Lawmaker Pushes For Greater Transparency In Nassau County Government

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- One Long Island lawmaker is pushing for greater transparency in Nassau County on multi-million dollar contract awards.

Legislator Laura Curran (D-Baldwin) has introduced legislation that requires all contracts above $3 million receive a full legislative vote from all 19 members.

Curran said currently "hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contracts are voted on by just the seven members of the Legislature's Rules Committee," which she notes is one-third of the whole body.

The bill puts extra eyes on the process and makes corruption less likely, Curran said, adding that it was the misuse of Superstorm Sandy recovery money that sparked her legislation, WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reported.

"That just put such a spotlight on the problem of corruption," Curran said. "I think if you have more vetting of contracts, the less possibility of this sort of scandal to occur."

Legislator Carrie Solages said it's about "basic transparency."