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County association outlines state budget priorities and alerts counties to fast end-of-session timeline
Summary
NYSAC representatives briefed the committee May 7 on state budget highlights and a short end-of-session window, and outlined five county priorities including a packaging EPR bill, raise-the-age reimbursement changes and removing the state cost share for expanded in‑home services for the elderly.
Representatives from the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) briefed the Tompkins Intergovernmental Relations Committee May 7 on what they have tracked in the new state budget, and on county priorities for the rest of the legislative session.
Alex Regan and Pat Cummings of NYSAC summarized announced budget items and emphasized the compressed legislative calendar caused by the late budget negotiations. NYSAC highlighted measures already reported as included or likely in enacted budget language: a proposed expansion of school rules limiting student internet-enabled cell-phone use during the school day; an agreement on changes to involuntary commitment laws; free breakfast and lunch for all K–12 students; and an approximately $1 billion investment in climate priorities under a new Sustainable Future program intended for resilience and clean-energy measures.
NYSAC priorities for counties: Regan described the association’s top five end-of-session priorities: passage of an extended-producer-responsibility packaging and recycling bill (PREA/EPR) to shift packaging-management costs to producers; decoupling raise-the-age reimbursements from the county property-tax cap; raising the retiree earnings income cap to encourage rehiring retired public employees; allowing local health departments access to toxicology and death-report data for overdose surveillance; and removing the state cost share for expanded in‑home services for the elderly.
Emergency medical services (EMS) reform: NYSAC said EMS reform language was not in the enacted budget as negotiated to date and is likely to be pursued in other vehicles or at a later time; Pat Cummings told the committee that “we’re hearing with 99.99% certainty it’s out right now” of the budget measures pending enactment.
Why it matters: NYSAC framed these as achievable priorities for a short end-of-session window. The association asked counties to track and press local bills (for example, county sales-tax extenders) and to be ready to advocate rapidly if language changes are proposed to adapt to federal funding shifts.
Follow-up: NYSAC offered to provide a one-page advocacy tool and the presentation slides; committee members requested the slide deck for distribution.
