Benjamin Davis
Policy Analyst
The ability to see how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. State governments across the country have made their checkbooks transparent by creating online transparency portals – government-operated websites that allow visitors to see who receives state money and for what purposes. Following the Money 2014, our fifth annual ranking of states' progress toward online spending transparency, documents the progress states have made in the past year in empowering citizens to track state spending.
Policy Analyst
Newer editions of this report are available:
Every year, state governments spend tens of billions of dollars through contracts for goods and services, subsidies to encourage economic development, and other expenditures. Accountability and public scrutiny are necessary to ensure that the public can trust that state funds are well spent.
In recent years, state governments across the country have created transparency websites that provide checkbook-level information on government spending – meaning that users can view the payments made to individual companies as well as details about the purchased goods, services or other public benefits. These websites allow residents and watchdog groups to ensure that taxpayers get their money’s worth.
Last year was the first time that all 50 states operated websites to make information on state spending accessible to the public. These web portals continue to improve. For instance, in 2014, 38 states’ transparency websites also provide checkbook-level detail on subsidies for economic development. Many states are also disclosing information that was previously “off budget” and are making it easy for outside researchers to download and analyze large data sets about government spending.
This report, U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s fifth annual evaluation of state transparency websites, finds that states are making progress toward comprehensive, one-stop, one-click transparency and accountability for state government spending. Over the past year, new states have opened the books on public spending and several states have adopted new practices to further expand citizens’ access to critical spending information. Many states, however, still have a long way to go to provide taxpayers with the information they need to ensure that government is spending their money effectively.
Figure ES-1: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data
Over the past year, several states have launched new websites or made substantive upgrades to their existing websites. For example:
States have made varying levels of progress toward improved online spending transparency. (See Figure ES-1 and Table ES-1.)
Some states are innovating new features for online transparency. They have developed new protocols and datasets, giving the public unprecedented ability to monitor and influence how their government allocates resources. For instance:
All states, including Leading States, have many opportunities to improve their transparency.
Table ES-1: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data
Policy Analyst