The controversy over funding of the New York Redistricting Commission has come to a head as two individuals sue the governor and other state officials over the impasse.
One plaintiff is a former candidate for the state legislature and the other, a member of the commission itself. They challenge the decision to provide funding for the commission through a third-party organization as opposed to a direct appropriation, which they claim is required by the state constitutional provision establishing the commission.
This is the latest in a months-long saga for the commission that began when funds were not appropriated to the commission in the state budget. An excerpt from the commission’s letter to the governor earlier this year explains the issue:
“the enacted 2020-21 State Budget appropriated $750,000 to the Department of State “[f]or services and expenses of the Independent Redistricting Commission” … and contained another $250,000 in reappropriated funds for the Commission. As of the date of this correspondence, however, no such funding has been released by the Department of State to fund the Commission and the 2020-21 Executive Budget that you submitted to the State Legislature on January 20, 2021 neglected to include any new funding for the Commission.”
Letter dated Jan. 28, 2021 from the NY Redistricting Commission to the Governor and state legislative leaders.
In late January, the NY Department of State and The Research Foundation for the State University of New York entered into an agreement to fund the Commission through the SUNY Research Foundation using existing appropriations. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that the commission is not a party to the contract and would not be able to exercise the staffing and fiscal autonomy given to it by the state constitution.
