Investigations & Government Operations Committee Releases 'Report on Reports'

Each legislative session, the New York State Legislature passes various bills directing State and local entities to conduct studies and issue corresponding reports on topics of public interest. As these studies touch upon necessity and properness, success and failure, general functionality, financial accounting, and other essential analysis of major public policy and/or programs, the Senate Standing Committee on Investigations & Government Operations (“Committee”) is of the opinion that full and timely compliance with reporting requirements is vital to effective decision-making by the Legislature and implementation by the Executive.

This examination, as well as the findings and policy recommendations incorporated herein, is the conclusion of the Committee’s review of state executive-level reporting. The Committee has identified the following findings:

• 41% of the studies – 26 of 63 – were never completed and/or submitted (the Committee received valid justification for five of the missing 26 reports);
• Missing publication dates make timeliness difficult or impossible to determine;
• Absent or vague references to authorizing statutes make it difficult to determine which report responds to which piece of legislation;
• The lack of a centralized submission mechanism or process by which reports are acknowledged as received leads to issues with accessibility and accountability; and
• A failure to display or post reports and studies on government websites makes it difficult for the public to access the information and findings within these reports.

The full report can be found here.