Hevesi, Magnarelli to Investigate Burdensome State Reporting Mandates on Local Governments

April 9, 2012

Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) Chairman of the Committee on Oversight, Investigation, and Analysis and William Magnarelli (D-Syracuse, Geddes and Van Buren) Chairman of the Committee on Local Governments have issued 4,660 requests to local government officials asking that they identify and detail state mandated reporting requirements imposed under current and previous statutory legislation that they find to be unnecessary, irrelevant, or in need of consolidation. This investigation is intended to identify ways to streamline the functionality of local governments by relieving them of unnecessary burdens. Erroneous statutory reporting requirement can be fiscally draining for local governments.

Responses to the request are expected to be submitted over the next month. The Committees will jointly review the information before making recommendations to Assembly leadership.

“One of the most common, and unfortunate, perceptions of government is the overwhelming amount of bureaucratic paperwork that is associated with carrying out what should be the simplest tasks,” Hevesi said. “Local governments spend significant amounts of their budgets compiling reports each year, and we want to find out if some of these requirements have become outdated or were simply irrelevant to begin with.”

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