Most people probably don’t wake up first thing in the morning thinking about the state budget like journalists and legislators do. However, the budget is hugely important for all New Yorkers, especially people with disabilities, chronic health, and mental health conditions who use state-funded programs.
Forty-four percent of last year’s budget was spent on health. That’s almost $116 billion taxpayer dollars. The budget includes everything from mental health, to social welfare, education, and all the other state services we all use. But legislators are concerned the state is running out of time to finish a budget that's already the latest it has been since 2010.
This week on the Disabilities Beat, we give an update on the state budget after speaking with a local legislator, as well as look at legislation that could improve pay for human services workers and stimulate the state economy.
TRANSCRIPT
Emyle Watkins:
Hi, I'm Emyle Watkins and this is the Disabilities Beat.
Rob Ortt:
It's nowhere really, right? I mean, there's not a budget.
Emyle Watkins:
That's Senate minority leader, Rob Ortt, who I spoke with after a press conference in Lockport on Friday. The budget is now the latest it's been since 2010.
Rob Ortt:
I'm not really sure what the holdup is at this juncture. I can only assume it's a combination of money and I suspect as we are running late on session, there may be additional legislative things that the legislature are trying to get in the budget.
Emyle Watkins:
Now, most people probably don't wake up first thing in the morning thinking about the state budget like journalists and legislators do. However, the budget is hugely important for all New Yorkers, but especially people with disabilities, chronic health, and mental health conditions who use state funded programs. 44% of last year's budget was spent on health. That's almost 116 billion taxpayer dollars. The budget is everything from mental health to social welfare, education, and all the other state services we all use, but legislators are concerned how late it's getting. And to make matters more confusing, there was an announcement from the governor of an agreement on key priorities almost two weeks ago, but nothing has been presented for a vote.
Rob Ortt:
I always say there's not a budget until there's a budget. I used to say there wasn't a budget until there's a deal, but we had a deal, but then we didn't have a deal.
Emyle Watkins:
There's an extension passed to fund the government through the end of the day today. However, Ortt thinks they won't see a budget until after the holiday.
Rob Ortt:
I think if it happens, the soonest it'll happen is the week after Memorial Day. But at that point, you only have two weeks left scheduled session. So you're starting to run out of time. So I do think that is the holdup.
Emyle Watkins:
Meanwhile, last week, advocates pushing for a systemic change to human services wages paid to visit to Buffalo to hear from locals. Advocates for Bring Up Minimum Pay or BUMP say they want to increase the minimum pay for 665,000 human services workers statewide to $29 per hour through state legislation.
Jennifer March:
We were very concerned about poverty level wages in the human service sector.
Emyle Watkins:
Jennifer March is the Chief Advancement Officer at the New York Foundling, which helped launch the BUMP campaign.
Jennifer March:
The campaign was developed to draw attention to the need to raise wages within the human service sector to both invest in the dignity of this work and ensure that we have the ability to attract and retain a workforce essential to providing high quality services and meeting the needs of New Yorkers.
Emyle Watkins:
March says their campaign includes the entire human services field funded through state dollars. Everyone from childcare workers, home care workers, even the security guard at the door of a shelter.
Jennifer March:
This is a statewide issue and there are 900,000 workers, more than 600,000 of them earn less than $60,000 a year. In Buffalo, that's almost 33,600 workers. And we know that across the state there is I think about a 15% on average poverty rate among the human service sector, 17% in Buffalo. So the solution is not about New York City, it's about the state of New York.
Emyle Watkins:
And for context, the official poverty rate in 2024 was 10.6% nationally according to the Census Bureau. The BUMP campaign estimates that 100,000 New Yorkers would move out of poverty if the bill is passed.
Jon Rivera:
They feel compelled to continue to do the work that they're doing because their heart is leading them to, but they are facing really dire financial constraints.
Emyle Watkins:
Among those openly supporting the legislation is Assembly Member Jon Rivera.
Jon Rivera:
What does it say about us as a society when we can sort of talk about the gratefulness we have of the people that take care of our children or our parents or our family members? We can talk them up as if they're saints and verbally demonstrate a level of appreciation, but at the end of the day, we sort of shrug our shoulders to their own situations financially.
Emyle Watkins:
The BUMP campaign estimates $23 billion in new economic activity would be created by paying these workers more. Rivera believes this could have a significant impact for families and communities.
Jon Rivera:
If we put money in the hands of folks that are in our communities doing work, we can look at a future where renters are turned into homeowners. We can look at a future where people are able to send their kids to college without the worry. And what this could do for working class people is huge.
Emyle Watkins:
For more on this story, visit our website at btpm.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
