Research

State regulation of public utilities dates from the early nineteenth century, when the legislature began including financial and service requirements in incorporation statutes. More systematic oversight began with an 1843 assembly resolution requiring railroads to submit reports to the secretary of state. Five years later (Laws of 1848, Chapter 140), the railroads were required to report instead to the state engineer and surveyor on financial affairs, equipment, and passengers and freight carried.

The Legislative Commission on Economy and Efficiency in Government was established by Chapter 50, Laws of 1979 (the annual state budget act). It was continued in operation via reappropriations in the budget laws of succeeding years, but was never given any separate statutory base. In 1986, the budget law changed the commission's name to the Legislative Commission on Public Management Systems; however, its structure and duties have remained unchanged.

The State of New York Mortgage Agency was established as a public benefit corporation by Laws of 1970, Chapter 612 (as amended by Chapters 613 and 614), to "provide increased availability of residential mortgage funds." Laws of 1972, Chapter 234, further authorized SONYMA to "issue its bonds and notes for the purpose of making available funds" for student loans. The agency is administratively situated within the Division of Housing and Community Renewal.

The origins of this department can be traced to the Dutch office of surveyor general established in 1642 to survey the lands of the Province of New Netherland. The office was continued under the British colonial government and reestablished after New York became a state (Laws of 1781, Chapter 32). The surveyor general was appointed by the Council of Appointment until 1821, when the new constitution provided for election by the legislature. Surveying the public lands continued to be the principal function of the office.

The State Traffic Commission, established by the legislature in 1936 (Chapter 910), was New York State's first agency with traffic safety responsibilities, but its main responsibilities related to traffic engineering and traffic control. The first State agency responsible solely for traffic safety was the Traffic Safety Policy Coordination Committee, established by an executive order of May 4, 1957, to advise the governor and coordinate State traffic safety efforts.

The Division of Criminal Justice Services was established within the Executive Department in 1972 (Chapter 399). The division was the result of the consolidation of three separate governmental units: the New York State Identification and Intelligence System (NYSIIS), the Office of Local Government's Division for Local Police, and the Office of Planning Service's Division of Criminal Justice. NYSIIS had been established in 1965 (Chapter 353) as a service agency within the Executive Department to gather, computerize, retrieve, and disseminate criminal justice information.

The Office of Employee Relations was created by the Laws of 1969 (Chapter 491). The office is headed by a director appointed by the governor. Its basic functions have remained unchanged since 1969, but it has assumed additional responsibilities such as providing partial funding (along with public employee unions) of employee training and development, health benefits, safety and health, and day-care programs.

In 1995, a number of agencies, which had previously functioned independently, were consolidated in order to increase efficiency, reduce overhead and enhance the delivery of the State's economic development initiatives. The functions of the Department of Economic Development (DED) and the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) were consolidated, along with other State economic development entities: the Job Development Authority (JDA) and the Science and Technology Foundation (STF).

The Authority Budget Office was established by the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2005 (Chapter 766). It was a separate and autonomous unit within the State Division of the Budget and was responsible for reviewing and reporting on the operations, practices and finances of state and local government authorities, encouraging effective governance, and providing information about public authority performance to the Governor and the Legislature. The Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009 (Chapter 506) established the Authorities Budget Office as an independent office with expanded powers.

The New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR) was created by the Jobs 2000 for New York State Act (Chapter 684, Laws of 1999). The office funded research into and development of "job-creating technologies" at public and private institutions of higher learning within the State of New York. It also supported a network of non-profit Regional Technology Development Centers to help smaller manufacturers modernize their facilities and facilitate the development of high-tech industry. NYSTAR worked closely with the Empire State Development Corporation.