Transparency in the States

The All-Payer Database is a Transparency Trojan Horse
Independence Institute
By Linda Gorman
Posted on March 10, 2010
State House Bill 1330 would create an "all-payer health claims database" in Colorado. Bill supporters claim government can reduce health care costs through "transparent public reporting of health care information." But, the bill is a transparency Trojan Horse. It will make your most personal actions transparent to government officials, who could view highly personal information collected from private medical records, insurer files and hospitals.

CT Sunlight Project
Yankee Institute for Public Policy
Posted on February 19, 2010

Yankee's new transparency website, CTSunlight.org, experienced more than 13,000 visits and nearly 60,000 page views in its first five days. This online tool allows visitors to look at every line item of state government spending, discover how their tax dollars are being spent, and identify possible corruption and suggest ways to effectively reduce spending in Hartford. The website includes information about payment to retirees.

Oregon.gov Publishes State Workers’ Salaries
Cascade Policy Institute
By Jacob Szeto
Posted on February 8, 2010

In an effort to meet requirements for a legislature-required transparency website, Oregon has made available some 32,620 state workers' salaries. Numerous public employees, however, are not included, such as those in the Oregon University System. The mean salary for all listed workers: $51,442. The mean for all Oregon workers, public and private: $41,430. The state workers' mean salary exceeds Oregon's mean salary by $10,000, or 24 percent.

OurIdaho.com
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Posted on August 28, 2009

OurIdaho.com is the only website that monitors, tracks and analyzes the spending habits of Idaho's public schools, highway districts, state and other taxing districts. It contains spending data and employee information from the state government; Boise, Nampa, Meridian, Twin Falls, Pocatello, Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls, Ada and Bannock counties; and the Boise, Meridian and Nampa school districts. More data will be posted as it is collected.

Vermont Transparency
Ethan Allen Institute
Posted on July 8, 2009

The Vermont Transparency website helps show where the state, cities, towns and school districts get their money and how it is spent. The site also offers a route for citizens to access legislative voting records, and provides summaries of new legislation. In addition, the website contains numerous links to analyses and commentaries on the Vermont state budget process, public spending and taxation.

Meridian, Idaho to Post Spending Data
Idaho Freedom Foundation
Posted on June 22, 2009

Meridian officials have stated, the city will begin posting line-item expenditure data on its website. Meridian is the fourth Idaho community to agree to a new level of transparency, allowing citizens to see how their dollars are spent. Eagle already posts its transactions online. Nampa and Canyon County are preparing to post line-item reports online. IFF is in the process of developing its own transparency in government website database.

HawaiiVotes.org
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Posted on April 27, 2009

Aloha State residents and others now have a powerful, online tool to track the actions of Hawaii's state legislature and individual legislators. HawaiiVotes.org provides concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill, amendment and vote in the state House and Senate. Each can be sorted by legislator, issue category, keyword and more, allowing site users to create a custom voting-record guide for any legislator on any issue.

Billboards for Government Transparency
Montana Policy Institute
Posted on April 8, 2009

BigSkySearch.info is a project undertaken by MPI to advance open and transparent government in the Big Sky State. This effort includes clever billboards that read: "Track tornadoes online, but not state tax dollars?"; "Find a husband online, but not state contracts?"; "Check your bank balance online, but not state government's?"; "Search for ancestors online, but not state records?" and more.

Anderson County Spending Transparency Website Goes Online
South Carolina Policy Council
Posted on April 1, 2009

Anderson County, South Carolina, leaders have posted county financial records online. A new website contains the county budget, financial reports, check registers and all employee credit card statements since July 2008. The posting occurred within three weeks of a pledge to do so - without the need to hire additional staff and, noted council chairman Eddie Moore, "Putting it online didn't cost a dime."

TennesseeVotes.org
Beacon Center of Tennessee
Posted on February 16, 2009

This site provides concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Tennessee House and Senate. These can be searched by legislator, category, keyword and more. Citizens can also post comments about bills and discuss other state policy issues on the Forums. Because the legislature does not post votes online, TennesseeVotes.org offers Tennesseans a convenient way to view how lawmakers impact their lives.

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