New York State Legislature Joins Public Interest Groups for Oversight of Stimulus Funds

One of POGO's core good governance beliefs is that a strong legislative branch is necessary to provide oversight of the executive branch. Which is why we are eager to see how state legislatures are proposing to oversee how governors spend their stimulus funds.

Fueled by a vibrant grassroots movement in New York, there has been a somewhat bipartisan push from the state legislature for Governor David Paterson to create a more "comprehensive" plan designed to ensure greater transparency in the spending of stimulus dollars. In fact, with half the majority conference in the state Senate, State Senator Jose M. Serrano (D-Manhattan/Bronx) just sent a letter asking the Governor to be “pro-active” and issue an executive order to create independent stimulus monitoring and transparent decision-making, among other recommendations. Analogous letters are being sent by the state assembly and New York City Council.

This is important because, according to a grassroots coalition, we're already hearing reports from New York that “information about available stimulus funds is currently being shared mostly with entities that already have long-standing ties to state government through existing grants and contracts, or other existing relationships.”

-- Ingrid Drake