On March 7, Gov. Kay Ivey making Alabama the 11th state since 2011 to enact universal school choice. With its approval, it doesn’t matter if families choose to enroll at a public or private school, or to homeschool—Alabama’s Read More
Research
State officials awarded $29 million in 'distressed' provider funding to a politically active medical group in the Bronx, state records confirm. a network of physicians and oth Read More
The latest federal data show New York's public school system has the highest per-pupil spending of any state; New York City has the highest per-pupil spending among the nation’s 50 largest school districts; and New York teachers have the highest average pay while pupil-teacher ratio is among the lowest. Read More
New York state energy officials are taking the exceptional step of hiring a public relations outfit, using $500,000 per year of public money, to "maintain a positive narrative" and “respond to negative viewpoints” about the state’s 2019 climate law. Read More
Three years after boosting New York State’s top tax rate to its highest level since 1981, Democratic majorities in both houses of the Legislature have united behind a plan to raise personal income taxes even higher on Empire State income millionaires. Read More
The pace of population change in most New York counties slowed during the 12 months ending July 1, 2023, the third annual period measured by U.S. Census estimates since the disruption of the 2020 pandemic. Read More
Legislative leaders are proposing an additional $4 billion tax on health insurance plans in the upcoming state budget – but withholding specifics of how it would work. Read More
The SUNY-owned hospital in Brooklyn facing a newly announced downsizing plan has seen its patient volume and revenue plunge over the past decade, according to a review of its financial reports. Read More
While New York Attorney General Letitia James’s name has dominated much of the news in 2024 already, one of the most noteworthy instances did not garner nearly enough attention. In mid-February, —which many parents know as the company that admini Read More
This report analyzes how well 66 executive branch agencies are using the internet and technology platforms to meet their FOIL obligations (see table below). It evaluates how user-friendly agency websites are for making FOIL requests. And it examines to what extent agencies are using, or not using, technology to make both the agency’s and the public’s FOIL experiences better. Read More
Nearly four full years since the COVID-19 lockdown of March 2020, statewide private employment in New York has finally (barely) returned to pre-pandemic levels—but it's hardly the "full economic recovery" touted by Governor Hochul in a self-congratulatory "New York is Back" press release. Read More
As state budget preparations head into their final weeks, a confrontation is brewing over Medicaid, the state-run health plan for the low-income and disabled. Governor Hochul has holding the state’s $36 billion share of Medicaid funding essenti Read More