On Dec. 8, the state House gave bipartisan, unanimous support to my bill that would post state spending on a public Web site.

House Bill 1880 would create the Pennsylvania Government Accountability Portal, or PennGAP, a searchable Web site that would post Commonwealth expenses, including those of the state legislature, such as:

• Budget line items and expenditures, financial disbursements made by or through various Commonwealth programs and a brief summary of the purpose of the expenditure.
• Financial data associated with the purchase of goods and services including professional and technical services and state agency contracts.
• Total salaries paid to state agency employees, and a listing of all state agencies' full-time positions with annual salaries of $50,000 or more.
• Monthly credit card statements for each state agency, including statements for credit cards issued for official use to officers and employees of each state agency.

This bill would not only bring transparency and accountability to state government, but also could result in significant savings, because by opening state spending to public review, we give more people an opportunity to help us find ways to control and cut costs.

Information on PennGAP would be provided in plain, easy-to-understand language, and sorted by state agency, expenditure category, amount of expenditure, contract or vendor, and legislative and senatorial districts. The Web site would be available 24 hours a day except for maintenance, technology upgrades or unanticipated technical events.

House Bill 1880 now moves to the state Senate for consideration, where I hope it will continue receiving bipartisan support.