ALBANY — State leaders set aside $19 billion in “non-specific funds” in the latest $155.6 billion budget, which a government watchdog warned Thursday could be a source for corruption.
In its annual report on discretionary “lump sums,” Citizens Union said it found $4.8 billion in lump sum funds in 84 separate pots, 65 percent more than the $1.9 billion set aside in the previous budget.
Another $14.2 billion was identified in additional non-specific funding pots “where no official is explicitly cited as having control.”
Citizens Union executive director Dick Dadey said lump sums are often doled out behind closed doors and away from public scrutiny.
“These lump sums are a source of corruption,” he warned.
Secret lump sum expenditures featured in the corruption convictions of both former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former State Sen. Malcolm Smith.