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May 4, 2023

FY 2024 State Budget Highlights That Positively Impact Older New Yorkers

FY 2024 State Budget Highlights That Positively Impact Older New Yorkers

The Fiscal Year 2024 New York State Budget was finalized on Tuesday, May 3, 2023. Below is a summary of key items supporting older New Yorkers through NYSOFA programs and across state agencies.

As NYSOFA’s recent Community Assessment Survey of Older Adults (CASOA) makes clear, the concerns of older adults are the concerns of all New Yorkers, from housing to economic opportunity, to public safety and security, to nutrition and health care. The following summary outlines budget initiatives and funding supports in each of these important areas.

NYSOFA Highlights

  • 4% COLA for direct service programs.
  • $9.3 million increase in the Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly Program (EISEP) program to expand access to in-home services such as personal care to help older adults remain independent.
  • $2.5 million increase in the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) to hire more staff to visit nursing homes and other facilities to improve quality of care.
  • $1 million to support the nursing components of the Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs/NNORCs) programs.
  • Continuation of innovations that reduce social isolation and loneliness.

Older Workers

Beginning in 2024, NYS will raise the minimum wage:

  • $16 an hour in NYC, Long Island and Westchester
  • $15 for the rest of the state
  • $.50 cents in 2025 and 2026
  • In 2027 – wage increase will increase annually based on the consumer price index.

Emergency Response Services

  • $105 million to upgrade the State Emergency Operations Center to better coordinate and respond to emergencies.
  • $10 million to provide stipends to volunteer firefighters who complete foundational training.
  • $5 million to provide financial assistance to victims and survivors of domestic violence.

Housing and Tenant Protection

  • $391 million to support tenants and families – the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
  • $50 million for a Homeowner Stabilization Fund to finance home repairs in 10 communities across the state that are identified as having high levels of low-income homeowners of color and homeowner distress.
  • $40 million for the Homeowner Protection Program funding not-for-profit housing counseling and legal services organizations to help homeowners in default and foreclosure.
  • A New Tenant Protection Unit in the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) in upstate New York to provide guidance, advocacy, and legal support for tenants across the state.

Affordable Energy and the Environment

The budget includes $500 million in clean water funding. It also includes $400 million to provide relief to New Yorkers experiencing high electric bills as well as lower-energy burdens through electrification and retrofits:

  • $200 million to provide a monthly discount to 800,000+ electric utility customers making less than the state median income.
  • $200 million to the New York State Energy New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s EmPower Plus home retrofits program, helping 20,000 low-income families retrofit their homes by adding insulation, installing energy efficient appliances and switching to clean energy.

Access to Healthy Food

  • $2 million to enhance community gardens.
  • $10 million to support establishment of farm markets, food cooperatives, supermarkets, and other similar retail food stores, along with supporting underserved communities and regions in NY. This will improve food access in underserved areas.

Access to Health Care

  • $419 million investment to improve Medicare beneficiaries’ access to preventive and primary care.
  • $8 million investment to strengthen the EMS first responder system and $26 million to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for medical transportation.
  • $1 billion to create a stronger health care system for the future.
  • $890 million for mental health housing expansion.

Master Plan for Aging

  • $1 million for the Master Plan for Aging.