Secrecy cloaks budget pork; Pact among state finance officials keeps confidential how $200 million of discretionary funds will be spent.(Main)

Byline: JAMES M. ODATO Capitol bureau {FACTBOX} Secret projects with taxpayer money This document, never before made public, was obtained by the Times Union from a source. It is last year's "Memorandum of Understanding" between the governor, Senate majority leader and Assembly speaker establishing separate allotments for $200 million in so-called "member items" -- $85 million for senators, $85 million for Assembly members and $30 million for the governor. The agreement has a secrecy clause requiring each party to "treat information regarding any proposed project as confidential" and to "not share it with any individual or entity, except ... on a confidential basis with the agency or authority proposed to administer the project." Last week, the governor vetoed the Legislature's $200 million member item budget.

ALBANY - When the finance czars of the Senate, Assembly and Gov. George Pataki's budget division divvy up $200 million for pet projects each year, they sign a confidentiality pact barring them from telling the public how the money is going to be spent, according to a document obtained by the Times Union.

The arrangement wraps a shroud of secrecy around a process of choosing who will get taxpayer money from the Legislature's so-called "member …