ALBANY - Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and members of the Senate Majority Republican Conference Wednesday launched its “Accountability in Government Spending” plan, a major initiative designed to save taxpayer money, reduce government waste and unnecessary spending, and ensure greater openness and accountability throughout state government. As efforts increase to reduce state spending, these measures would provide a much more detailed accounting of how State government actually spends tax dollars.

The proposals, which would build on the Senate’s recent approval of a Constitutional Spending Cap, include new Public Expenditure Reports for state agencies, authorities and the Judiciary, new performance-based budgeting requirements, and a new public website initiative to allow New Yorkers to track the performance of government programs and submit ideas for reducing spending and stopping wasteful spending.

“With millions of middle class families tightening their belts to overcome tough economic times, taxpayers have every right to demand that their government operates as openly and efficiently as possible,” said Bruno.  “When coupled with our Constitutional Spending Cap, these commonsense reform measures will help New York overcome the fiscal challenges we face, while also providing taxpayers with a more transparent, accountable, and efficient government.”

In an effort to address the state’s economic situation, Governor Paterson has directed State agencies to reduce their spending by 3.35 percent, and indicated a desire to begin discussions on spending reductions in the 2009-10 State budget.

The budget is just a projection of what an agency expects to spend.

The plans we are announcing today would, for the first time, give the public a detailed accounting of exactly how agencies, including all executive agencies, the judiciary and public authorities, are spending the dollars collected from hardworking taxpayers,” Bruno said.  “This information, which is already provided by the Legislature, is critically important and should go hand in hand with any effort to reduce State spending.”