Welcome to the May edition of our newsletter, Policy Matters. This month, we have an update on the final state budget, as well as legislative updates, important information on our tax programs, and staff recognition. More below!
New York State Budget Update
The New York State budget has landed! We were relieved to see the Interest on Lawyers Account (IOLA) fully appropriated, and a substantial increase in the Judiciary Civil Legal Service funding – following a multiyear campaign highlighting the need to address a recruitment and retention crisis in the field. Please see our Budget Statement for a comprehensive breakdown of this year’s budget.
Advocacy Day for the Safe and Fair Traffic Enforcement Act
Legislative Advocacy Updates
State Contracting Reform
As noted in April’s edition of Policy Matters, we continue to push for updated Contracting Reform Bills to be passed, following last year’s veto. These bills would go a long way to helping address the challenges of nonprofit organizations face with contracting and payment delays and inconsistencies and would help build stability for nonprofits, allowing them to continue providing the essential-to-life services that millions of New Yorkers rely on. Senator Mayer and Assemblymember Paulin, longstanding champions of the issue, introduced two new bills addressing delays and inconsistencies in New York State nonprofit contracting processes, and responding to issues raised in the governor’s veto. (S.9761 Mayer/A.10741 Paulin) includes expanding definition of renewal contracts, requiring written directives to have payment schedules, and changes to the Not for Profit Contracting Advisory Committee language, designed to strengthen the committee’s work, such as adding evaluation and feedback loops. The other, (S.9855 Mayer/A.11179 Paulin), makes changes to the prompt contracting law to address nonprofits’ challenges with state funding. Both bills have passed through the first Committee but need to make it to the floor of both chambers for a vote on before session ends next week.
Contact your legislators and ask them to make sure these bills get passed next week!
You can find Empire Justice Center’s Memos of support on our website:
Memo of Support – Improve Transparency and Payment Predictability
Memo of Support – Access to Operating Funds Conciliation
Conciliation
(S.4417 May/A.6448 Hunter): This bill will correct an injustice — currently welfare recipients in the Rest of State are subject to more stringent and harmful sanctions than recipients in NYC; this bill will ensure that all New Yorkers are treated equally. The bill was included as a recommendation of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council. It passed Assembly this year, and we are urging the Senate to pass it as well. More to come!
Privacy in court-ordered name changes
(S.10600 Bottcher/A.3925 Lavine) While all other types of name changes – such as marriage, divorce, immigration, or adoption – have categorical privacy, court-ordered name changes do not, leaving people vulnerable to harm. This poses a safety and privacy concern for all petitioners, particularly for those who are survivors of domestic violence, as well as transgender and nonbinary New Yorkers. 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. Considering that online filings are scraped, and data is re-published online, and proposed changes at the federal level, this is urgent. The bill has passed assembly judiciary.
Please join our sign-on letter
The New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence strongly supports the legislation and has written a Memo of Support.
Consumer Debt Uniformity Act (CDUA)
(S.9760 Gounardes/A.10182-A Taylor): This bill, currently in Assembly Committee, would expand basic protections already in place for consumers in lawsuits to collect “consumer credit” debts, providing the same protections for consumers in all types of consumer debt cases. This would extend to instances of medical debt, rental arrears, higher education debt, and debt owed for utilities.
Our Memo of Support is available for more information.
Safe and Fair Traffic Enforcement
The SAFTE bill (S.9840 Myrie/A.6631 Jackson) seeks to eliminate racial disparities in low-level, non-safety police stops and increase road safety. These 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 to enhance road and public safety. Reducing pretext stops may also serve to decrease harm to citizens and non-citizens who increasingly face aggressive traffic policing by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Empire Justice Center, along with key advocates from across the state, met at the Capitol for an advocacy day in support of the bill this month. The bill is currently in Senate Committee. Getting this legislation across the finish line is likely a multi-year effort. Interested in joining the coalition? Email Jill Paperno to sign up to join!
Statewide Civil Legal Services Training Center Launches Groundbreaking Initiative
The first training of the new statewide legal training center took place on April 28. The hybrid Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program hosted locations in both Rochester and New York City. Director of Training and Technical Assistance, Amy Schwartz-Wallace and State Support & Training Manager, Jackie Segouin, worked closely with our training center partners at the Legal Aid Society on coordinating, advertising, marketing, and CLE administration. The program addressed immigration detention practices and included speakers from both upstate and downstate. The statewide legal training center is part of the IOLA Fund’s Justice Infrastructure Project and establishes a new coordinated training hub designed exclusively for civil legal services providers. Over the next four years, the Training Center will develop and deliver high-quality, accessible training to attorneys, paralegals, advocates, and other professionals who serve New Yorkers facing eviction, domestic violence, consumer debt, immigration matters, barriers to public benefits, and among other civil legal crises, based on a comprehensive community needs assessment. We look forward to continue working alongside our partners in this innovative project!
Tax Updates
Pandemic Era Refund and Relief
Based on a change in federal tax law, as well as recent court cases, those who did not file a 2019, 2020, 2021, or 2022 tax return may be eligible for refunds. Usually, people cannot get any tax refunds if they file their tax returns more than three years after the due date. However, for 2019-2022, the refunds may still be available if the tax returns are filed by July 10, 2026. Who should consider filing these tax returns? People who had more federal taxes withheld from their paychecks than necessary. People who qualified for federal refundable tax credits and did not file a return, including: the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the COVID-19 stimulus payments. Those who had federal tax debts during the pandemic may be eligible for a refund of any penalties and interest they paid for that period. Those who had such penalties and interest assessed but never paid them may be eligible to have them removed. Those who may be eligible and wish to claim a refund or relief of these penalties and interest, should complete Form 843 by July 10, 2026.
CASH Summer Tax Prep
Empire Justice Center’s free tax preparation program, CASH (Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope) is now making appointments for our Summer Tax Prep Season! Those located in Monroe County who need their 2025, 2024, or 2023 returns completed should complete our pre-screening eligibility survey and schedule an appointment online. Appointments are available Tuesdays and Wednesdays from June 2 through August 26.
Staff Recognition
Managing Attorney of Tenant Advocacy, AJ Durwin, was unanimously selected as co-chair of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI) Housing Working Group, alongside Melissa Berrien of the Rochester Housing Authority. As co-chair, he will also automatically become a member of RMAPI’s steering committee. This selection comes from years of serving on RMAPI policy projects, working to reduce poverty across the Monroe County area. Join us in congratulating AJ in this honor!
Thank You For Reading
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