Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the members of the state's first-ever Decarbonization Advisory Panel, which was initially proposed by the Governor during his 2018 State of the State address in January. The panel will advise the Comptroller, as trustee of the $209.1 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund), on how best to mitigate investment risks stemming from climate change and maximize opportunities from the new, low-carbon economy.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the details of the competitive sale scheduled for March 8 of tax-exempt and taxable New York State General Obligation bonds totaling $215.2 million. The state expects to sell $146.2 million for new money transportation, education and environmental purposes. Depending on market conditions, the state also expects to sell $69 million to refund a portion of certain outstanding General Obligation bonds to reduce the state's debt service costs.

Disbursements from New York's Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), one of the state's most important funding sources for preserving open space, protecting water quality and improving parks and waterfronts, are at an all-time high, but spending in future years is expected to require additional resources beyond the EPF's dedicated revenues, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced that Mattel Inc., one of the world's largest toy manufacturers, has agreed to the New York State Common Retirement Fund's (Fund) request that they publicly report on and adopt board oversight of all direct and indirect corporate political spending.

As a result of the agreement, the Fund withdrew the shareholder proposal it had filed for consideration at the company's annual stockholders' meeting.

In January, the Office of the State Comptroller approved 1,575 contracts for state agencies and public authorities valued at $1.6 billion and approved nearly 2.9 million payments worth nearly $9.9 billion. The office rejected 157 contracts and related transactions valued at $500 million and more than 1,300 payments valued at more than $3.7 million, primarily due to errors, improprieties, or lack of documentation. More information on these contracts and payments is available at www.openbooknewyork.com.

A third of the 30 State University of New York (SUNY) campus foundations were operating without the contracts they are required to have with their campuses while overseeing and managing billions in donations and resources, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. More than half of the foundations have not been audited by SUNY in at least 10 years.

"I strongly support Sen. Warren and Rep. Rosen's Sunlight in Workplace Harassment Act. Corporations that allow sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace behavior to go unchecked put themselves and their investors in peril. As a major investor in companies from Wynn Resorts to News Corp., we've seen the damage that occurs when companies fail to stop such abhorrent behavior."

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced that, as Trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, he has filed a legal action against officers and directors of Wynn Resorts Ltd. The derivative action alleges that certain officers and directors were aware that former CEO Stephen Wynn repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances towards employees and pressured employees to perform sex acts, yet failed to investigate or hold him accountable.

Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrest and indictment of, as well as a civil asset forfeiture action against, Arkady Goldin, 39, of Brooklyn, and Value Pharmacy, Inc. ("Value"), located at 257 Broadway in Lynbrook, New York, for allegedly defrauding the New York State Medicaid program out of millions of dollars. Goldin, an owner of Value, is charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree and other crimes for having allegedly paid kickbacks to a hospital employee for the referral of prescriptions for costly cancer medications.

The $168.2 billion State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2018-19 Executive Budget proposes several measures to reduce the financial risks posed by federal funding reductions and an uncertain revenue picture but also weakens checks and balances over the use of public dollars, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.