April 11, 2008

BREAKIN' DOWN THE BUDGET

This demo paid off

AIDS advocates will be watching the budget finalization process vigilantly to make sure that programs for poor people living with AIDS aren't given the last-minute shaft—but this year's state budget turned out better than anticipated. Thanks to the efforts of Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried, $1.6 million of the proposed $2.1 million cuts to the New York State AIDS Institute budget were restored. $575,000 in funds from the Education/Labor/Family Assistance budget for "HIV testing and prevention" will also lessen the blow. But these restorations aren't an unqualified victory: The AIDS Institute was originally slated to receive an actual $1 million increase in this year's executive and one-house budgets.

There was good news, too, in the Social Services budget. State legislators restored SSI invisibility to disabled children in homes affected by HIV/AIDS, and, because it's an entitlement program, funding for the restoration wasn't reduced. The restoration is a major victory for Housing Works, which spent years in court and in Albany lobbying for an end to a Dickensian Pataki-era policy that robbed poor families with disabled children of $573 a month in benefits. The Social Services budget also included $1.4 million for job training for low-income people with HIV/AIDS that Senate Republicans tried to ax. However, the program lost $28,000 thanks to the across-the-board two percent budget cut.

Update readers know that a dozen activists were arrested two weeks ago protesting Senate Republicans' attempts to wipe out job-training funding and SSI invisibility. On Thursday a judge let the "Bruno 12" off relatively easy with an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD) and 20 hours each of community service at the non-profit of their choice.

The Social Services budget is not perfect. Social Services Chair Keith Wright tried to add a modest increase to New York's shamefully low public assistance basic need grant, but the Senate successfully opposed the measure and the Governor didn't support it outright.

"Clearly this has been an unsuccessful fight," said Jeanine Johnson, chief counsel to Wright. "The face of poverty is an uphill battle and one that's not very popular. But Assemblyman Wright is committed to this and he won't give up."

Looking ahead...

The Assembly Social Services committee gets props for unanimously passing A.5473 on Tuesday. This "30 percent rent cap" bill addresses the absurd policy that New Yorkers receiving AIDS rental assistance for private market apartments do not have their rents capped at 30 percent of their monthly income. Poor New Yorkers receiving HIV/AIDS Services Administration rental assistance are currently required to give all but $330 of their public assistance—the equivalent of a single person's cash grant—toward their rent, leaving them $11 a day to live on. "This is a good bill," Johnson said. "The correlation between lack of housing and the AIDS epidemic is becoming clear. Those are compelling reasons to help people and give them assistance with their housing needs." The legislation now heads to the Assembly Ways and Means committee. AIDS advocates will be vigorously lobbying for its passage.

Other important bills awaiting the Legislature's approval:

• Statewide HASA for All, which would provide rental assistance and other entitlements to all poor New Yorkers living with HIV. Statewide HASA for All would end New York City's backward policy of extending such assistance only after people with HIV get gravely ill. The bill (S.1570) was introduced by Sen. Tom Duane and is in need of an Assembly cosponsor.
• The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) (A6584A/ S3753-A), which would provide long-overdue protections against discrimination based on gender identity or expression. This bill has been stalled for years, and now is the chance to get it passed. The bill has been referred to government operations.

The Housing Works AIDS Issues Update is reported, written and edited by Diana Scholl, David Thorpe, Phil Fox Rose, Christine Campbell, terri smith-caronia and Housing Works staff. Send your feedback, leads and story ideas to d.scholl@housingworks.org.

You can reach us by phone at 212-967-1500 x168, by fax at 212-868-4222, and by email at d.scholl@housingworks.org. Housing Works provides housing, advocacy and services to homeless people living with AIDS and HIV. Housing Works is the nation's largest community-based AIDS organization and the nation's largest minority-controlled AIDS organization.

Go to http://www.hwupdate.org/update/subscribe_update.html to subscribe.