NYSAC Weekly Wire

Re-caps the week's events, legislative action, and other news that impact county government.

December 19 , 2009

Register Today for the 2010 Legislative Conference
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is not to get closed out of the NYSAC conference hotel, good news—you can register today.

The conference will be held at the Desmond Hotel in Albany from February 8-10, 2010. We have crafted a comprehensive and timely workshop program in addition to plenary sessions and training opportunities for county officials. The program includes workshops on streamlining county government, understanding the 24/7 news cycle, the Executive Budget, Marcellus Shale, an orientation for new county officials (see below) and more. Look for the conference registration flyer in the mail, or download it now from our website at www.nysac.org.

Governor Paterson Orders Delay in Local Assistance Payments
Earlier this week, Governor David Paterson announced he has directed the Division of the Budget to withhold a certain payments to local governments and school districts, including a percent of STAR, school aid and revenue sharing for local governments. As part of this executive action, the state will delay its December reimbursements to counties for child welfare services.

The move is intended to shield the State from running out of cash as it pays its final bills of the calendar year, and to avoid a credit downgrade. Despite convening for four weeks in November, the State Legislature was unable to close the full $3.2 billion deficit project by Governor Paterson. Instead, they passed their own $2.7 billion Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP) that cut spending and spun up Federal stimulus funding. According to Governor Paterson, the legislative response exposes the State to a $500 million cash flow problem.

Throughout the Extraordinary Legislative Session and the Executive’s deliberations for addressing the state’s cash flow crisis, NYSAC communicated county concerns to the Governor, the Division of Budget and state lawmakers. As next year’s Executive Budget is developed and preparations are made for negotiations with the Legislature, NYSAC continues to call for greater fiscal responsibility and accountability at the state level.

Legislature’s $2.7 billion DRP Includes Across-the-Board Cuts to Counties
The New York State Legislature this month passed a $2.7 billion deficit reduction plan (DRP) that provides a range of cuts and includes two major one-shot revenue measures—accelerating stimulus funds and a sales tax amnesty program for the state and localities. The DRP, thanks to your advocacy efforts, avoids changing funding formulas that would have shifted the costs for major state mandated programs and services provided at the county level.

The DRP covers five months of the state’s fiscal year and reduces undispersed appropriated funds for categorical and grant programs by 12.5 percent effective November 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010.

The 12.5 percent across-the-board cuts to certain local assistance programs will impact the following two county policy areas.

Public Health

• Centers for Community Health—including Nutrition Education for Pregnant Women, Infants and Children, PCAP, Breast Cancer Detection and Education and school based health centers (among others)
• Centers for  Environmental Health—including water supply protection
• Cost of living adjustments—to Obesity Prevention, Rape Crisis, Comprehensive Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (among others); and
• Other programs—such as Childhood Lead Poisoning Primary Prevention, Healthy NY Program, and Rural Health Network Development (among others).

Public Safety

• 12.5% cut to Department of Probation and Correctional Alternatives (DPCA)
• $500,000 cut to the Local wireless public safety answering point account, which reduces the total amount counties receive from the wireless surcharge monies from $9.8 million down to $9.3 million.

NYSAC Board Adopts Medicaid Relief Resolution, Calls on Congressional Delegation to Extend FMAP Increase
As counties give final approval of their 2010 Fiscal Year budgets there is growing concern about the long term consequences of a prolonged recession and its impact on local economies across the state. As our governments close the books on 2009, we are confronting a state in a fiscal crisis with delayed state reimbursement for programs and services already delivered, added demand for critical human services, four straight quarters of declining sales tax revenue and record high unemployment.

With this in mind, this week NYSAC sent a letter to New York’s Congressional Delegation, urging them to advocate for an extension of Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) that New York receives from the federal government. New York’s FMAP was increased on a temporary basis as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) enacted earlier this year. The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed this enabling language extending the temporary increase for the first two quarters of 2011. We are urging New York Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to champion the measure in the Senate.

Federal Health Care Reform Could Have Serious Impact on Counties
On the precipice of a Senate vote on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), NYSAC has contacted the NYS Congressional Delegation about provisions within the legislation that are of great concern to counties. New York State is disproportionately affected by provisions in the Senate Bill, which in turn have a direct impact on the counties and property taxpayers. Specifically, the Senate Bill penalizes NYS for its Medicaid coverage for parents up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level and single adults up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. (Only a handful of other states provide this level of coverage.) The PPACA would provide enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to states only to the extent they do not currently cover adults up to 133 percent of the FPL.

Additionally, New York State receives the lowest federal matching rate (FMAP) at 50 percent, and is currently facing an unprecedented State Budget deficit. Under the bill, New York State would be denied an enhanced FMAP, while nearly every other state in the nation would receive an enhanced FMAP. New York State currently provides the level of coverage the bill seeks, and thus, our State is eligible for enhanced federal funding only for the relatively small number of single adults with incomes between 100 percent and 133 percent of the federal poverty level. By contrast, the overwhelming majority of states will receive 100 percent federal funding for all single adults and most parents for three years and 82 to 95 percent thereafter. NYSAC maintains that it is not fair or prudent to penalize a State for its current leadership in Medicaid eligibility levels. As health care reform negotiations continue, NYSAC, along with Governor Paterson and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is strongly advocating that Congress provide fair Federal funding to our state and counties.

Counties Required to Implement Medicaid Compliance Program
Despite concerns raised by NYSAC, the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) is requiring counties to adopt and implement an effective compliance program pursuant to Part 521 of Title 18 of the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York.

Counties unable to comply with the OMIG’s requirement to certify by the regulatory deadline of December 31, 2009 should contact the OMIG to request an extension. The OMIG has made it clear that any provider who fails to certify may face administrative sanctions, up to and including exclusion from the program.

Pelletier Institute Offers Annual Orientation Session for New County Officials
The Dennis A. Pelletier County Government Institute will offer its 7th annual Orientation Session for Newly Elected and Appointed County Officials as part of the program at the NYSAC Legislative Conference on February 8th from 10:00 Am to 5:00 PM at the Desmond Hotel in Albany.

During this program, participants will learn about the structure of county government, the legal responsibilities and duties of county service, receive on overview of government ethic law provisions, be provided with an introduction to county finance and budget issues, learn about the state legislative process and its effect on county government, and receive up to date information on the major issues confronting them in the year ahead as county officials.

Experts in the field from Cornell University, the legal community and county government will join NYSAC staff members in providing this comprehensive 7 hour orientation session for newly elected and appointed officials on the challenges they will face in county government.

The Pelletier Institute is a joint educational program of NYSAC and Cornell University. Since the orientation session’s inception in 2003, over 300 new elected and appointed county officials have completed this program.

Registration information for this session, and the NYSAC Legislative Conference can be obtained by visiting the NYSAC website at www.nysac.org or by contacting Jeff Osinski, NYSAC’s Research Director.

Assembly Bill Creates Marcellus Gas Extraction Liability
Assemblywoman Lifton pre-filed a bill (A.9414) on December 14, 2009 entitled “The Natural Gas Exploration and Extraction Liability Act of 2010.” The bill would create strict liability on the part of any person that undertakes natural gas exploration, drilling or extraction by use of high volume hydraulic fracturing techniques and transportation of hydrofracturing chemicals and waste products within New York. Counties should be aware of this bill as the definition of person includes any individual, association, corporation or other entity that owns an interest in land that is subject to a lease or other grant that permits surface rights, sub-surface rights or both surface and sub-surface rights for the purpose of natural gas exploration, drilling, operation or extraction. This bill, however, would have no retroactive affect on those counties with leases entered into prior to its effective date.

Liability is joint and several under the bill for multiple persons found liable. In addition, the bill would allow a plaintiff who is awarded damages to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses of litigation from the defendant(s). NYSAC has flagged this bill and will track it as it moves through the legislative process.

NYSERDA to release an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant RFP
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will soon issue the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program which will provide funding for small municipalities to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. In order for counties to be eligible to apply for this program, they will need to have completed an energy study/audit. For more information on EECBG, visit NYSERDA’s website at www.nyserda.org/economicrecovery/blockgrants.asp.