[NYAPRS Enews] NYS Budget Talks Moving Slowly, Call Albany for Recovery Services $

Wed Mar 21 09:02:10 EDT 2007

NYAPRS Note: Yesterday's state budget leaders meeting between Gov
Spitzer and the Assembly and Senate Democratic and Republican leaders
was held on a green-felted desk once used by Teddy Roosevelt that
mirrored the high stakes poker game that's currently being played in
Albany. 

As of yesterday evening, it appears that Governor Spitzer is succeeding
in fracturing the coalition of hospital and health care unions that have
historically opposed Medicaid cuts or re-configurations and whose
interests have been singularly represented by Senate Majority Leader
Bruno. 

Right behind the Medicaid boondoggle is the fight Bruno is waging
against Spitzer's plan to re-distribute education aid to 'higher need'
districts that Senate Republicans fear will hurt Long Island, a
traditional Republican stronghold. The Governor has turned up the
pressure in recent days, showing a public willingness to extend beyond
the budget deadline to extract a deal more to his liking and apparently
feeling that the legislature and not he will bear any complaints from
the public. 

On the mental health and health budget fronts, no apparent serious
negotiations or agreements have been struck by Senate
Republican/Assembly Democratic representatives on those committees, as
Assembly leader Silver and Senate leader Bruno have not yet reached
agreements on how much additional money is available for them to add to
the Governor's budget.

NYAPRS is pushing for the $1 million for parents with psychiatric
disabilities that has cumulatively been advanced by both houses, for the
$2 million for recovery services, $2 million to establish centers of
excellence in cultural and linguistic competence, $1 million for suicide
prevention for Latinas and Asian seniors. 

For today, we ask that you join with MHANYS members in calling Albany
for the Recovery Services enhancements:

A)  Senate Majority Leader Bruno-(518) 455-3101

B)  Assembly Speaker Silver-(518) 455-3791

C)  Assembly member Rivera-(518) 455-5102

D) Senator Morahan-(518) 455-3261

Please take ten seconds to deliver the following message:

"I'm a registered voter from (your locality) urging you to please build
on the $2 million in additional funding for community mental health
services in this year's budget that will help fund vital services that
keep individuals with mental illness recovering in the community" 

On the health table, we're pushing for a restoration of the exemption
from the Preferred Drug program antidepressants currently have.

Stay tuned...it's another day in Albany.  

----------

Deal Floated On Health Spending 

Spitzer Aboard Plan For Cost-Of-Living Boost And An End To Tax For
Hospitals, But Downstate Groups Object  

by JAMES M. ODATO, Albany Times Union March 21, 2007 

ALBANY -- Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the Healthcare Association of New York
Tuesday floated a potential settlement to the health care funding wars
that would add about $300 million to Spitzer's budget.

Although the deal was unacceptable to a downstate hospital group and its
union allies, some parties in the negotiations saw the proposal as a
positive step.

A handshake on health care spending could advance other areas of the
budget, although Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno was holding firm
to his conference's demands for greater education funding to ensure Long
Island's traditional share of school aid. Bruno also was touting the
need for an across-the-board tax rebate program not tied to income
levels, as Spitzer's STAR expansion program is designed.

As for the health care deal, some parties were optimistic.

"We've continued discussions with the Assembly, Senate and governor and
we are close to a conceptual agreement," said William VanSlyke, a
spokesman for HANYS. "But the devil's in details."

People apprised of the deal said the plan calls for providing hospitals
75 percent of the 2.5 percent cost-of-living increase they have been
counting on. Spitzer has proposed no increase and a freeze on rates paid
hospitals and nursing homes.

The deal would be worth $136.5 million, half from the state and half
from federal aid for hospitals.

Also, Spitzer would agree to let the gross receipts tax on hospitals
expire, as scheduled, at the end of this month, saving hospitals $136.9
million. Spitzer had proposed extending the tax and freezing rates as
part of his $1.3 billion in cuts to the industry.

A deal with hospitals on providing an inflationary rate hike likely
would lead to one for nursing homes, too.

Spitzer still could declare victory because he would hold to his policy
of redirecting Medicaid funds to hospitals based on the actual number of
Medicaid patients they care for.

Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association,
said he is aware of HANYS' meeting with Spitzer's aides. The plan, he
said, would benefit upstate hospitals more than downstate ones.

The Assembly Democrats' budget plan, which restored all of the
cost-of-living adjustment and killed the gross receipts tax, would
benefit downstate hospitals by tens of millions of dollars more.

Jennifer Cunningham, a lobbyist for Local 1199 of the Service Employees
International Union, said downstate hospitals would lose $110 million if
HANYS' plan replaces the Assembly Democrats' proposal. "HANYS does not
speak for 265,000 health care workers of 1199," she said.

The HANYS deal takes $24 million that would normally be used for
graduate medical education, largely in New York City hospitals, and
redirects it upstate.

The HANYS plan would be about $74 million less expensive than the
Assembly plan and much less costly than the Senate's proposal to restore
more than half the cuts Spitzer seeks, a source familiar with the deal
said.

News of the talks came amid little other progress on the budget.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith,
Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco and Bruno met publicly with
Spitzer on Tuesday morning. Spitzer and Silver said Bruno's budget plan
adds $3.2 billion to the governor's $120.6 billion budget proposal and
wrongly assumes the state will have nearly $5 billion more in available
funds for budgeting.

"Five billion dollars is not real," Silver said.

Bruno said Senate Republicans historically have been better at
estimating revenues. He complained that conference committees now under
way have been a joke because Bruno, Silver, Smith and Tedisco haven't
met to set guidelines on spending.

"They've been playing ring-around-the-rosy," Bruno said in an attempt to
get the leaders to meet with him.

 http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=573789 

----------------

Budget Debate Exposes Rifts

In Contentious Capitol Conference, Silver, Spitzer Blast Senate Majority
Leader Over His Tax Cut Plans

by DAN JANISON   Newsday  March 21, 2007

ALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who had been playing a
relatively low-key role in the annual state budget battle, emerged
yesterday to close ranks with Gov. Eliot Spitzer by attacking the
Senate's proposals for taxes, school spending and Medicaid.

Spitzer and Silver, the state's top Democrats, prodded and lectured
Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno across the table during a
contentious Capitol budget conference, exposing wide rifts over a
$120-plus-billion budget just 11 days before the fiscal year ends.

....But Bruno contested warnings of future deficits, noting that these
were predicted in prior years but never materialized. He defended his
proposals for more sweeping restorations to hospitals and nursing homes
slashed in Spitzer's budget and for more aid to suburban school
districts. Silver has proposed more modest restorations in those areas.

Bruno accused Silver of playing partisan politics. "We used to partner,"
he said. "Where are you now? What happened? Oh. We have a Democratic
governor ... That's OK. I understand politics." 

He said state aid to public schools is proportionally less for Long
Island than under the formula that Spitzer proposes to change. "You
drive 8 percent of your school aid to the Island," he said. "There's 17
percent of the students there. We've always given them 13 percent. Those
are the highest-taxed people." 

Spitzer said: "Your budget would send money to those school districts
that ... are not the high-needs districts." 

------------

Spitzer Moving To Isolate GOP's Bruno

BY JACOB GERSHMAN - New York Sun  March 21, 2007

ALBANY - With the help of Assembly Democrats, Governor Spitzer is
tightening the screws on the Republican Senate majority leader, Joseph
Bruno, whose increasingly lonely position in budget negotiations could
force him to succumb to the governor's demands on health care,
education, and taxes.

At a feisty negotiation session in the executive chamber, Mr. Spitzer
and the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, ganged up on the 77-year-old
silver-haired Senate leader, who is battling to restore the entirety of
the governor's proposed Medicaid cuts, pour more money into Long Island
school districts, and substitute in a property tax relief plan that does
not exclude wealthier homeowners.

Mr. Bruno came under attack from multiple directions: Messrs. Spitzer
and Silver; the Republican Assembly minority leader, James Tedisco; the
Democratic Senate minority leader, Malcolm Smith, and the Democratic
lieutenant governor, David Paterson, each criticized Mr. Bruno for
proposing a budget they said was unrealistically high.

"What I'm saying to you, Joe, is that it's time to make those tough
decisions," Mr. Spitzer said.

...Maintaining calm, Mr. Bruno refused to budge and insisted his
spending plan was affordable, arguing that Albany annually
underestimates its available revenues. Spitzer administration officials
calculated Mr. Bruno's spending plan at just under $124 billion, more
than $3 billion more than the Senate's estimate, which does not include
money spent on giving rebates to homeowners.

The governor proposed a budget of $120.6 billion, and the Assembly came
out with a plan totaling $121.2 billion.

Mr. Bruno defended the Senate's efforts to eliminate the governor's
proposed $1 billion in cuts to hospitals and nursing homes, saying that
slashing Medicaid funds doesn't "represent reform."

He said Mr. Spitzer's plan to slightly increase New York City's share of
public school funding would unfairly punish Long Island schools, which
are receiving more money but a smaller slice of the pie.

He argued that much of his proposed new spending helped businesses and
residents by lowering taxes for more people and blocking Mr. Spitzer's
plans to close a variety of tax loopholes. "If you want to count that as
spending ... then we're big spenders," Mr. Bruno said.

....In the Pataki era, Mr. Bruno was ensconced in the role of middleman
and no-nonsense dealmaker, playing off the vulnerabilities of the
governor and the intransigence of Mr. Silver. With a Democratic governor
in power, Mr. Bruno has had to assume the role that Mr. Silver played so
well, the odd man out.

While Mr. Silver famously used a stubborn stance to wrench concessions
from Governor Pataki, Mr. Bruno is finding it difficult to exploit the
same tactic of delay. One problem for the majority leader is that Mr.
Silver - eager to mend his relationship with Mr. Spitzer after defying
him during the comptroller search - has decided to abandon Mr. Bruno and
ally himself with the governor.

"Last year we partnered," Mr. Bruno told Mr. Silver. "The year before we
partnered. Where are you now? What's happened?"

Albany lawmakers said yesterday it was possible that Mr. Spitzer and Mr.
Silver could pass a two-way budget, putting even more pressure on Mr.
Bruno to compromise.

Mr. Bruno also must watch out for Mr. Spitzer gaining an advantage by
picking off votes from his conference, which holds a slim two-seat
majority in the Senate. Mr. Spitzer suggested yesterday that he was in
talks with other Republican senators.

Also, a late budget could hurt Mr. Bruno more than Mr. Spitzer, whose
popularity among voters and his support from other lawmakers would make
it easier for him to pin the blame for delays on the veteran Senate
leader.

Mr. Spitzer, who has said he would not hesitate to prolong negotiations
into April and beyond if he doesn't get the concessions he wants, would
likely use a breakdown in talks to batter Mr. Bruno, giving his
conference bad publicity at a time when its trying to preserve control.

Albany has just started getting accustomed to passing its budgets on
time after annually missing the April 1 deadline between 1985 and 2004,
a streak of gridlock that had come to symbolize Albany's disarray.

"The issue of an on-time budget is not going to be a significant factor
in what happens here," a top adviser to Mr. Spitzer, Lloyd Constantine,
told The New York Sun. "If you've got a threat, and they say make my
day, then the threat has been substantially taken away."

Lawmakers outside Mr. Bruno's conference described the Republican
Senate's position as a lose-lose situation: "He's either seen as a big
caver or seen as doing business as usual," a Democratic state senator
and former minority leader, Martin Connor, said. 

http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=50847 

--------------

Spitzer, Senate, Assembly Budget Proposals

Associated Press   March 19, 2007

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Here's a breakdown of the budget proposals that
Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer and legislative leaders hope to resolve by
the April 1 deadline to adopt a state budget. 

The major differences include: 

OVERALL BUDGET

_Spitzer proposed a $120.6 billion budget in January. That's an increase
of 7.8 percent _ more than twice the inflation rate _ but still less
than the current budget that increased state funds by 11.2 percent.
Spitzer and legislative leaders have since agreed updated revenue
forecasts provide another $575 million to work with. 

_The Assembly's Democratic majority proposes a $121.2 billion budget. 

_The Senate's Republican majority proposes additions that Spitzer's
Division of Budget say add up to $3 billion. But Senate Republicans say
the difference is really $1 billion, because they don't count tax rebate
checks returning revenues to taxpayers as spending. 

EDUCATION

_Spitzer proposes $1.4 billion in additional funding and would direct
far more to high-needs schools, although every district would get at
least a 3 percent increase. State school aid currently is about $17
billion. This would be the first installment of Spitzer's plan to
increase annual school aid by $7 billion by 2010-11. 

_Assembly Democrats supports Spitzer's plan, but would increase it by
$532 million over four years for pre-kindergarten for every child in the
state by 2010-11. 

_Senate Republicans would add $358 million to Spitzer's school aid
proposal, but would restore the state's practice of "shares." That would
make sure low- and medium-needs districts _ which often face the highest
local school taxes _ get a larger share of the increase than under
Spitzer's plan. 

HEALTH

_Spitzer would cut nearly $1.4 billion in Medicaid and other health care
spending, much of it which had been directed to large hospitals and
nursing homes. Instead, he hopes to redirect funding to less expensive
at-home and community-based care that emphasizes preventive care to
avoid more expensive emergency room care. 

_Assembly Democrats would restore $483.3 million in the cuts, but
maintain most of Spitzer's reforms and cuts. 

_Senate Republicans would restore $544 million in Medicaid and health
spending, much of it directed to hospitals which senators note are major
employers in their communities. Hospitals say they can't afford the
cuts. The Senate GOP said it agrees with almost half of Spitzer's
reforms. 

TAXES

_Spitzer calls for $1.5 billion in state aid to subsidize local property
tax relief as the first installment on a three-year, $6 billion plan
targeted to help middle class homeowners most. For example, an upstate
middle class family making $60,000 or less with a $640 STAR savings now
would see that grow to $1,152 this year. The income level and savings
would grow for middle class families in New York City and its suburbs. 

_Assembly Democrats support Spitzer's plan. 

_Senate Republicans would instead provide $2.6 billion in tax relief
checks directly to taxpayers. That would triple the amount of checks
this year to about $500 to $600 to most taxpayers and $800 to over
$1,000 to senior citizens. The Senate Republicans also call for $723
million in tax breaks for manufacturers and small businesses. 

SOURCES: Governor's office, Senate and Assembly majorities.

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