FL policy center applauds state for spending transparency, recommends even more openness

The James Madison Institute has come out with a new policy brief titled Transparency in Government Spending: Next Steps for Florida. The policy brief notes Florida has a history of being at the forefront of the transparency movement, and that it should seize on the unique opportunity it has to maintain that reputation.

Past Florida transparency initiatives include posting a state “E-budget” in the late 1990′s, and providing and online, searchable database of government expenditures.

The brief also details the story of three transparency bills in Florida that failed to become law. One of those bills comes straight from Utopia: it would have required each local government entity and authority prepare a line-item report on revenue, revenue sources, and expenditures. While the bills didn’t pass, they did bring transparency to the forefront, thus setting the stage for the signing of SB 1796, the Florida Transparency Act of 2009 in late May of that year. The law mandates the Governor’s office create a website and require each branch of government and government agency to disclose data, including disbursement data and budget amendments.

The briefing notes that one of the strong parts of this law is that its execution be overseen by the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee. Because the Committee has broad oversight of the implementation of the law, the James Madison Institute recommends it use that discretion to promote greater transparency through measures such as the following:
-The Committee should use its broad oversight role to recommend the incorporation of expenditures beyond those in the General Appropriations Act.
-Contextual information should be provided along with the data. The Committee can demand this.
-The project should keep citizens in mind and, as such, provide data in usable formats, such as XML.

The policy brief ends optimistically, stating that the first step was made 2009 towards Florida becoming a leader in state government transparency, and that 2010 can help ensure that process is complete.

For Sunshine Review Florida transparency grades and resources, check out the following links:
*Evaluation of Florida state website
*Evaluation of Florida school district websites
*Evaluation of Florida county websites
*Florida Sunshine Law
*Florida state budget
*Florida state government salary