By Steve Levy
New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has issued a report criticizing New York State Governor Kathy Hochul’s budget for preventing the legislature and the comptroller from overseeing numerous expenditures within the budget.
The comptroller points out the fact that there is an additional $3 billion in spending that avoids competitive bidding and $160 million worth of contracts that circumvent traditional vetting rules.
This is concerning given that, during the Covid pandemic, the governor had awarded millions of dollars in Covid test kits to a specific firm, bypassing any competitive process.
Maybe that type of activity can give you a pass during a pandemic, but not anymore, now that the pandemic is long gone.
Steve Levy is Executive Director of the Center for Cost Effective Government, a fiscally conservative think tank. He served as Suffolk County Executive, as a NYS Assemblyman, and host of “The Steve Levy Radio Show.”