Human Services Legislative Scorecard
New York State
The Champions
The success of our work relies on strong advocates who are about the human services sector and the people we serve.
Thank you to all the champions in the State Assembly and Senate who are standing up for New Yorkers!
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Senator Persaud is THE champion of the Targeted Inflationary Increase (TII) that nonprofits need just to keep pace with expenses. Her leadership has ensured that every year since the JustPay campaign launched, the budget has included this necessary adjustment – something the human services sector never before received on a regular basis. She is also fiercely fighting to ensure the TII includes all workers and programs under state contract, a true equity issue. Additionally, in response to continuing austerity-fueled budget cuts from the federal government, Senator Persaud has helped secure benefits security and increased cash assistance. The Senator fought for and helped secure necessary appropriations to strengthen SNAP EBT security, and she championed legislation to double the basic needs cash assistance grant (S1127).
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Assembly Member González-Rojas has a long history of fighting for her community, including a recent victory in securing free school meals for children across New York State. She is also a fierce advocate for the human services workforce – overwhelmingly women and people of color – who serve and work in her district. Her support of the JustPay campaign has helped secure important Targeted Inflationary Increase (TII) investments, and her public backing has drawn critical attention to the issue.
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Assembly Member Paulin has taken on reforming a notoriously antiquated procurement process that leaves nonprofits getting paid extremely late. Along with Senator Mayer, she passed S4877A/A2740B last year to update the state's Prompt Contracting law, which the Governor vetoed. That setback didn't stop the Assembly Member, who went on to introduce two new bills – also passed by the legislature and now awaiting the Governor's response. She also continues to support the JustPay campaign, working to ensure nonprofits and their workers are paid fairly for their work.
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Senator Mayer has been a longtime supporter of the nonprofit sector and the JustPay campaign. Last year, she and Assembly Member Paulin tackled the notoriously slow state procurement process, introducing legislation (S4877A/A2740B) to speed up the system. The bill passed the legislature but was vetoed, so the Senator returned this year with two new bills, which also passed. She is a true champion – not just for staying the course, but for investing in long-term solutions that increase efficiency for both the state and the sector.
The Legislation
This year, our State electeds had the opportunity to support the human services sector on four major pieces of legislation:
Wage Board
S3953/A5589
This legislation would establish a human services wage board to investigate the pay gap between nonprofit and government human services workers and recommend reforms. Currently, nonprofit workers earn 30% less than their government counterparts for the same work. This gap drives nonprofit employees to leave for government or private-sector jobs, contributing to high turnover across the field. A wage board would allow the state and the sector to partner on lasting solutions to this problem.
COLA Expansion
S1580/A2590
This legislation was introduced last year to expand the COLA to include important human services programs that have been left out of COLA funding in previous years. While the JustPay campaign has successfully advocated for COLAs for five years, major programs – including domestic violence services and supportive housing, among many others – have not been included in the COLA simply because the budget uses outdated language. This legislation would expand the list of programs covered by the COLA, but was replaced by updated legislation during the time of the scorecard (read more in next blurb).
TII Expansion
S3669/A10924
Going forward, this legislation will address the Targeted Inflationary Increase (TII) – formerly known as COLA – to include programs that have historically been left out of typical budget increases, ensuring all state-contracted human services programs are covered. Since COLA was renamed the TII, this legislation has been updated to reflect that change and would systemically fix the inequity of certain programs being excluded from it.
Strengthening Prompt Contracting
S7001/A7616
This legislation sought to make changes to the Prompt Contracting Law that would help address nonprofits' largest challenges with state funding. Those changes include clarifying language in the existing law, expanding the use of written directives, mandating and increasing the interest rate on late state payments, and more. This bill passed the Legislature unanimously but was vetoed by the Governor. After this scorecard's timeframe, our champions Senator Mayer and Assembly Member Paulin introduced a pair of bills to continue addressing these issues (S.9761/A.10741 and S.9855A/A.11179), which now await the Governor's signature and will be included in the next scorecard.