Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s Weekly News

Celebrating Earth Day

Earth Day reminds us all to recommit and redouble our efforts to protect the planet through the decisions we make. It is a day to amplify and share that message of paying closer attention to how we impact the planet every day.

We do not need Earth Day to remind us that face a global crisis. We can already see and feel climate change’s impact on our lives through rising global temperatures, changing weather patterns and rising sea levels.

As trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, it is my responsibility to protect our investments and climate change is one of the most significant risks we face. We are using our leverage as the third largest public pension fund in the U.S. to push corporations to improve their environmental stewardship and join the ongoing effort to build a low carbon economy.

We’ve put $4 billion into our low emissions index that shifts our stock holdings from the worst carbon emitters to cleaner corporations. We continue to engage with companies in our portfolio on a range of climate-related concerns. We’re pushing energy companies to explain how they can meet the Paris Agreement goals. We’re persuading agribusinesses to commit to using products certified free of links to deforestation. We’re pushing major greenhouse gas emitters in our portfolio to set real targets for using renewable energies and shrink their carbon footprint.

New York State’s pension fund recently led a group of investors that called on Ford Motor Company and General Motors to uphold and protect greenhouse gas emissions standards and disavow the climate-denying lobbyists who are trying to roll back federal emissions standards for passenger cars.

Everyday our $209.1 billion pension fund is working for positive changes in global corporate practices.

But in the decisions that we all make on a daily basis, we can bring about a cleaner, low carbon future. We can all take steps to be more conscious of how our choices—whether it’s how we travel or what products we purchase—can help shrink the carbon footprint that we leave on our planet.

For more information on the Office of the State Comptroller’s environmental work, read our Environmental Newsletter.

State Oversight of Animal Shelters Found to be Adequate, But Better Safeguards Needed Before Dogs are Euthanized

The state Department of Agriculture and Markets is generally doing well to ensure animal shelters across New York are providing safe conditions and proper care for seized dogs, but officials could do more to make certain dogs are not inappropriately euthanized, according to an audit by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

State Tax Collections Rose $4.9 Billion in Fiscal Year 2017-18

Tax receipts for State Fiscal Year 2017-18 reached $79.3 billion, $4.9 billion, or 6.6 percent above the previous year, according to the state cash report by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The state ended its fiscal year on March 31 with a General Fund balance of $9.4 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion over the prior fiscal year.

Wells Fargo Needs to Pull Back the Curtain on Its Incentive Pay Program

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, announced that he has written to fellow Wells Fargo shareholders urging them to support his call for the bank to provide a report detailing the company’s efforts to determine whether its incentive pay practices have exposed it to financial loss. DiNapoli’s shareholder proposal will be put to a vote of fellow investors at the bank’s annual meeting on April 24.

DiNapoli’s Contract Review Protects Taxpayer Dollars

In 2017, the Comptroller’s office processed 20,867 new contracts or amendments valued at $88.4 billion, completing the review in an average of 7.5 days. But removal of the Comptroller’s independent contract review helped create an environment that has led to incidents of fraud and overspending, with $3 billion instate contracts authorized in 2017 without the Comptroller’s oversight.

State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Municipal Audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced his office completed audits of the Village of Dansville,Town of Moreau, New Hope Fire Department, Real Property Tax Exemptions Administration, Town of Shandaken,Village of Spencer, Village of Suffern and the City of Yonkers.