Over the past three years, the state budget has set aside about $1.1 billion into a program to fund local projects across the state. But critics say the program is lacking oversight. Read More
Tag: Legislature
The New York State Assembly spent $325,404 in taxpayer funds to purchase, maintain and fuel vehicles for use by members and staff during its most recent six-month reporting period, according to expenditure data added today to SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
New York State’s $1 billion capital project slush fund is dispensing borrowed money across the state outside public scrutiny, but two local governments have inadvertently given New Yorkers a glimpse of its inner workings. Read More
The Cuomo administration and the state Legislature have begun dishing out grants from a secretive $1.1 billion capital slush fund—all of which will be borrowed money—with no disclosure of project sponsorship or award criteria. Read More
The state Assembly has not released expenditure reports for a full year, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy. The reports included details of members per diem reimbursements. But the last one made public was for the period ending in March of 2014. The Empire Center's Executive Director, Tim Hoefer, joined us to discuss this lack-of-transparency issue. Read More
In what's becoming annual tradition, a handful of bills increasing pension benefits for groups of public employees passed in New York's Legislature this year. Read More
The Assembly paid $1.1 million to 130 members for costs related to “legislative duties” performed in Albany between April and September 2014, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center's transparency website. The data was released more than eight months after the end of the reporting period, an unusually long amount of time. Read More
State lawmakers have given a real boost to government transparency and the public's right to know by voting to speed up the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) process. Read More