School districts across the state last year used lower-turnout special elections to win voter approval for nearly $2 billion in construction projects and other major purchases instead of presenting them alongside their budget proposals in May, according to a new study by the Empire Center for Public Policy in Albany. Read More
State regulators should drop plans to mandate a $10.18 "dispensing fee" for each prescription filled by a pharmacy, the Empire Center's Bill Hammond said in comments submitted Monday to the Department of Financial Services. Read More
New York City firefighters and fire officers retiring last year after full careers were entitled to , up 11 percent from the prior year, according to new data added to SeeThroughNY, the Em Read More
The pension plan covering most New York city government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 47 members with pension payments of at least $200,00 last year, 11 more than in 2021, according to Read More
New York City’s first coronavirus wave has emerged as one of the deadliest of the entire global pandemic, revealing critical weaknesses in the state’s public health defenses. Read More
On the 20th anniversary of the 2003 New York City blackout, Empire Center fellow James E. Hanley issued the following statement. Read More
Overtime costs at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last year surged to nearly $1.3 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2021 according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY. Read More
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Biden v. Nebraska, finding the Biden administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan unconstitutional. Read More