November 16, 2024

Below from our fabulous government relations team at Reid, McNally and Savage.  Thank you Marcy! 

RMS End of Week Update 11/15/2024

2024 Election Update  

Republicans Win Government Trifecta in Washington, DC

After Republican victories in California and Arizona this week, it has been confirmed that the Republicans will keep their majority in the US House of Representatives, providing president-elect Donald Trump with a unified Congress and a clear path to pursue his agenda. Associated Press confirmed on Wednesday that after Republican victories in California’s 22^nd District and 41^st District, Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R) won reelection to a U.S. House seat in southeastern Arizona, providing them with the 218 seats needed for the majority to Democrats’ 208 seats. As previously noted in our last update, Republicans clinched the Senate with 53 Republicans, 47 Democrats, and 1 Independent.

See Electoral college votes here from the Associated Press and results to date here from the Associated Press.

New York State Legislature

Both the Senate and the Assembly will remain controlled by the Democratic party in New York but with the Senate losing their veto proof supermajority.  Results can be viewed here from the New York Times, but at this time one race is left uncalled in the Senate and five are uncalled in the Assembly.

Senate

In the Senate, currently 40 seats have gone to the Democrats and 22 to the Republicans. The final undeclared race is in the 50^th Senate district, between Democratic Onondaga County Legislator Chris Ryan and Republican Salina Town Supervisor Nick Paro. Currently, Chris Ryan leads by a narrow margin (48.87% to 48.06%).

Changes in the Senate include Siela Bynoe (D) won the 6^th Senate district seat, replacing Senator Kevin Thomas who vacated his seat, April Baskin (D) won the 63^rd Senate district seat, replacing Senator Tim Kennedy who went to Congress, and Assemblymember Pat Fahy (D) won the 46^th Senate district seat replacing retiring Senator Neil Breslin. Additionally, after a heated race, Senator Iwen Chu (D) lost her 17^th Senate district seat to Republican Steve Chan.

Assembly

In the Assembly, five Assembly Districts (4, 11, 16, 23, 45) of the 150 races remain uncalled. Of the called races, 100 have been called for the Democrats and 45 have been called for the Republicans, providing Assembly Democrats with a supermajority again. Of the five outstanding races, three show a Democrat in the lead by at least a slim margin. We will continue to keep you updated and current results can be viewed here from the New York Times.

See below results for vacated seats grouped by region:

Additional races called since our last update (November 8, 2024):

Uncalled Races:

In Western New York, Democrat Monica Wallace was upset in her bid for fifth term in the State Assembly, losing in New York’s 143^rd District to first-time candidate Patrick Chludzinski. Additionally, on Long Island, Gina Sillitti (D) lost the 16th Assembly District seat to Republican Daniel Norber. 

Governor Hochul Unveils New Congestion Pricing Plan

Yesterday afternoon, Governor Hochul announced the relaunch of congestion pricing in New York City to be implemented in January by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Emphasizing her top priority being affordability, the Governor shared that putting congestion pricing on pause in June was the right path forward for the people of this state as the revised plan will save people money while still funding the MTA and driving down traffic congestion.

The MTA will implement a congestion pricing plan with a $9 toll, $6 less than the original plan, thus saving commuters $1,500 annually. Additionally, low-income New Yorkers will get a 50 percent discount on every toll after the 10th of the month and the toll will be discounted further after 9pm daily. This $9 daytime toll is enough to secure $15 billion in MTA funding and will achieve the goals of congestion pricing – ensuring commuters can rely on trains, providing for the decongestion of clogged streets, and reducing vehicle emissions for clean air. This plan will also prevent those driving in from a transportation desert from being disadvantaged and have many other benefits as detailed below.

She also announced her strong support for the MTA Capital Plan, more details below, that will make the Interborough Express possible to reduce commute times between Brooklyn and Queens by up to 30 minutes. She is pushing MTA to find efficiencies and savings to save taxpayers more money and promised she will continue to do so in the coming years to keep the agency on track. Please see the full press release from the Governor and we will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Governor Hochul Announced 24 Community-Based Home Care Providers Joining The New Statewide Partnership For New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program

This weekGovernor Hochul announced 24 community-based home care providers that will join the new statewide partnership for New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, which provides home care services to New Yorkers. This follows the Governor’s previous announcement of Public Partnerships LLC as the lead partner in New York’s effort to reform CDPAP. The State will continue to announce additional CDPAP partners in the coming weeks. This statewide partnership is expected to begin in January and take full effect by April 1.

“As we protect the long-term sustainability of CDPAP, utilizing the resources and experience of dozens of community-based partners will ensure we deliver the multilingual, culturally sensitive care that New Yorkers need,” Governor Hochul said. “Our statewide network of partners will also help us directly engage home care users, caregivers and stakeholders over the coming months to ensure a smooth, effective transition into a stronger future for CDPAP.”

According to the press release as part of this process, CDPAP eligibility for home care users will not change, and individuals who receive care through the program will not need to reapply. Additionally, this process to strengthen CDPAP will take steps to ensure caregivers continue to receive timely payments and avoid any disruptions in services for those who rely on the program. New York will also continue to offer the broadest and most generous CDPAP program in the nation.

The State Department of Health has conditionally approved the following additional partners for New York’s statewide CDPAP partnership:

• Access Supports for Living, Inc.
• AccessCNY, Inc.
• All Metro Health Care
• BestCare Inc.
• Burd Home Health, LLC
• Community Care Home Health Services
• Committed Home Care, Inc.
• Community Home Care Inc.
• Companion Care of Rochester
• Eagle Eye FV Inc
• ElderCare/At-Home Solutions/Health Care for All
• Hamaspik Homecare
• Heritage Christian Services, Inc.
• Horizon Home Care Services, Inc.
• Ideal Home Health, Inc.
• Independent Health Care Services, Inc
• Jawonio, Inc.
• NY Foundation for Senior Citizens
• People, Inc.
• Personal Touch Home Care of NY Inc
• Quality Family Care LLC
• Quality Touch Inc.
• Special Touch Home Care Services, Inc.
• Technology Professional Group Inc.

The State Department of Health has granted its conditional approval of these partners pending successful resolution of any potential conflicts of interest. These organizations will all work in partnership with PPL to serve CDPAP home care users and caregivers once the statewide partnership takes effect. PPL is in the process of selecting additional partners, all of which will be reviewed by the State Department of Health for approval.

State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “It is our priority to ensure that the CDPAP program continues to thrive and serve New Yorkers in need, and these new partnerships will do just that. I thank Governor Hochul for her dedication to strengthening the CDPAP program to ensure that home care users and their caregivers are supported and that all residents who utilize this program receive high-quality personalized care.”

To view the full press release please click here.

NYS COVID-19 Monitoring Dashboard

Below we have included the link to the State’s Testing Tracker which includes the State’s overall testing status by clicking on the link above you can view the testing results by county. This data is current through November 14, 2024.

Use this link to view the State’s updated COVID-19 Hub.

NYS COVID-19 Fatalities Tracker 

Below we have included the Fatalities Tracker with the webpage where updated numbers can be found throughout the week linked here.

Helpful Links and Resources
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Department of Financial Services information and resources
New York COVID-19 Vaccine Information Page  

Department of Health

https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/home

COVID-19 Guidance for Medicaid Providers

Office of Mental Health

https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/covid-19-resources.html

OPWDD

https://opwdd.ny.gov/coronavirus-guidance

State Education Department

http://www.op.nysed.gov/COVID-19.html

NYS Department of Labor

https://dol.ny.gov/