In a landmark case brought by the Empire Center with the support of major news media and good government watchdog organizations, the public’s right to know the identities of public pension recipients in New York will be at stake in arguments heard next week by the state’s highest court. Read More
How to shine a light on how our taxdollars are spent. Read More
Data available to the public under the state Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) would be proactively disclosed on the Internet under model legislation developed by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
Senate Majority Dean Skelos today said that “enacting a stronger, permanent Kendra’s Law must be a priority for the 2013 session, and should be included in any legislative agreement on gun safety” as part of New York’s response to the mass murder in Newtown, Ct. (not to mention New York City’s recent subway-shoving incidents). Read More
Based on their just-introduced one-house budget, Assembly Democrats don’t support Governor Cuomo’s proposal to eliminate all required reports by local governments and school districts to state agencies. From a transparency and accountability standpoint, that’s good news for taxpayers and the general public, as explained here. Read More
The latest wrinkles in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s green energy policy, as outlined yesterday in his third State of the State message, include a “cabinet level energy czar” recruited from the Obama administration. Read More
McMahon pointed out that the number of local governments a county has doesn't matter. "It's the cost of the government services that drive up taxes," he said. "If you get rid of these special districts, you would still have to supply the services." Read More
Critics have challenged Cuomo’s math. U.S. Census data shows that New York has about 3,450 local governments, and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli puts the total at about 3,800. Cuomo is including thousands of special taxing districts, such as ones for lighting and sewer services, that aren’t governments, critics said. Read More