Miscellaneous
State Agency and Authority Advertising Practices
We examined the advertising practices of four State agencies and five public
authorities, and estimated that two-thirds of the $55.7 million spent on advertising
by the nine agencies we audited was used to fund ads that either featured
or referenced public officials – primarily the Governor. Publicly funded advertising
should advance the public interest, and avoid the appearance of advancing
partisan interests. However, New York State has no regulations addressing
the advertising practices of its agencies and public authorities, and no laws
that restrict the appearance of public officials in such advertisements. We
identified such laws in two other states and in New York City, and recommended
that similar legislation be considered for New York State. We also evaluated
the marketing plans for six of the nine entities and found that only one had
formally conducted a review of its marketing efforts to determine the effectiveness
of its advertising through measurable performance goals. We recommended other
agencies develop similar plans to measure effectiveness.
For a complete copy of Report 2001-S-37 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day AGING response click here.
For a copy of the 90-day DEC response click here.
For a copy of the 90-day NYSERDA response click here.
For a copy of the 90-day LIPA response click here.