On May 20, GNYHA joined the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS), the New York Organization of Nurse Executives, and nurse executives from hospitals across New York for a lobby day in Albany on nurse staffing and workforce issues. The group educated key members of the Legislature and their staffs on issues related to the nursing shortage, urged support for legislation to enhance the availability of nurses, and expressed serious concern about legislation that would make it more difficult for hospitals to serve patients safely and effectively, including bills to ban unavoidable mandatory overtime and to impose rigid nurse staffing ratios in hospitals. With regard to enhancing the availability of nurses, the group expressed strong support for S.4994-B/A.8645-A, sponsored by Senator George Maziarz (R-Niagara) and Assemblywoman Susan John (D-Monroe). This bill would authorize funding for schools of nursing and health care providers for initiatives to increase the number of nurses in New York State, including recruitment and retention efforts, the development of new nursing programs, and the development of faculty. With regard to mandatory overtime, the group expressed opposition to A. 1898-B/S.6342, which would ban the use of mandatory overtime except in the case of extreme emergencies. GNYHA and HANYS oppose the bill for several reasons, including the lack of an exception for situations where an extraordinary number of absences for a given shift would result in unsafe nurse staffing levels. In addition, the Continuing Care Leadership Coalition (CCLC), GNYHA’s long term care affiliate, has urged an exemption for home care agencies. GNYHA looks forward to working with its members and the State Legislature on legislation that truly solves the nursing shortage, and thanks its members who participated in this year’s nurse lobby day.