible budget language. It is an important distinction that we will make tomorrow for our Mental Health Matters Day.
Other significant pieces in the One House bills include:
- $15 Million for Daniel’s Law Pilot Project (NYS Senate)
- Rejected the Governor’s Proposal to eliminate Adult Home Advocacy as well as quality of life funding for adult home residents
- Both the Senate and Assembly kept in place funding for Teen and Youth Mental Health First Aid and for funding for the First Responder Behavioral Health Centers of Excellence
- Neither side included the Medicaid Carve Out championed by many advocacy groups in the behavioral health community. The Senate resolution urges DOH to explore a possible carve out for outpatient mental health services.
