Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday they plan to pass legislation to be sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk for the second time to improve transparency of state contracts that begin during a public emergency after the governor vetoed the legislation last year.

Assembly Republicans called for greater oversight of the $4.3 billion New York is spending to house and care for migrants arriving in New York City — including $2.4 billion in the latest budget and nearly $2 billion last year.

They want the Legislature to hold a public hearing after The Times Union reported DocGo, the company responsible for caring for migrants and relocating them upstate, worked with subcontractors that benefit family members.

"New York state is really good at spending money, and we're not so good at making sure we have oversight of that money," said Assemblyman Ed Ra, a Republican from Franklin Square. "And in fact, it becomes an afterthought."

The city has spent about $4 billion to date on services and programs for migrants, according to a spokeswoman from Mayor Eric Adams' office. The city submits migrant-related expenditures to the state to be reimbursed, but there's a significant delay in the city submitting receipts. The state has spent $735.1 million for asylum seekers as of April 30, according to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's asylum seeker spending report.

Republicans rallied in the Capitol on Wednesday in favor of legislation that would require the state comptroller's office to audit funds used for migrants and related services and the governor to give the Legislature updated spending reports every 30 days.

They also demanded a public hearing be held later this year to shed light on how the funding has been spent.

"We should make sure that those entities we're contracted for these services aren't using this to give out some contracts to relatives' friends, and that the money is really going to a humanitarian crisis," Ra said.

But state Democrats have other plans.

State contracts entered into during a public emergency are exempt from typical state comptroller oversight. Hochul last year vetoed legislation to require those contracts be made public, but lawmakers said they'll be sending the bill to her desk again this year.

The legislation was amended to only mandate companies publicize the summary and list of contracts — not the entire document — and removes the requirement contracts will be posted retroactively.

"I would prefer the entire word-for-word contract, but this at least still creates more transparency," said Assembly sponsor Michaelle Solages, a Democrat from Elmont. "We just want to do this."

Lawmakers said the proposal to increase transparency of state contracts in an emergency originated after news of troubling contracts state leaders entered into during the COVID-19 pandemic while the governor had expanded spending authority without legislative oversight.

The Senate bill advanced to the Finance Committee on Wednesday. The proposal is expected to be reintroduced in the Assembly in the coming days.

"New Yorkers want to make sure that there's accountability in our government, that there's transparency in our government and that people can view these emergency contracts, and I think that's a low bar," said Solages, who chairs the state's Black, Hispanic, Puerto Rican & Asian Legislative Caucus. "We're going to push back and we're going to pass this bill until the governor signs it into law."

Solages and several Democrats on Wednesday said that while the city's $437 million contract with DocGo lacked transparency and abuses tax dollars, state Republicans are politicizing the humanitarian crisis and should be petitioning Republicans in Congress for federal action.

While some have called for public hearings, former Assemblyman Dick Gottfried, who served for 52 years, says the legislature doesn't have the resources to hold effective hearings like Congress can.

Gottfried returned to the Capitol for the first time Wednesday since his retirement. He argues the New York Legislature does not have the resources to hold effective hearings like Congress, and state legislative hearings often get little press coverage — meaning constituents typically do not learn about the discussions.

"I thnk the constant theme of 'Oh, here's a problem, why aren't we holding a hearing about it?' never really has made a whole lot of sense," he told Spectrum News 1.

Lawmakers have yet to conference the bill or other proposed legislation related to migrant services.

The Senate passed legislation known as Coverage For All on Wednesday to apply for a federal waiver and expand health care coverage to people in New York without immigration status.

But Gov. Kathy Hochul hasn't supported it. The Senate and Assembly each included a bill in their one-house budget proposals.

Assembly sponsor Jessica González-Rojas said it would save the state $500 million in emergency Medicaid expenses — and the holdup is likely political.

"We have a solution in Coverage For All that would save the state money and provide quality health care for New Yorkers so we're not getting to a state of emergency where we're not getting to a dire situation where people need health care," she said.