On Monday May 2nd, over 40 members of the New York State Chiropractic Association participated with the New York Chiropractic Council through the Joint Legislative Task Force in Chiropractic Lobby Day. We were also joined by representatives from New York’s two Chiropractic colleges, and we converged on Albany to support our legislative agenda and educate lawmakers regarding issues affecting the profession in our state.
The New York State Budget was finalized today, a month after its April 1 due date. The Governor announced that she had reached the framework of the budget deal with the Senate and Assembly late in the day on April 27. Thile the framework was announced, we did not see the final budget bills until last night and today. Now that the bills are available, the Senate and Assembly are in the process of passing them. We anticipate that the final votes will be taken at some point tomorrow.
The 2023 legislative session began on January 9, 2023, and the legislative committee has been hard at work on the legislative priorities for NYSCA. As a reminder, all legislation in New York operates on a two-year cycle. At the end of the two-years, all bills must be reintroduced again in the new cycle. This year marks the start of a new cycle, so our priority bills will have new bill numbers.
Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her second State Budget address this afternoon. The Governor began the address by noting that the general economic outlook is far less rosy than it was last year. Nonetheless, the Governor presented an optimistic vison of the State’s finances and progress for the upcoming year, as New York expects to end its current fiscal year with an $8.7 billion surplus as the result of increased tax collections throughout the prior fiscal year. For Fiscal Year 2024, the Governor is proposing a $227 billion budget, which represents a 2.4% increase over the prior year budget.
Today, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her second State of the State address. While this was her second address, it was her first address as the elected Governor. During her address, Governor Hochul laid out her vision for leading New York State. The Governor set an optimistic and hopeful tone for the future of the State but noted that there was much to be done to reach that future. The Governor pledged a collaborative approach, aiming to work with the Legislature, municipalities, and businesses across New York for the people of New York State.
On May 25, 2022 we announced that our coalition conservative care bill (opioid bill), A273 sponsored by Assemblymember Gottfried and S4640 sponsored by Senator Rivera, had passed both the Assembly and the Senate.
We would like to take a moment to express our extreme gratitude to our lobbyist, Amy Kellogg, for her efforts in advancing and ultimately achieving passage of the Opioid Bill (A273/S4640) into law.
Last night, we sent an update that gave a general overview of the key takeaways from Election Day. We wanted to send another update that provides more granular detail on where we stand in the light of day. We want to note that there are still a number of races that are too close to call in the State Legislature, but there are additional key takeaways. We also wanted to note that Republican Gubernatorial candidate Representative Lee Zeldin has officially conceded the race to Governor Kathy Hochul.
Today was Election Day in New York and across the country. As it is an even numbered year, all statewide offices, seats in the New York State Senate and Assembly, U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Schumer’s senate seat and a variety of local races were on the ballot. There was also one ballot initiative for voters to decide on. This was the first election cycle for statewide candidates since New York adopted early voting. More than 1.1 million New Yorkers voted early, and thousands more cast absentee ballots. While we know the results of the early and election day votes, the absentee ballots will continue to be counted as they arrive at county boards of election throughout the state. The counting of the absentee ballots means that the results from many races will not be finalized for days, and perhaps weeks, to come. However, there are still many decisive results from today’s election.
Election Day is right around the corner. The General Election will happen on Tuesday, November 8. Friday, October 14 is the deadline to register to vote in New York. Absentee ballots must be requested by October 24, and early voting will run from Saturday, October 29 to Sunday, November 6.
Scope modernization remains our main legislative priority. The scope bill numbers are A4358 and S1319. The Assembly bill is sponsored by Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell and the Senate bill is sponsored by Senator James Gaughran. Both our sponsors understand the need for scope modernization and for doctors of chiropractic to practice to the full extent of our education and training. While the scope bill did not see movement during this session, we had many conversations about the need for this legislation and have developed next steps to get this legislation advanced. We also wanted to note that for the next legislative session, we will have a new Senate sponsor as our current sponsor, Senator Gaughran, did not seek reelection to the Senate. We want to thank you him for his support of the profession over his tenure as a Senator, and we wish him the best in his next endeavor.
The 2022 legislative session recently concluded, so we wanted to send an update on specific issues of importance. While the session began remote and concluded in person, the final numbers show that it was one of the busiest legislative sessions in decades. The pace at which legislation passed was on a level not seen since 1995, which was over 25 years ago. All told, the Assembly and Senate passed 1,007 bills. This compares to 892 bills passed in 2021, which was record breaking at the time. The majority of the bills that passed both houses are still awaiting review and signature by the Governor.
Thursday, June 2 was the last scheduled day of New York’s 2022 legislative session. Both houses ran into Friday, June 3 before officially concluding all their business. The Senate finished at 2:30 a.m. on Friday, June 3, while the Assembly returned for another full day of session on June 3 and will adjourn at some point during the day, likely in the early morning hours.
We are pleased to announce that our coalition conservative care bill (opioid bill), A273 sponsored by Assemblymember Gottfried and S4640 sponsored by Senator Rivera, has passed both the Assembly and the Senate! The bill now heads to the governor’s office for review. We will be heavily advocating for her to sign the bill into law.
The U.S. Senate has introduced a bill, S. 4042, to modernize Medicare coverage and better meet the needs of today’s seniors by increasing access to services provided by doctors of chiropractic. An identical bipartisan-supported bill in the House currently has 130 cosponsors.
After weeks of intense negotiations, New York State has enacted a final budget for 2022 - 2023. The Governor announced the framework of the budget deal late Thursday afternoon, and the Senate and Assembly are in the process of passing the final budget bills, which will be completed late tonight or tomorrow.
Earlier this week, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law three bills intended to address and expand sexual harassment protections in New York State. While these laws will have relatively minor implications for private employers, employers should be aware of a few important points.
Over the weekend, the Assembly and Senate released their one-house budget proposals. Today, each house will vote today on resolutions, which memorialize their one-house budget proposals.
The co-chairs of the Legislative Committee wanted to provide a legislative update on NYSCA’s legislative activities in Albany. Our Legislative Committee has been actively working with our government affairs attorney on several legislative priorities for the Association.
