#NYCoronavirus: "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst" is a favorite saying of Governor Cuomo, who has rolled it out again to describe how the state will deal with the coronavirus. But when it comes to the next state budget, Cuomo is hoping for better and preparing for more of the same. Read More
New York’s most comprehensive online database of state and local government contracts has been updated with the latest employment agreements for school superintendents on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
#NYCoronavirus: Amid growing fears that a coronavirus pandemic will severely disrupt the global economy, and with the stock market heading for its biggest weekly losses since the 2008 financial crisis, Governor Cuomo has been oddly quiet about the obvious budget implications. Read More
This week’s stock-market plunge amid mounting fears of a global economic slowdown triggered by the coronavirus couldn’t come at a more crucial time in New York state’s budget-making process. Read More
New enrollment numbers from the state-run health insurance exchange confirm a trend relevant to budget talks in Albany: The role of local governments in signing people up for Medicaid is smaller than ever. Read More
Albany police are among the latest group of workers benefiting from the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision. Read More
Ruling in favor of the Empire Center, a state Supreme Court judge in Albany has ordered the Cuomo administration’s energy and environmental agencies to release a supposedly incomplete "comprehensive study" of how to meet the governor's aggressive renewable energy goals. Read More
Virginia Democrats are poised to legalize collective bargaining for government employees. In November Democrats brought Richmond under their total control for the first time in more than a quarter-century. The new legislative majorities seem intent on ignoring the painful lessons of New York state’s half-century experiment with government unions. Read More