Rare Props for Gov. Pataki

Fresh out of the hospital (continuing wishes for a strong recovery), Gov. Pataki has signed the Contract Disclosure bill. The legislation requires the state to disclose the true costs of government consulting contracts.

As the bill's Senate sponsor, Joe Robach said:

State agencies annually contract for consulting services that involve hundreds of millions of dollars of public funds. However at present, these contracts are subject to relatively little public disclosure or oversight. In many cases state agencies are hiring consultants for long periods of time and are paying them fees far greater than the amount that it would cost to hire state employees to do the same work.

Donna Lupardo was the the prime sponsor of the bill in the Assembly.

From an administration that has been racked by contracting scandal after scandal, enactment of the Contract Disclosure bill is a strong blow for the cause of good government.

And kudos, of course, to the WFP's affiliate, the Public Employees Federation, and allies that led a strong lobbying effort.