The appropriations form forced governors to affirm compensation they could not verify

Evidence

Nonetheless, the question of the legality of Moses’ appropriation still bothered him. The appropriation form to which Moses was asking him to affix his signature began with the words: “I, Alfred E. Smith, Governor of the State of New York, being satisfied that there is available a sum representing fair compensation for the land to be entered and appropriated, do hereby approve…” How could he possibly be so satisfied? His advisers, listening to the Governor thinking out loud on the subject, believed he would probably not sign. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 811

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth checking whether Moses deliberately crafted such self-certifying boilerplate so that any signature would be a legal rubber stamp — a recurring power tool.
• XREF: connects to: Formal state accounting requirements imposed burdens that delayed fund disbursement and damaged project outcomes. — Jessica Carrick-Hagenbarth, Institutional Bricolage and Commoning…, 101; Sunk-cost pressure traps legislators who authorized spending they cannot inspect — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 989

Broader Connections

• Formal state accounting requirements imposed burdens that delayed fund disbursement and damaged project outcomes. #qualifies (0.72) — Jessica Carrick-Hagenbarth, Institutional Bricolage and Commoning…, 101