1. Budget Negotiations Continue — Extenders Passed
This week, the State Legislature passed two extender bills to keep state government open through May 4. Legislators are scheduled to return Monday to pass another extender to ensure CSEA employees on Administration payroll are paid on time. Progress has been made on budget negotiations, with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie saying on Wednesday “the end is on the horizon.”
2. Age of Supervision Bill Makes Progress
On Monday, the Assembly Children and Families committee advanced a bill that will align supervision requirements for home-based child care providers with child care centers, resulting in more open slots for CSEA VOICE members. State law currently requires home-based child care providers to have one caregiver for every two children under 24 months, while child care centers only have to follow this ratio for children under 18 months. This discrepancy limits the number of children that home-based providers can care for by requiring them to devote more staff time to 18–24-month-olds. CSEA will continue working to get this bill passed before the end of this year’s legislative session.
3. DiNapoli Challenger Removed from Ballot
The Board of Elections has removed State Comptroller candidate Adam Bunkeddeko from the ballot due to insufficient petition signatures, narrowing the primary race to three candidates. CSEA is proud to support Tom DiNapoli’s re-election. He has been a strong partner to working people and has consistently protected our retirement fund and financial future. We encourage members to stand together and support Tom DiNapoli as he faces his primary on June 23!
Check CSEA’s toolkit, which includes flyers, social media materials, and other information for you to share with your co-workers, family, and friends by using this link.
4. The House Advances the Farm Bill
On Thursday, The House passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate. Along with updates to food and agriculture programs, the bill allows SNAP eligibility determinations to be outsourced to private entities. The farm bill also fails to reverse the billions of dollars in SNAP cuts made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, H.R.1. CSEA strongly opposed this legislation, and lobbied members of Congress to oppose the bill. Congressional Democrats from New York voted against the bill, with the exception of Rep. Josh Riley, who voted in favor. New York’s Congressional Republicans voted in favor, except for Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who voted against.
5. Redistricting
This week, Florida’s legislature passed new congressional maps that would create four additional GOP-leaning districts. With the slim Republican majority in the House, even four seats can play a significant role in deciding control of the chamber. This follows the national redistricting trend that has seen Texas, California, Virginia, Ohio, and other states redistrict mid-decade for partisan benefit.
Additionally, this week the Supreme Court made a ruling that weakens a provision of the Voting Rights Act, which banned voting practices that diminish or dilute the power of minority voters. The decision opens the door for more redistricting across the country that could aid Republican efforts to control the House. In response, Governor Hochul has announced that she will work with the legislature to change New York’s redistricting process.
6. Workers Memorial Day
April 28th was Workers Memorial Day, when we remember workers who were killed, injured, or made ill on the job. This past year alone, 10 CSEA members tragically died while on the job, and hundreds more were injured while doing the work our communities rely on every day. That’s why CSEA is pushing for stronger worker safety laws, including expanding workplace violence protections, increasing penalties for assaults on public employees and holding reckless drivers accountable when they endanger workers in work zones.
7. Next Week
The State Legislature is scheduled to meet on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week. Another budget extender must be passed on Monday to ensure that state employees on the Administration payroll are paid on time.
8. CSEA Legislative Toolkit
We’re encouraging members to get the word out about our legislative successes. Click the icons below for informational documents that you can print, share, and post on social media to spread the news. You can also check out our summary of the 2025 legislative session.
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