BILL SPONSORS — (Right) PEF Region 3 Coordinator Frank Besser and Region 3 convention delegates congratulate Assembly Member Susan John on her Quality Service Award.

Cost-Benefit Analysis bill headed to governor
Fourth and final Go Public bill passes

By DARCY WELLS
Accountability in state government is within reach now the Legislature has passed the Cost-Benefit Analysis bill (A.1259/S.6575).

State Assembly Member Susan John and Sen. Nicholas Spano introduced the bill, which requires state agencies to analyze and compare (or comparison shop) in determining whether it’s more cost-effective to have state employees do the work, rather than farm it out to a private consultant.

“This is a huge victory,” said PEF President Roger Benson. “We have provided example after example of how the state wastes hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars each year by hiring costly private consultants to do the work state workers can do better and for less. We know public employees are the better bargain, now we need the governor to sign the Cost-Benefit Analysis bill so the entire state will know.”

State Sen. Nick Spano speaks at PEF’s 2005 Go Public rally. — Photos by Richard Dillard and Jim Adsit

Four for Four
The Cost-Benefit bill is the fourth and final Go Public bill PEF has been pushing for the past two years through it’s aggressive, Go Public campaign. It was most recently supported in a Buffalo News editorial.

“Intensive lobbying, public relations and member mobilization have paid off,” Benson said. “I firmly believe getting all four Go Public bills passed is a direct result of a campaign that utilized coordinated research from our privatization fight-back staff, massive public relations and significant member mobilization. This is a true testament to the increased political effectiveness of PEF.

“We are especially thankful to Assembly Member John and Sen. Spano who played extremely important roles as sponsors of the Cost-Benefit bill.”

The Contract Disclosure bill sponsored by state Assembly Member Donna Lupardo and state Sen. Joseph Robach was signed into law in March. It forces the state to disclose the cost and number of their contract workers.

In August 2005, the governor signed another of PEF’s Go Public bills. The Procurement Lobbying bill requires lobbyists to report about their efforts to influence the award of state contracts.

A public authority reform bill that made some of the reforms advocated by PEF’s Go Public Campaign was also signed into law in 2005.

PEF’s successful Go Public Campaign has been used as a model by other unions across the country as an effective tool in further reducing the practice of contracting out work that state employees can do better and for less.

Slam a lid on state waste
Is your state agency wasting money on private consultants/contractors? If it is, get the facts and share them with PEF. Contact the PEF Department of Civil Service Enforcement at (518) 785-1900 or (800) 342-4306, ext. 280.
 
So far, PEF and the NYS Fiscal Policy Institute have identified more than $500 million wasted annually by the state on “deals” with private contractors for work that could be done better and for substantially less by state employees.

The Communicator July/Aug. '06

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