Reports

New York State’s Environmental Facilities Corporation has provided financing for over 2,000 essential local water infrastructure projects totaling more than $23.7 billion since 1990, but the estimated capital improvement needs for water and sewer projects far exceeds this amount, and tens of billions of dollars in local projects remain in the pipeline. Using federal capitalization funds, New York has spent more for Clean Water and Drinking Water projects than any other State; however, the need remains significant and more can be done to reach communities which have not yet accessed funding through financing and State grants.

Historic federal pandemic relief funds, though being spent down, continued to boost New York’s balance of payments in Federal Fiscal Year 2022. For every dollar New York sent to the federal government in tax receipts, it received $1.06 back in federal spending, as compared to a national average of $1.28, ranking New York 39 out of 45 states with a positive balance of payments. This report is the eighth in a series by the Office of the State Comptroller that examines the flow of funds between the federal government and the states.

Interactive Map | Excel file with supporting data

In the throes of the economic uncertainty and fiscal turbulence caused by the COVID crisis, legislation was enacted as part of the SFY 2021-22 budget authorizing the use of State-supported bonding with final maturities up to 50 years for capital purposes for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. This legislation has been reauthorized and proposed again in the State Fiscal Year 2024-25 Executive Budget. As we approach the State’s coming 2024-25 fiscal year, the budget proposal authorizing such 50-year borrowing should be rejected, and the State should return to long-standing bond financing norms. The budget also includes a proposal to severely restrict the State Comptroller’s terms and conditions oversight of private sales of State debt, which should be rejected.

This report examines the local government role in emergency medical services (EMS) in New York State and particularly the growing role that counties are playing in EMS provision. Declining staffing levels, increasing costs and other challenges have put pressure on the State’s EMS agencies. In many cases, counties are stepping up to help. Their EMS expenditures are growing rapidly and increasingly they are participating directly in providing EMS to their residents, either as primary responders or as back-up providers to their local EMS agencies. The current circumstances call for more State involvement to support the efforts of counties and other local governments to turn fragmented and ad hoc responses into comprehensive solutions.

Between 2013 and 2022, there was a 23% increase in the number of individuals served by the State’s public mental health system. The rising need for mental health services coincided with a loss of 990 beds, a 10.5% drop in capacity, in inpatient psychiatric facilities statewide between April 2014 and December 2023. Ensuring the availability of inpatient mental health services is a critical component of the State’s effort to address the ongoing mental health challenges facing the State and improve the lives of vulnerable New Yorkers.

In 2021, New York ranked high among states for business creation; however, some business owners may face impediments to creating a new enterprise. While New York exceeds the nation in the share of businesses that are majority female and minority-owned, they continue to represent less than one-quarter of all owners in the State. Entrepreneurship is vital to the economic health of the State, and ensuring equitable access to the capital and tools for business creation are also important for New York’s future.

New York’s higher education sector is facing challenges, including a looming enrollment cliff, growing costs of attendance, and rising student debt. This report provides critical indicators on the competitiveness of higher education institutions, explains their major challenges, and offers recommendations for consideration. Keeping New York’s higher education institutions competitive by ensuring their affordability, diversity and spirit of innovation and community is important for our State’s future.

The Corporate Governance Program supports and facilitates the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in the Common Retirement Fund’s due diligence process, investment decisions, and performance monitoring program, and provides active stewardship of the Fund’s public equity holdings.

For almost 3 million New Yorkers, housing costs constitute more than 30 percent of household income, with 1 in 5 households experiencing a severe cost burden of more than 50 percent of their income going to pay for housing. This report is the third and final report in the “New Yorkers in Need” series. It examines three categories of housing insecurity: high housing costs; physical inadequacy, including overcrowding and substandard conditions; and housing stress, including evictions and foreclosures, which may result in homelessness.

Since early 2020, enrollees in New York Medicaid have not had to renew their coverage due to COVID-19 public health emergency. With federal legislation ending continuous Medicaid coverage in March 2023, New York State began the process of redetermining eligibility for every enrolled individual. Based on recent trends, this report estimates “unwinding” may not meet projections in the Division of the Budget’s Mid-Year Update to the Enacted Budget Financial Plan, adding costs to the State budget.

This report examines PIT filings for the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 and follows up on DiNapoli’s May 2022 report that looked at pre-pandemic taxpayer migration trends.

The number of domestic violence victims increased in 2022 by 8.5% in New York City and 8.7% in the rest of New York State when compared to 2019. With nearly 90,000 reported victims of domestic violence statewide in 2022, significant work remains to reduce the number of these destructive incidents and to ensure the availability of resources to assist victims.

State collections from all forms of gaming totaled $4.8 billion in State Fiscal Year 2022-2023. With the legalization of mobile sports betting, the New York State Gaming Commission noted a 26% increase in problem gambling-related calls to the Office of Addiction Services and Supports from 2021 to 2022. More attention should be devoted to understanding the implications of mobile sports betting, particularly on young New Yorkers.

Cyberattacks are a serious threat to America’s critical infrastructure and have the potential to severely impact our day-to-day lives. According to the FBI, cyberattack complaints in New York State increased 53% between 2016 and 2022, jumping from 16,426 incidents in 2016 to 25,112 in 2022. Estimated losses in New York from cyberattacks in 2022 totaled over $775 million, while losses nationwide totaled $10.3 billion.

This report examines comparative data for 10 rural counties in New York to identify challenges faced by these communities and others like them, as well as opportunities. Population, employment, housing and other trends were considered, and these findings can be used as a baseline from which future trends can be measured. The median age of people living in these 10 rural counties increased at nearly twice the rate of the State between 2011 and 2021 while simultaneously population numbers declined. In some areas, accessing employment, health care, food, educational opportunities and services can be difficult.

As required by Section 196 of the Navigation Law, the Comptroller prepares an annual report to the State Legislature and the Governor. The report includes: a description of the costs and damages paid by and recovered for the Fund; the monies spent pursuant to Section 186 (including amounts spent for oil spill prevention, training activities and equipment purchased), and the economic and environmental impacts on the State.

The Corporate Governance Program supports and facilitates the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in the Common Retirement Fund’s due diligence process, investment decisions, and performance monitoring program, and provides active stewardship of the Fund’s public equity holdings.

From 2010 through 2021, the percentage of New Yorkers without health insurance declined every year to 5.2% in 2021, well below the national average of 8.6%. Rates of uninsured New Yorkers are lower than the nation largely due to the State’s higher rates of enrollment in public health insurance programs, which provided coverage to 4 in 10 New Yorkers in 2021. As the State begins reprocessing eligibility determinations for public health insurance, continued transparency and reporting will be essential for understanding the implications for coverage rates and on the State’s budget.

New York State will have to take multiple steps to increase renewable electricity generation to achieve the objectives of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Success will also require State agencies to consistently and proactively identify and address problems, continue streamlining permit and interconnection study procedures, and develop the necessary infrastructure to connect renewable projects to the grid and New Yorkers' homes.

State tax receipts totaled $27.6 billion through the first quarter of State Fiscal Year 2023-24, $450.8 million higher than estimates released in the Division of the Budget’s Enacted Budget Financial Plan. However, collections were $6.8 billion lower than last year through the quarter ending in June 2022.