Albany, NY – Assemblymember Harry Bronson today announced the passage of legislation he authored to reduce wasteful spending by state agencies on contracts with consulting firms (A5459).

“New York’s taxpayers work hard for their money and they deserve to know that it is being spent wisely by government. That is why I wrote legislation requiring state agencies conduct a cost analysis before entering into a contract with private consulting firms,” said Assemblymember Bronson. “New York spends enormous sums of money on consulting contracts when we have skilled and educated state employees who are capable of doing the very work contracted out to consultants at a lower cost. I am pleased that this important proposal to curb wasteful spending has passed the Assembly, and I will continue to find ways to save taxpayer dollars from being spent recklessly in Albany.”

The State of New York spends more than $2 billion per year on consultants. In many cases, the cost of a consultant is substantially higher and could be performed by professional state employees.

The bill requires state agencies to conduct an analysis to determine if a project could be completed more economically by state workers before entering into contracts. The bill would apply to projects that cost more than $750,000 over a 12-month period.