Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) joined Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,C,I,Ref-Canandaigua) and his colleagues in the Assembly Minority Conference for a press conference to call for transparency and accountability in government regarding New York’s economic development programs.

“The failure of New York’s economic development programs is obvious and so is who is to blame,” said Ra. “Gov. Cuomo has continued to champion unsuccessful programs that continue to fail New Yorkers. With the Buffalo Billion trial starting this week, START-UP NY failing to produce a significant amount of jobs and a $15 million film studio, which promised to provide hundreds of jobs to Central New York, built with taxpayer dollars being sold for $1, I am proud to stand with my colleagues to fight for transparency and accountability in New York’s economic development programs. We are representatives for our fellow New Yorkers, we should be open about what it is we do in Albany and fight for a better New York. We are calling on the Assembly Majority to bring these bills to the floor for a vote. I urge the Assembly Majority to show it is serious about stopping corruption within our government and acting now before the end of the legislative session.

The Procurement Integrity Act (A.6355-A), which has already passed the Senate, would remove Gov. Cuomo’s control over which projects will get funding from taxpayers and how much they will receive, restoring a checks-and-balances system the governor eliminated when he was first elected into office. This will allow the fight for state contracts to be much fairer.

Assemblyman Robin Schimminger’s (D,C,I-Kenmore) “Database of Deals” (A.08175-A) would make public who is receiving taxpayer dollars and if recipients made political contributions which could have influenced the awarding of funds. New Yorkers would also have the ability to decide if the governor’s projects are successful enough to move forward.