Reports and Fact Sheets

Reinvent Albany regularly writes and publishes on issues and legislation relevant to our core mission. Below is a complete list of our reports, policy briefs, and memos.

June 2024 The MTA Is Big Business in the Tri-State Region 100,000 New York Jobs at Risk from Cancellation of Congestion Pricing May 2024 Agency Transparency Plans All Fizzle, No Sizzle Our report reviewed 66 transparency plans by NYS agencies to Gov. Hochul in Q1 2024, finding them incomplete and underwhelming. May 2024 Upstate Law Firms Reap Undisclosed Millions from IDA Deals that Cost Public Billions Big political contributions from law firms earning transaction fees on IDA deals may fuel more and larger corporate subsidies. April 2024 IDAs Have Perverse Incentive to Give Away Tax Dollars IDAs have a perverse incentive to give away tax revenue that would otherwise support schools, parks, and emergency services. March 2024 Listening to FOIL 2024: Lessons from Six NYS Agencies Our new report looks at the open records requests made per the Freedom of Information Law to six agencies of NYS government. November 2023 “Open Criminal Courts” Report Finds At Most 6% of NY Criminal Court Decisions Published The report calls for criminal court decisions to be published to improve transparency and public accountability. July 2023 “Open ESD” Report Recommends Major Reforms for Secretive State Authority Report includes 35 specific actions to improve Empire State Development’s transparency, governance, oversight, and ethics. June 2023 NJ Businesses Earned $3.3B from MTA Contracts from 2014-2022 MTA is big business for NJ, with $3.3B paid to NJ companies over last 9 years. April 2023 New Report Shows Buying Influence Works The science is clear: Gifts, including campaign contributions, influence the decision-making of elected officials. March 2023 Lump Sum Warning Report Finds $14.8B Waste/Corruption-Prone Pots of Money in Budget Reinvent Albany and Citizens Budget Commission released a joint report finding $14.8B in proposed lump sum pots in Gov Hochul’s Executive Budget March 2023 Major Studies Show Film and TV Tax Credit Programs Create Little Payoff NYS leaders are proposing a massive expansion of NY’s film/TV tax credit that would cost $7B over the next decade. There's substantial evidence that these credits don't create the promised effects on jobs, incomes, or economic growth. February 2023 Debunked: 25 Major Studies Showing Corporate Handouts Do Not Work There is overwhelming evidence that government handouts to corporations and industries are a waste of taxpayer funds.