Various parts of New York State law have been suspended for years by states of emergency declared by Governor Kathy Hochul and her predecessors. Governors have the authority to issue executive orders to respond to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters. The ability for the governors to respond to emergencies should not come at the expense of transparency, however. Governor Hochul should sign legislation supported by watchdogs and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli that would require all contracts issued under emergency orders be published on agency websites.
Like her predecessors, Governor Hochul has also declared states of emergency for difficulties going well beyond natural disasters and pandemics. (See our October 2022 report, Empire State of Emergency). As of December 13, 2023, two emergency orders are in effect. Governor Hochul has renewed former Governor Cuomo’s July 6, 2021 gun violence order 27 times, and May 9, 2023 asylum seeker order 7 times. For a full list of emergency orders issued by Governor Hochul, see here and below.
In recent years, governors’ emergency declarations have suspended dozens of laws that include transparency and anti-corruption safeguards passed by the State Legislature to:
- Ensure competitive bidding on state contracts (State Finance Law);
- Prevent corruption and collusion by state vendors (State Finance Law’s Comptroller review/approval provisions); and
- Protect the environment (the State Environmental Quality Review Act), among other important laws.
The NYS Constitution empowers the Comptroller to prevent waste, fraud, and the abuse of state funds. Under State Finance Law, the Comptroller reviews state contracts to make sure taxpayers are getting a good deal, and they are not influenced by politics or pay-to-play.
While the Comptroller’s contract review authority was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state bought $650 million worth of home COVID tests at nearly twice the price per test as California. As documented by the Times Union, the Hochul administration bought the tests from an internet electronics warehouse, Digital Gadgets – which had already been publicly flagged for price gouging New York City – whose owner and family donated more than $300,000 to Governor Hochul’s campaign.
If the Legislature and Governor are committed to a more accountable government, they should reduce the use of emergency orders that nullify sensible anti-corruption safeguards, and publish all contracts issued under emergency orders. Specifically:
- The Governor should sign legislation supported by watchdogs and Comptroller DiNapoli coming to her desk this month, A7404/S6941, which would require state agencies and authorities to publish contracts that are exempt from prior approval by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) due to emergency orders or other suspensions of the law. The bill requires the government body to publish the emergency contract on its website, along with the following supporting information:
- The related emergency declaration or statutory provision for exemption;
- A summary of the contract including the dollar amount, name of vendor(s), term, and scope of work;
- A description of how the emergency contract relates to an emergency declaration;
- Whether the contract was awarded by a competitive process; and
- An explanation of why the contractor was not selected by competitive process, if applicable.
- The Legislature should pass a bill like its 2021 rollback of the Governor’s COVID-19 powers to require:
- Notification to the Legislature, affected local governments, and the State Comptroller at least five days prior to the extension and/or modification of the order, including the opportunity for comment; and
- Any comments received must be responded to by the Governor’s office.
- The Governor should publish all emergency orders and their extensions online in a searchable format. If she does not, the Legislature should pass a bill, modeled off of the Legislature’s 2021 roll-back of COVID-19 powers, that requires:
- A listing of specific laws that have been suspended or modified, with justifications and certifications from the relevant agencies.
- A listing of all comments received by any relevant government bodies, including a response by the Governor’s Office to the comment.
- The Legislature and Governor should pass a law requiring that emergency declarations lasting more than one year be approved by majority vote of each house of the Legislature. Under current law, the Legislature can pass a resolution to overturn an executive order or emergency declaration, but initial approval is not required for the order or its extensions.
Click here or see below for the full list of the emergency orders signed by Governor Hochul.