Along with the beginning of the new Governor, Andrew M. Cuomo’s, tenure this coming January, there will also be a new term of the state legislature. Together, they will be facing a $10 Billion state budget deficit which Cuomo has vowed to eliminate without raising taxes.

All signs suggest that the new fiscal austerity that the Cuomo-era will bring will make Governor Paterson’s cost-cutting measures pale by comparison. Thus, many bills that the disability community has been pushing over time will meet with even stronger resistance than in the past. Adding to the confusion, we may not know who will run the Senate until sometime in February, which will shorten the 2011-2012 legislative season until that is sorted out.How, exactly, does Cuomo plan to cut in order to meet his goal? So far, Cuomo has talked about percentage cuts and targeted cuts. But he has revealed very little about what exactly he seeks to cut. He has said that he will focus where the money is: 1) medical costs, 2) education, and 3) state services (including prisons). While “medical costs” entails more than Medicaid, there is every reason to believe that Medicaid will be one of the major things on the chopping block. Last year, Governor Paterson proposed to cap the number of hours of personal care people could be entitled to at 12 hours a day. With much advocacy, the proposed cuts to personal care and to Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) coverage were removed from the final 2010-2011 budget.

Paterson was not seeking re-election, and was engaged in a battle to control the budget in Albany with Assembly Speaker Silver and Senate Majority leader Sampson. This cast a long shadow over all other issues for much of the political season, with Governor Paterson vetoing thousands of the legislature’s earmarks, and rejecting any bills that he perceived as likely to increase the state’s costs.

Since there is a new legislative term, all vetoed and previously proposed legislation will need new sponsors and to pass the Assembly the Senate and be signed by the Governor in order to become law. With the new year and new people in charge in Albany, we will have to be selective about the legislation we push, particularly among bills that may increase state costs. Some of the proposals to consider include those promoted last year that did not pass. They include:

S.7800 (Squadron) /A.9757 (Bing) – This bill would have made it illegal to discriminate?? in provision of housing when the discriminator received federal or state funds or guarantees for the development of the housing.

S. 7482 (Huntley)/A. 10676 (Paulin) – Clarified the scope of protection from discrimination in services provided by public entities (state and local government) under the state Human Rights Law.

S.7613a (Squadron) /A.10689a (Bing) – Would have made it illegal under the Human Rights Law for landlords to discriminate based on the source of a tenant’s income (Section 8, SSI, SSDI, Human Resources rent on budget, pensions, etc.).

S.5296 (Parker) / A.520 (Destito) – This bill would aid localities in preparing for and responding to disasters by requiring counties to maintain a registry of people of all ages with disabilities who may require evacuation assistance and shelter during a disaster. Provisions included in this bill would have allowed people to opt out of the registry if they so chose.

S.4534 (Sampson)/A. 7395 (Schimminger) – This bill would have expanded the definition of “prevailing party” for purposes of receipt of attorney’s fees when the bringing of a lawsuit caused or was “the catalyst for” change by the other party. This would have made it easier for poorer people to find counsel to protect their rights. It did not make it out of the Senate.

In considering these and other bills, we will have to focus particularly on ways to preserve funding for home care and other services in the community. In doing so, we will need to stress rights under the ADA, the Olmstead decision’s mandate to move people to the most integrated setting, and the cost savings available to the state by shifting from a reliance on institutional care to community-based, integrated services and supports.

Dennis R. Boyd
Senior Counsel
Center for Disability Rights