Empire Justice Center Announces
2026 Policy Priorities
Empire Justice Center is a non-profit law firm dedicated to making the law work for all New Yorkers. Through our 360-degree approach – practicing the law, teaching the law, and changing the law – we achieve justice for the people who need it most.
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TOP PRIORITIES
Core funding for legal services
Legal services providers are a critical part of New York’s social safety net. Along with our not-for-profit sector colleagues, New York State contracts with Empire Justice Center to provide civil legal services to low income and marginalized New Yorkers facing homelessness, hunger, loss of income and more. Challenges in the not-for-profit contracting and payment processes result in financial crisis, staffing instability and fewer services for clients, undermining the goals of the contracts.
ASK: Support JCLS funding at additional $25 million and a Cost-of-Living Adjustment in OCA’s budget for a total of $179 million.
Support the $102.5 million spending authority for the Interest on Lawyer Account (IOLA) for civil legal services and ensure that IOLA – which is not taxpayer dollars – remains dedicated to its statutorily intended purpose.
Maintain last year’s Legislative commitment to Legal Service Assistance Fund (LSAF) of $2.5 million.
Nonprofit contracting and protections
New York nonprofits provide vital services, including legal services. However, delays and inconsistencies in state processes are putting nonprofits at risk of collapse. After the veto of S.7001 Mayer/ A.7616 Paulin and given the federal attacks on nonprofits, immediate action is needed to protect New York nonprofits and their 501(c) status, to ensure nonprofits can keep serving clients.
ASK: Prioritize steps to fix New York’s nonprofit contracting process to ensure safety net services remain available given state delays and federal instability.
Increase Disability Advocacy Program (DAP) funding to serve low-income New Yorkers with disabilities
The Disability Advocacy Program provides legal assistance to some of New York State’s most severely disabled adults and children in every county, to help them through the appeals process after their claims for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits are denied or terminated. The program has not seen an increase since 2022 and has not kept pace with the cost of providing services, including salaries and healthcare costs.
ASK: Increase DAP Funding to $7.5 million in the final budget, before the county match, and for DAP to be included in the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s Human Services cost of living adjustment.
Ensuring consistent funding to serve NY crime victims, including legal services
The Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding that flows through OVS is New York’s only source of funding for legal services for crime victims. The recent rescinding of the Office of Victim Services (OVS) grants and re-issuing of the Request for Proposal has de-stabilized the providers who serve victims of crime. While advocates are grateful that previous budgets included a multi-year commitment to OVS to offset looming federal cuts, it is crucial that the Governor and Legislature act to ensure stability of funding and ensure that civil legal services and the state support role –coordination of advocates across the state to identify trends, issues, and solutions – are core parts of New York’s strategy to serve victims of crime.
ASK: Continue the multiyear commitment from SFY25 of $100 million to cover contracts through 2028
Ensure that civil legal services, including state support across the network, are core parts of the state’s funding for victims of crime
Ensure funding for the Crime Victims Legal Network.
BUDGET ITEMS TO ENSURE ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Maintain funding for the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP)
The Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) is New York State’s only statewide homeowner retention program. This network of 89 nonprofit legal services and housing counseling agencies provides assistance to homeowners in mortgage default and facing property tax foreclosure in every county of the state. New York is currently seeing mortgage and tax foreclosure ramping up as counties re-start auctions that were paused with covid. Additionally, with the gutting of federal consumer protections organizations, advocates report that mortgage companies taking advantage of consumers is as widespread and dire as before the consumer protections were put in place, in the wake of the 2008 mortgage crisis. HOPP needs robust and consistent funding. Historically, every $1 million invested in HOPP yields a return of over $5 million in tax and property cost savings, and HOPP is essential in preserving homeownership in Black and brown communities.
ASK: Maintain $40 million in funding for HOPP
Pass the HOPP codification bill S.2627 Kavanagh/ A. 1625 Solages to ensure stable and consistent funding.
Increase funding for the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program (EDCAP)
EDCAP provides free, unbiased assistance to student loan borrowers struggling to manage their debt. With one in four borrowers facing default—and the risk of harsh collection actions like wage garnishment and tax refund intercepts—EDCAP’s services are more critical than ever amid limited repayment and relief options. EDCAP has saved New Yorkers millions of dollars in student debt repayment—money that has been reinvested in New York’s economy. EDCAP will continue to be a resource for those who need accurate and up-to-date information to explore loan repayment options as the landscape evolves at the federal level.
ASK: $6 million in funding for EDCAP.
Increase funding for the Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program (MCCAP)
The MCCAP network provides essential assistance to low-income seniors and people who live with disabilities, including educating vulnerable populations about their Medicare options and the federal and state programs that help them afford and access their healthcare. Each enrollment into Medicare cost-saving programs advocates process saves an individual approximately $8,420 in annual out-of-pocket health care costs, yet Empire Justice’s program has not seen an increase in over 15 years. As costs continue to rise, hitting low-income and elderly families hardest, help is still needed to assist New Yorkers fully leverage the recent expansion of the Medicare Savings Program.
ASK: Increase funding to $2.767 million for MCCAP.
Ensure low-income New Yorkers benefit from tax credits, as intended
While New York recently passed several tax changes to help lift families out of poverty, the state will only see the benefit if families know about the credits and have access to a trusted provider to prepare their return. With the federal elimination of the free IRS Direct File program and with predatory businesses ready to swoop in, there is an acute need for trustworthy providers.
ASK: Funding to support free and trustworthy tax preparation and legal services, including Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope (CASH) in Rochester.
Expand legal representation for non-parent caregivers
When children cannot live with their parents, they are often in the care of non-parent caregivers, who are left to navigate New York’s complex justice and social services systems alone. By establishing a Kinship Legal Network, built on the existing Kinship Navigator, New York will help protect some of the state’s most vulnerable children and the family members who want to care for them.
ASK: Establish a statewide Kinship Legal Network (A.748 Hevesi).
Strengthen the safety net to reduce poverty
New York State public benefits have long been outpaced by inflation. With undermining at the federal level, and the current economic weaking, there are steps desperately needed to support New Yorkers in or at risk of falling into poverty.
ASK: Support the proposals of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, notably:
Eliminate asset limits for public assistance applicants and recipients;
Ensure that welfare recipients in the Rest of State are subject to the same sanctions as recipients in NYC (conciliation); and
Ensure applicants for public assistance receive the same percentage earnings disregard as public benefits recipients.
Increase benefits levels, including the
Shelter Allowance (S.1454 Kavanaugh/ A.1507 Rosenthal);
Basic needs grant (S.1127 Persaud/ A.106 Rosenthal);
Personal needs allowance (S.113 Cleare/ A.108 Rosenthal).
Until the shelter allowance is increased to market rent, all public assistance households experiencing housing instability should be entitled to rent supplements at HUD fair market rent, such as the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP).
Address known vulnerabilities of theft or “skimming” of public benefits by transitioning to chip EBT cards (S.1465 Serrano /A.699 González-Rojas) and reimburse people who have had their benefits stolen (S.8130 Gonzalez/A.7543 González-Rojas).
Ensure very low income senior and disabled individuals can access the State Supplement Program (SSP).
Help provide safe and affordable child care by expanding access to subsidies and expanding the pilot program for children from immigrant families.
Expand coverage of SNAP to immigrants excluded by passing SNAP4All (S.XXX / A. 6632 González-Rojas).
Expand access to justice
Empire Justice Center supports all efforts and progress toward providing a right to counsel in civil matters, including in immigration and eviction matters. With the changes at the federal level, this is more urgent than ever.
NON-BUDGET PRIORITIES TO ENSURE CIVIL RIGHTS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Ensuring privacy in name changes
While all other types of name changes – such as for marriage, divorce, immigration, or adoption – have categorical privacy, court-ordered name changes do not. This poses a safety and privacy concern for all petitioners, and particularly for transgender, and nonbinary people, and those who are victims of domestic violence. There is no reason for New York state to make confidential information – including home addresses, birth certificates, birth dates and medical records – available to the public. Especially considering that online filings are scraped and data is re-published online, and proposed changes at the federal level, this is urgent.
ASK: Pass Privacy in Name changes (S.XXXX / A. 3925 Lavine).
Ensure safe and fair traffic enforcement
Low-level, non-safety traffic violations, often referred to as “pretext stops” or “secondary stops,” cause harm to individuals and communities of color, with Black and brown people being stopped far more often than white people. These stops do not lead to greater road or public safety and reduce availability of police for efforts that enhance road and public safety.
ASK: Pass Safe and Fair Traffic Enforcement (SAFTE) Bill (A.6631 Jackson).
Protecting New York consumers and small businesses
New York consumer law remains behind the federal standard and 43 states that ban “unfair and deceptive” businesses practices and give individual consumers the right to seek justice. Until very recently, New York consumer protection law did not prohibit “unfair” practices. While a narrow amendment was recently enacted giving the OAG greater authority, more work is urgently needed.
ASK: Bring New York consumer law in line with the majority of the country by banning unfair practices and giving people the right to seek to justice and hold businesses accountable.
Thank You For Reading
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