New York nonprofits press Gov. Hochul to sign two bills on how the state contracts with and pays them
The Legislature passed both in June. One sets payment schedules and widens a state loan fund; the other requires a 25 percent advance within 30 days of a contract's signing. Neither has yet been sent to the governor.
New York Council of Nonprofits members worried about funding basic operations
Buffalo. Nonprofits across New York are pressing Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign two bills that would change how state agencies contract with and pay them. The Legislature passed both in June; its records show neither has yet been sent to the governor.
Close to 900 nonprofits back the bills, Buffalo Toronto Public Media reported on Oct. 20 from an event in Buffalo with Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, executive director of Partnership for the Public Good. Karen Nicolson, chief executive of the Center for Elder Law and Justice, said late payments leave her to choose between borrowing and laying off staff.
“It's getting worse every year, in terms of how we get paid and the length of time it takes to get paid.”
What the bills change
Senate Bill 9761, sponsored by Sen. Shelley B. Mayer and, in the Assembly, by Assemblymember Amy Paulin, amends the state's Prompt Contracting Law. When an agency asks a nonprofit to start work before a contract is signed, its written directive would have to set a start date and schedules for invoices and payment. A nonprofit could borrow up to a contract's full payment from the state's short-term revolving loan fund, instead of half the first quarterly payment. Clerical or rounding errors under $100 could no longer stop the payment clock.
Senate Bill 9855A, from the same sponsors, would require agencies to advance 25 percent of a new contract's total award within 30 days of signing it, when the money has been appropriated. Contract changes would have to be approved within 60 days, or 90 days when the state comptroller reviews them, and contracts would have to cover a minimal rate of indirect costs, unless federal funding terms forbid it. Megan Allen, chief executive of the New York Council of Nonprofits, said paying the program's share of costs such as insurance and electricity would be a large help.
After last year's veto
Ms. Hochul vetoed a similar bill in 2025, citing advance payments and automatic interest, according to Ms. Paulin's memorandum for the first bill, which leaves both out. The Senate passed the bills 60 to 0 and 56 to 4 on June 1, and the Assembly passed both on June 5. Each would take effect 180 days after becoming law.
In a June 8 statement posted on Ms. Mayer's Senate page, the Human Services Council, the New York Council of Nonprofits, Nonprofit New York, Nonprofit Westchester and other groups said the state owes nonprofits at least $650 million, an estimate drawn from a survey, the memorandum says. In the council's survey of its members, 65 percent said they were concerned about funding basic operations in 2025, up from 62 percent the year before.
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