Critics Fear Cuomo's Efforts To Improve State Government Efficiency Are A Power Grab
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Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing some criticism for trying to expand the role of his executive power, but the governor counters that it is all part of an effort to end dysfunction in Albany and to make state government run more efficiently. NY1's Zack Fink filed the following report. Last month, the Cuomo administration quietly signed an agreement giving the state inspector general's office the authority to look at tax returns of state employees without approval from the tax department or the courts.
Critics, including some legislative leaders, believes this raises privacy concerns. The state inspector general's office falls under the executive branch.
"He needs to be very sensitive before people say hey, wait a minute we don't have a king. we do have a governor," said former Governor Eliot Spitzer. "And look, I was a governor, I tried to use the full range of powers as well. And I don't want it to sound as if you need to be hands-off. Try to get your agenda through."
As part of his budget, Governor Andrew Cuomo has also proposed being able to move money between departments without legislative approval. That has also drawn scrutiny.
The governor wants to take away the ability of the comptroller's office to pre-audit state contracts, a move he argues will speed up the process.
"My point of view is efficiency in government should not come at the expense and doesn't have to come at the expense of oversight, transparency and accountability," said State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. "That pre-audit authority that the comptroller's office has on contracts is a way to look out for taxpayer money."
Cuomo and DiNapoli have been locked in a very public disagreement over pension reform. But some observers say this is anything but a power grab.
"What he is doing is tinkering around the edges and trying to become a little bit more effective in administration. People, like Nelson Rockefeller generations ago, had much more power than Andrew Cuomo has today," said Steven Cohen of Columbia University.
"The Legislature has one role, the executive has another role. I'm trying to manage this government. I am trying to find efficiencies in this government," Cuomo said last week. "The Legislature could say, 'There's nothing you can possibly do to improve the management of this government.'"
Unlike other states, New york has four statewide elected positions which inherently provide checks on the governorship. Some states, for example, do not even elect their own comptroller.