ALBANY, NEW YORK (WXXI) - Governor Paterson said in his State of the State message that he plans to consolidate a number of state agencies with related missions, as a means of streamlining government and saving money.
In a teleconference call, Paterson's Director of State Operations, Valerie Grey, said the governor's budget proposal includes merging the Department of Economic Development and the Empire State Development Corporation into one entity, and consolidating several agencies, including the Crime Victims Board and Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence into the Division of Criminal Justice Services. She says human resources, grant applications and legal departments could be shared.