Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C,I,Ref-Schoharie) joined his peers in the Assembly Minority Conference at a press conference this morning to champion the open and transparent spending of taxpayer’s hard-earned money. Tague has strongly fought for transparency since his first day in office so that constituents know what their money is being spent on and on who’s order. This comprehensive reform bill, introduced by Assemblyman Bob Oaks (R,C-Macedon), would help do just that (A.5657A).

“You deserve to know where your money is going. It’s as simple as that,” Tague said. “We can’t keep pumping millions in economic development funds into programs that yield no growth and no jobs. Where does that money go? It goes into the pockets of people well connected to Gov. Cuomo and never gets to see the light of day again.”

The governor’s economic development projects have been unmitigated disasters over the past few years. The most recent example being the sale of SUNY Polytechnic Institute for $1, when the project cost upwards of $15 million.

“It’s time we stopped the trend of siphoning important tax dollars away from real economic development projects to these circus shows that waste our money and make the state look like a joke. The time for back-door deals and money trails that disappear is over, while the time to light up the shadowy office rooms of Albany is now.”