February 9, 2022

Good afternoon,

1) Earlier today OASAS held a Budget Briefing for advocates representing OASAS stakeholder groups.  Attached please find our notes from the Briefing which includes a brief discussion of several State of the State proposals/initiatives that are moving forward.

2) As you know, Governor Hochul held a briefing this morning.  She announced changes to state mask requirements. (See our summary from our government relations consultants at R,M,S.)  After the announcement we spoke with the Governor’s Office who told us mask requirements will remain in place for DOH regulated facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, D&TCs, similar to the vaccine mandate for these and related entities.   We are now checking with the O agencies to ascertain the rules of the road for OASAS and OMH regulated Programs and Services.  

Stand by.