The New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) has reached agreements with four major U.S. companies to evaluate and set targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and regularly report on their progress toward meeting their goals, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the Fund, announced today. In response to the agreements, the Fund withdrew its shareholder resolutions with the companies.

In March, the Office of the State Comptroller approved 2,618 contracts for state agencies and public authorities valued at $7.1 billion and approved nearly 4.2 million payments worth nearly $38.1 billion. The office rejected 159 contracts and related transactions valued at $272.6 million and nearly 9,200 payments valued at nearly $34.6 million, primarily for mistakes, insufficient support for charges, and improper payments. More information on these contracts and payments is available at Open Book New York.

A new report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing staffing pressures, particularly a shortage of staff nurses, in NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) facilities, leading to an increased reliance on temporary nurses and higher staffing costs.

"The state budget makes important investments in education and health care, including mental health care, and provides significant, recurring funding to the MTA that will help close budget gaps. The Governor has stated that reserves will equal 15% of State Operating Funds, consistent with recommendations I have long advocated. The budget also makes statutory changes that increase the allowable deposits and balances of the state's rainy day reserves. The state should put this authority to use by relying more on statutory, rather than informal, reserves.

Local government sales tax collections in New York state totaled $5.5 billion in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 7.1%, or nearly $369 million, compared to the same three-month period last year, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander called on Wells Fargo & Co.’s board of directors to publicly report on the company’s efforts to prevent harassment and discrimination in the workplace following a majority shareholder vote in favor of a proposal filed by the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) and the New York City Pension Funds. DiNapoli serves as the trustee of the Fund and Lander serves as fiduciary to the city’s five public pension funds.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released the following statement on Mayor Adams' executive budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024:

“The city has laid its fiscal cards on the table, including budget risks my office has raised in recent years. The mayor’s executive budget provides a more transparent accounting for new costs associated with collective bargaining wage increases and asylum seekers. It also shows stronger than projected city revenues and additional savings from the Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG).

New York City’s taxable sales grew by 18.1% in the first three quarters of the latest sales tax year (STY, March 2022 to February 2023), with leisure and hospitality sales on track to exceed pre-pandemic levels, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Payments under New York’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program rose steadily between 2018 and 2021 as the amount of allowable time off and weekly cash benefits increased. Almost eight million workers were covered under PFL, with $872 million paid on approximately 156,000 claims in 2021, the latest year for which PFL data is available from the state Department of Financial Services, according to an analysis by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government and school audits were issued.