Watchdog to Legislature: Protect Comptroller Oversight Powers in Budget

As budget negotiations begin to wrap up, Reinvent Albany urges the Senate and Assembly to hold strong and reject the Governor’s proposals to undermine Comptroller oversight in the budget.

Last year, state leaders finally restored most of the contract oversight powers that had been stripped from the State Comptroller in 2010. Unfortunately, Governor Hochul’s budget included $12.8 billion in spending for individual appropriations that would be exempt from Comptroller review. Our joint report with Citizens Budget Commission, “Lump Sum Warning,” detailed how Comptroller review helps prevent waste and corruption.

We commended the Legislature for removing most of the exemptions from Comptroller oversight in the one-house budgets, and now ask that both houses hold strong and ensure that the exemptions are not included in the final budget.