April 5, 2022

Tuesday, 5:00:   There appears to be movement towards a final budget agreement.  Negotiations on some of the major issues that had previously slowed the process (Bail Reform, Kendra’s Law, pay raises for Home Care, etc.) now seem to be ‘unstuck’ with lawmakers making statements about being close to the end of the negotiations process.  That being said (and as the old saying goes), nothing is done until everything is done so we remain vigilant.

Earlier today the Senate released Table Targets – funds that are made available to each of the various joint legislative budget subcommittees such as MH, Education, Workforce, Human Services, Transportation, etc. to spend on projects they want to fund or proposed cuts they want to restore.  But in the end, the legislative committees got very little with most of the funds the parties had previously agreed were available to spend beyond the costs associated with paying for the state’s base budget ($4B) now under the control of the Assembly and Senate leaders.  They will use these funds to pay for various big ticket initiatives prioritized by the Legislature.

Based on the amounts listed below, it’s clear the fate of the COLA and other major NYS Council MH and SUD priorities that cost far more than any one committee can pay for, is in the hands of the Assembly and Senate leaders.

Table Targets:

• Econ Dev – $20 million
• Education – $45 million
• General Gov/Local – $32 million
• Higher Ed – $35 million
• Mental Hygiene – $15 million
• Public Protection – $30 million
• Transportation – $5 million
• Health – $35 million
• Environment/Ag/Housing – $15 million
• Human Services/Labor – $80 million

Decisions as to how these funds were allocated by the various committees will become clear when the budget bills are released.   Stand by for more as we await the rollout of various budget bills.