Assemblymember Harry B. Bronson (D-Rochester/Chili/Henrietta) announced that legislation he authored to curb wasteful state spending passed the Assembly (A.2022). The bill aims to cut costs by requiring that before entering into a contract for outside consulting services, a state agency must conduct an analysis to determine if the work can be done by state employees in a more economical manner.

“We have an obligation to spend taxpayer money as efficiently as possible,” said Bronson. “It is inexcusable to waste millions on outside consultant services when capable state employees could do the job at a much lower cost.”

The legislation sets forth conditions that mandate state agencies research and determine if a project could be handled at a lower expense by state workers before entering into contracts that cost more than $750,000 over a 12-month period. Exemptions to the policy allow consultants to be used if savings are less than 10 percent, are not feasible or will diminish the quality of service.

New York State spends nearly $2 billion per year on outside consultants.1

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1. osc.state.ny.us/contracts/#CDR