ALBANY — The Hochul administration’s penchant for issuing disaster declarations has come under scrutiny by a reform group that says they have stunted collaboration from the Legislature and oversight from the comptroller’s office.

Reinvent Albany, a nonpartisan watchdog group, said in a new report that Gov. Kathy Hochul, in releasing 10 disaster declarations since August 2021, effectively suspended dozens of laws put in place by the Legislature, including one ensuring there is competitive bidding on state contracts and another aimed at preventing corruption and collusion by state vendors.

The watchdog group said one $637 million contract that eluded the review of Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli went to Digital Gadgets, which sold COVID testing equipment to the state. The company’s leader and relatives gave political donations to Hochul’s campaign, triggering an alleged pay-to-play scandal.

Hochul has said she played no role in awarding that contract to Digital Gadgets, a company that acquired the equipment it sold to the state from another vendor.

“We think that the way the governor’s emergency powers are structured in law is overly broad, and it can invite corruption and abuse of power,” said Rachael Fauss, senior policy advisor for Reinvent Albany.

Just before Hochul’s rise to the governor’s office, lawmakers curbed the use of COVID-19 emergency powers by her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo. “But they really didn’t touch the use of emergency powers generally,” she said.

Reinvent Albany is asking lawmakers to pass legislation that would require notification to the Legislature, affected local governments and the comptroller’s office to give them the opportunity to comment before emergency powers are extended or modified.

The group is also urging Hochul to sign a measure on her desk that would restore the ability of the comptroller to review state contracts before they are signed.

The governor’s office, in responding to the report, said the emergencies declared by Hochul all complied with existing law and were necessary to deal with such matters as the outbreak of monkeypox, the detection of the poliovirus and the spread of COVID-19, as well as imminent threats of gun violence.

“Faced with historic and unique emergencies, from hurricanes to gun violence to multiple simultaneous public health crises, Governor Hochul has judiciously used the powers granted to her by the New York State Constitution to protect New Yorkers and save lives,” said Hochul spokesman Ari Small.

DiNapoli, for his part, is also urging Hochul to sign the legislation that would restore “critical oversight checks” over state contracts.

“The Comptroller’s independent contract review is an essential deterrent to waste, fraud and abuse,” DiNapoli said. “By reviewing contracts before they are awarded, my office helps ensure the integrity of the procurement process and protects taxpayers and agencies.”

He added: “The governor should sign this bill.”

Several politically-influential unions, including New York State United Teachers and Communications Workers of America District 1, are also urging Hochul to sign the measure. It is also backed by the Empire Center, a conservative watchdog group.

On a related front, state Sen. Sue Serino, R-Hyde Park, said several state agencies are dragging their feet on her Freedom of Information Law request for copies of no-bid contracts and purchases made by the state without the comptroller’s approval during the pandemic state of emergency.

The Hudson Valley lawmaker said she is asking the comptroller’s office, the Albany County District Attorney’s office and state Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the Hochul administration’s deal with Digital Gadgets.

Serino sponsored a bill that would have led to comptroller oversight of state contracts during emergencies. Neither of the Democratic-controlled chambers of the Legislature advanced the bill, she said.