Dear Governor Hochul, 

We, the undersigned 744 nonprofit organizations and individuals from across the state, respectfully urge your approval of S.7001 (Mayer)/A.7616 (Paulin), which passed both chambers unanimously. This essential legislation will reform New York State’s Prompt Contracting Law and implement critical contracting reforms. The health and stability of New York’s nonprofit sector — and the millions of residents we serve — depend on it.  

Nonprofit organizations deliver vital services, at the direction of the state: early childhood education, mental health counseling, homeless housing, substance use treatment, legal services and cultural programming, to name just a few. We are extensions of the state's safety net. Yet, the current contracting system jeopardizes our ability to fulfill this role. Chronic contracting delays, inefficiencies and inconsistencies across agencies,   burdensome processes, and reimbursements regularly delayed by six months or more totaling hundreds of millions of dollars are pushing New York’s nonprofits to the breaking point. 

A recently released white paper from the Human Services Council, the New York Council of Nonprofits, the New York Legal Services Coalition, Nonprofit New York, and Nonprofit Westchester, titled “Nonprofits in Peril” emphasizes the detrimental effects these challenges have on New York’s nonprofit sector.