ALBANY â€" Gov. and , New York State’s attorney general, have reached an agreement on how to divide a big piece of the $613 million the state received as part of a securities settlement with .
Mr. Schneiderman announced on Monday how he and the governor would split $163 million of the funds, with half being distributed by Mr. Schneiderman’s office to programs that prevent avoidable or help prevent future financial fraud, and the rest going to the state’s general fund to be spent on housing-related programs as well. The two men have not reached an agreement on who will allocate the remaining $450 million.
For weeks now, Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Schneiderman have been at odd over who should get to spend the cash, which JPMorgan paid to New York State in December as part of a national $13 billion settlement over its mortgage-lending practices. Mr. Schneiderman and the bank negotiated terms so that the attorney general would be given sole discretion over how to allocate the money on the condition that at least 85 percent of it went toward specific housing or financial fraud-fighting programs.
Mr. Cuomo, however, wanted the money deposited in the state’s general fund, where he and legislators could direct it toward housing-related issues of their choice.
The initial deal with JPMorgan was structured in a way that Mr. Schneiderman would have the ability to draw down on $163 million after Nov. 1, 2013, and then $150 million in subsequent 12-month peri! ods.
Damien LaVera, a spokesman for Mr. Schneiderman, said on Monday that his boss “looks forward to using his discretion to allocate funds from this and future bank settlements in an open and transparent way to help as many New York families as possible.â€
Matthew Wing, a spokesman for the governor, said the agreement “further ensures that the transparent disbursement process that has been followed by past attorneys general remains in place.â€
