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State Authority Contracts on Open Book NY

Information on three categories of State authority contracts is displayed on Open Book NY. 

  • Approved Eligible Contracts
  • Filed Exempt Contracts
  • Filed Eligible Contracts

Approved Eligible State Authority Contracts

Under the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009, the Comptroller is authorized, at his discretion, to review and approve certain State authority contracts that are valued at greater than $1 million and which are awarded noncompetitively or paid in whole or part with moneys appropriated by the State. Approved eligible State authority contracts are displayed on Open Book New York. By comparison, the Comptroller is required to review and approve all State agency contracts, generally over $50,000.

Accordingly, as the Comptroller’s oversight of State authority contracts is limited by the thresholds established in the Act, fewer State authority contracts are reported on Open Book New York in comparison to State agency contracts. In addition, Open Book is unable to provide spending data for State authority contracts because currently this information is not available from any centralized source.

Filed Exempt State Authority Contracts

The Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009 specifically exempts from the Comptroller’s prior approval authority the following contracts and categories:

  • State authority hospital contracts
  • Contracts for the purchase of power and related costs
  • Contracts for the issuance of bonds
  • Emergency contracts.

The Act requires that these exempt contracts must be filed with OSC while not subject to prior review and approval. Filed exempt State authority contracts are displayed on Open Book New York.

Filed Eligible State Authority Contracts

The Comptroller believes that taxpayers have a right to information about all State authority contracts that are eligible for OSC review and approval – even those that have not been designated for prior approval. To that end, by regulations at Part 206 of Title 2 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR), the Comptroller requires that every State authority contract eligible for OSC review [those valued at greater than $1 million and awarded noncompetitively or paid in whole or part with moneys appropriated by the State] must be filed with OSC. Filed eligible State authority contracts are displayed on Open Book New York.