When the State Pays Late, Our Communities Pay the Price
At the Center for Elder Law & Justice (CELJ), we’re proud to serve older adults and families across Western New York. This past year, we helped 6,000 individuals with issues ranging from elder abuse, illegal nursing home discharges, grandparents’ rights, foreclosures, and more. What many don’t see is how often we’re forced to operate under enormous financial pressure because New York State does not pay us on time. Persistent delays in payment are undermining New York’s nonprofit sector and its ability to serve.
We do the work. We launch programs. We serve clients, often before contracts are even executed, and in return, we wait months to be paid. This broken system is harming not just CELJ, but nonprofits across the State, and it harms the very people we’re all trying to help!
What Exactly Does This Mean - And Why You Should Care
When the State delays payment, nonprofits carry the financial burden, not the government.
That burden falls hardest on small, community-based organizations like CELJ that don’t have large reserves.
Most importantly, it’s our clients, vulnerable Western New Yorkers, who feel the consequences in real time.
That’s why we’re urging lawmakers to pass S.7001/A.7616, a Bill that would reform New York’s Prompt Contracting Law. This legislation includes common-sense changes like:
Automatic advances if contract delays stretch beyond 30 days.
Requiring payment schedules and invoicing timelines when work begins before a contract is signed.
Paying interest at the prime rate on late payments—and eliminating the State’s ability to waive that interest.
Reimbursing the real costs nonprofits incur when forced to borrow due to payment delays.
This is about basic fairness. The State partners with nonprofits to deliver vital public services - but right now, that partnership isn’t holding up its end of the deal. Delayed funding means nonprofits have to take on debt, freeze hiring, or cut programs, while communities pay the price.
Help Us Push for Change!
Support S7001 (Mayer) / A7616 (Paulin) to make changes to the prompt contracting law to address nonprofits' challenges with state funding.
Call your State Senator and Assemblymember. Urge them to vote YES on S7001/A7616. Let them know that nonprofits and our communities deserve better.
Find your legislators: https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator and https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/
Learn More!
To learn more about CELJ’s position on this issue, please review our Memo of Support
Want to learn more about how delayed State contracts and payments are putting nonprofits at risk and what can be done to fix it? Check out the Nonprofits in Peril report for real data and common-sense solutions.
If you have questions or need assistance, feel free to contact Se’Vaughn Herrera at sherrera@elderjusticeny.org.
