Spending by state lawmakers on office personnel and administrative costs varies widely, with some paying out nearly twice as much as others on their office operations, according to the most recent reported legislative expenditure data, posted to SeeThroughNY.net.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins’s office spent $1,385,815, the highest of any senate office during the one-year period that ended on September 30, 2024. In comparison, Senator James Tedisco, a minority member, spent the least among upper house members, at $601,029.

State lawmakers from the Senate and Assembly spent a total of $268,352,074 on legislative operations in the year from October 2023 to September 2024.

These findings come on the heels of the FY 2026 budget deal, the largest in state history at $254 billion. The deal increases the Legislature’s budget by $5.7 million to $298.6 million. Of that sum, $142 million will go to the Assembly and $122 million to the Senate.

• The highest-spending individual lawmaker offices in both the Senate and Assembly were overwhelmingly those of Majority party members. The 36 Senate offices that spent most were Democrats, as were the 70 Assembly offices that spent most.
• The Senate Majority’s total leadership office expenses (finance, conference services, communications, counsel, and operations) were more than double that of the Senate Minority’s – $10.0 million versus $4.6 million.
• Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s leadership offices spent a combined $2.47 million.
• Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes’s offices spent a combined $1.5 million. In comparison, Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay’s two leadership offices listed spent a combined $675,237.
• The Legislature spent $3.57 million on travel for legislative duties, primarily back and forth to Albany. Assembly members spent a combined $2.49 million on travel, and Senators spent $1.08 million.
• The Independent Redistricting Commission spent $1.4 million.

Mailing and postage were one of the top cost categories for both houses. Senate and Assembly members spent a combined total of more than $37 million on mailing, shipping, and postage expenses.

The personal offices of the Assembly members spent $9.18 million on mailing and postage. Senate members spent more than $10.6 million on postage. State Senator from 26th District, Timothy Kennedy’s office topped the list, spending $269,622 in postage. Among Assembly members, Stefani Zinerman from District 56 in Brooklyn, spent the most on mailing and postage — $116,178.

Among the legislature’s top vendors was the United States Postal Service (USPS), with the agency sending out checks of more than $20.5 million. In addition, the agency paid out checks worth more than $1.64 million to Dell for technology services, $1.34 million to Central National Gottesman for paper supplies, and $1.34 to West Publishing Corporation for publishing services.

A categorial breakdown of reported expenditures for each legislative office can be found on SeeThroughNY.net here.

Note: The Legislature reports its expenses in two semi-annual reports (October through March, and April through September) that align with the state’s fiscal year (April through March) but do not align with legislative terms or the session calendar (January through December).

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.