In my testimony today, I will not attempt to delve into the many issues surrounding the administration of the real property tax in New York. As this committee's other witnesses will attest, New York's current patchwork approach is both unfair and inefficient. The reliance on numerous local assessment districts, and the lack of a single assessment standard linked to a regular reassessment cycle, are glaring shortcomings of the system as it now exists. Read More
Economic conditions have obvious implications for the work of this Committee and for the Legislature in general. We are in the midst of a potentially severe and long-lasting global recession. But for New York State, the recession is only part of the problem. Fueled by the super-heated profits of the securities industry, mixed with gains from a now-popped real estate bubble, the surge in state tax revenues over the past five years was as big as anything New York has experienced during any previous five-year stretch in the last 35 years. Read More
E.J. McMahon testified before the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committees. Read More
Delivered to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee Read More
Before the Senate Temporary Committee on Rules Reform Thank you for inviting me to share my thoughts about government transparency and accountability. For years, the long-standing joke in Albany was if you want to know what’s Read More
E.J. McMahon testified before the Senate Temporary Committee on Rules Reform. Read More
First, this economic and fiscal crisis is not just another cyclical downturn. What we have witnessed over the past year is the end of an era. Read More
As a former journalist and now as analyst for the Empire Center for Public Policy, I am pleased the Senate is considering a package of bills to expand the Freedom of Information Law and the Open Meeting Law. Read More