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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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Majority
Whip Bill DeWeese |
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House OKs state online spending database
HARRISBURG, Dec. 8 – A proposal to create an online database that would track all expenditures incurred by state government today unanimously passed the House of Representatives, according to co-sponsor and House Majority Whip Bill DeWeese.
"This spending database is a logical extension to last session’s creation of the state Office of Open Records and I am proud to co-sponsor both proposals. A public state spending database would decrease the cost of running the Office of Open Records because the public would have access to spending information on its own," said DeWeese, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington.
Several legislators have offered proposals to increase transparency in state government like that planned in H.B. 1880, sponsored by freshman Rep. Rick Mirabito, D-Lycoming. The bill now heads to the state Senate for action.
DeWeese said the Pennsylvania Government Accountability Portal, or Penn-GAP, would create a database where all state expenditures and contract information could be posted online in one central location that is easily accessible by the public.
He said Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia all created databases offering similar information.
"Last session I took the lead on moving the state’s expanded Open Records law through the House with the strong belief that it would go a long way toward providing transparency on the expenditure of state tax dollars," DeWeese said. "The more eyes on things, the more self-correcting the process becomes – and when one has nothing to hide, one has nothing to fear."
To read more about other legislative reforms implemented by DeWeese during the 2007-08 session, visit his Web site www.pahouse.com/deweese/reform.asp.
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