Golden Leads Statewide Effort to Oversee Sandy Recovery Funds

Albany – State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) today is announcing that the New York State Senate has approved a bill he introduced, S. 4666, that would mandate the New York State Division of the Budget, to oversee, track and report on the State’s spending of funds set aside for the recovery efforts related to Superstorm Sandy.

The legislation would require the Division of the Budget, along with the State Comptroller, to maintain detailed information on their website regarding the expenditure of Sandy recovery monies within the State. Additionally, this bill requires that a quarterly report be submitted on the receipt, distribution and administration of this funding.

The report shall provide detailed information on, among other things, the following:

*the total amount of Superstorm Sandy funding received by the State;

*the process by which such funding was distributed;

*the number of jobs created by such funding;

*an analysis of whether the funding achieved its intended purpose; and

*the distribution of funding by county and municipality

Senator Marty Golden stated, “It has been more than twenty months since Superstorm Sandy ravaged communities, destroyed homes and devastated families throughout New York State. There are many families and neighborhoods, including portions of my district, still trying to get fully back on their feet, and still very much in need of assistance. For those directly affected by Sandy, and for all taxpayers, this legislation allows for better transparency of this storm geared funding.”

The bill was sent to the Assembly. Assemblyman James Brennan (D-Brooklyn) is the Assembly sponsor.