Reforming New York's dysfunctional state government

In 2004, the Brennan Center for Justice and New York University’s School of Law released a report describing the New York Legislature as “the most dysfunctional state [government] in the nation.” It was an excellent critique and its findings were well founded.

Unfortunately, the report was viewed in Albany as nothing more than the machinations of liberal political opportunists, hardly worth considering. Times were good, budgets passed, interest rates were low, home values increased faster than taxes, debt concerns were muted, and, with the exception of Joseph Bruno, most powerbrokers continued to ply their trade.

One aspect of change never gained traction. It is the unbridled growth and spending of an estimated 480 public benefit corporations and agencies that currently serve as quasi-private organizations. Billions of dollars are involved, and in the words of Sen. Dean Skelos on June 4, 2009, “The process of government will keep getting worse unless we adopt the reforms we are pushing for today.” Score one for foresight.

On Dec. 9, 2009, Albany passed an updated version of the Public Authority Reform Act. It expanded the role of the Independent Authority Budget Office (IABO) with a mandate to collect and analyze information on the finances and operations of state and local authorities, conduct audits, define fiduciary responsibilities and specify plans for a reform agenda.

No one can deny that that mission should be very productive. But a reality test, using information from both the New York Times and an IABO report, issued on July 1, 2010, suggests a difficult road ahead.

The reform act requires that employment data be entered into a central registry. The Times story, “Albany’s Two Payrolls: One Is Anybody’s Guess” highlights the absence of any semblance of centralized control of 163,000 state employees, with some agencies saying they're “unaccustomed to public inquiry.” In particular, the Thruway Authority refused to release its statistics without a Freedom of Information Law request and took a month before doing so. Independence trumps authority, setting the table for arguments to come.