Tighter economic development rules included in Cuomo budget

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo's state budget proposal released this week contains a couple of initiatives regarding economic development that good-government groups have been seeking for years.

The first spending plan of the Democrat's third term includes proposals to boost procurement regulations for oversight of certain state contracts and create a searchable online database of projects receiving funding from the Cuomo administration's economic development agencies.

The proposals follow last year's convictions of a former top aide and Cuomo's own "economic guru" on corruption charges stemming from upstate development projects.