The Office of the State Comptroller approved 1,798 contracts valued at $4.3 billion and nearly 1.9 million payments totaling $12.3 billion in November, according to a report released Friday. The office also rejected 234 contracts worth $818.1 million and nearly 1,000 payments valued at $11.6 million, primarily due to errors, insufficient documentation, or improper charges.
Among the major contracts approved were significant investments in infrastructure, public safety, education, and environmental conservation.
The Department of Environmental Conservation secured $1.6 million with Inventech Marine Solutions LLC for patrol boats, while the Division of State Police approved a $5.7 million contract with Nielsen of Morristown Inc. for Dodge Durango patrol vehicles and $1.6 million with AmChar Wholesale Inc. for firearms and ammunition.
Infrastructure projects included a $51.4 million contract with J&N Construction Group Corp. for building reconstruction at the New York Psychiatric Institute and a $32.9 million agreement with FAHS Construction Group Inc. to renovate SUNY Morrisville’s Crawford Science Laboratories.
The Department of Transportation approved a $12.7 million contract with H&L Contracting LLC for guardrail replacement across Nassau and Suffolk counties, alongside other bridge and road projects statewide.
In education, SUNY secured contracts totaling $14.6 million with BSN Sports LLC for athletic apparel and $7.1 million with Evans Mechanical Inc. for mechanical work at Binghamton University’s East Gym expansion.
In terms of payments, the largest disbursement came from the State Education Department, with $1 billion in general aid distributed to 388 school districts. The Department of Civil Service paid $469.3 million to CaremarkPCS Health LLC for pharmacy benefit services and $43.7 million to Carelon Behavioral Health for mental health and substance abuse program administration.
Tax refunds remained a significant expenditure, with $821.1 million issued for personal income tax refunds and $258.3 million for corporate tax refunds.
Other key payments included $51.8 million to Maximus Inc. for Health Benefit Exchange assistance and $209.5 million through the Department of Labor for unemployment and pandemic assistance programs.
Additionally, the Gaming Commission distributed $12.3 million in tribal-state compact payments to multiple counties and $10.9 million to localities for gaming revenue from casinos such as del Lago Resort and Tioga Downs.
State auditors also rejected more than $1.2 million in tax refunds and recovered $189,900 from vendors with outstanding debts. Payments totaling $235,800 were held pending resolution of disputes between subcontractors and primary contractors.
For the calendar year through November, the Comptroller’s Office approved over 20,000 contracts worth $303.3 billion and nearly 28.4 million payments totaling $172.7 billion. It also rejected 2,637 contracts and nearly 35,000 payments due to documentation errors and other irregularities.
More details on the contracts and payments are available on Open Book New York, the state’s transparency website.
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