District attorneys across the state slammed Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday after he said law enforcement agencies don’t need more funding to implement new criminal justice reforms.
“I think they’ve gotten additional funding, and they’re getting additional funding, so no, I don’t think they need more funding,” Cuomo told reporters at an unrelated event in Albany.
“Everyone always says they want more funding. This year, funding is going to be very difficult.”
DAs have argued they don’t have enough funds to properly carry out the new discovery law — which goes into effect in Jan. 2020 and mandates a 15- to 30-day window for prosecutors and defense lawyers to exchange materials before an arraignment.
They’re seeking extra money for staff and technology upgrades.
“The governor’s unwillingness to appropriate funds for this unfunded mandate will only cause victims to be victimized again when prosecutors are unable to perform the basic functions of their offices,” seethed District Attorneys Association of New York President David Hoovler, a Republican.
“If the state refuses to fund ordinary costs related to the implementation of these new laws, the burden will then be on county budgets, who may be unable to pick up the slack.”
Hoovler’s organization estimated the mandates could cost law enforcement agencies across the state upwards of $100 million.
During an October state Senate hearing, members from Attorney General Letitia James’ office said the changes will warrant the need for 20 new staffers and over $10 million — $500,000 of it up front.
The state’s Division of Budget spokesman, Freeman Klopott, defended Cuomo, insisting critics aren’t accounting for $200 million allocated to county governments during the 2019 state budget for the cause.
Klopott also argued that “hundreds of millions of dollars” saved by counties from declining inmate populations could be rerouted to fund the DAs’ needs.
“That’s not how the justice system works,” fumed Democratic Albany County DA David Soares.
“That’s not how county budgets work. More importantly, that’s not how math works. Suggesting that counties will repurpose into criminal justice, those dollars saved by closing portions of its jail is a work of fiction.”