Law restores comptoller's power to 'pre-audit' major state contracts

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature have restored the authority of the state comptroller to “pre-audit” most big state contracts before they are final, overturning measures by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The new law signed by Hochul restores the pre-audit review of large contracts such as for major infrastructure and construction by the State University of New York, the City University of New York and the state Office of General Services. The law sponsored by Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick (D-Nanuet) and Assemb. Kenneth Zebrowski (D-Clarkstown) will cover hundreds of millions of dollars in spending each year, while still retaining the power of a governor to buy goods and services quickly during an emergency such as a pandemic.

“This is a huge win for public accountability,” said John Kaehny, executive director of government the watchdog group Reinvent Albany. “The restoration of the comptroller's contract oversight powers will keep tens of billions of dollars in New York State taxpayer funds from being lost to waste, fraud and abuse. New Yorkers of all stripes win when there is independent oversight.”

Hochul had insisted on changes in the bill to raise the value of contracts that would be subject to pre-audits, excluding smaller contracts, and to limit the amount of time pre-audits could take. The pre-audit will cover contracts worth more than $85,000 and the comptroller’s office will have up to 90 days to complete its review.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli noted the language of the final version of the agreement isn't yet drafted, but he called the changes minor and said most pre-audits can be done in five to 14 days.

Cuomo, beginning in 2011, had included several measures in his state budget proposals that removed "pre-audit" authority from the comptroller’s office. Cuomo argued it was necessary to speed purchasing of essential items and services and to cut costs created by the delay. The measures were adopted by the Legislature as part of the state budgets. Governors have extraordinary leverage to include their policy measures in annual spending plans.

Since 2011, DiNapoli sought to regain the power to analyze some of the state’s biggest contracts before the executive branch approves them. These “pre-audits” had aimed to uncover conflicts of interest, waste or fraud before a big contract is finalized under a power. That authority had been in place for more than a century.

“It really gets us back to reaffirming the role of this office as an independent reviewer of contracts before they are approved to make sure taxpayers are getting the best value,” DiNapoli said in an interview Tuesday.

The comptroller’s office “plays an important and pivotal role in ensuring that there is integrity in our procurement system and works to ensure that contract decisions are based on which contractor will provide the best and most cost-effective product or service,” Hochul said.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.