As Americans scramble to file their taxes this season, they can take heart in knowing that it's getting easier to track where the money goes.
The Obama administration kicked off government transparency as it's first order of business and hasn't let up. The White House Open Government Initiative has brought unprecedented transparency to federal spending, requiring each agency to issue transparency plans with deadlines that have been followed and launching a searchable website listing spending items, including detailed and accessible information on the federal government's half-trillion dollars in private contracts.
States are not far behind, a new report finds.
Following the Money - How 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data, from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, takes a look at 32 states which are providing "transparency 2.0" - online access to "checkbook" level data about state spending and grades each one.
The seven states receiving the highest (A or B) grades - Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Missouri and Pennsylvania - provide easily searchable information about contracting, subsidies and grants to businesses.
States with top-flight transparency websites are saving money, restoring public confidence in government, and preventing wasteful or pay-to-play contracts, Following the Money finds. States that have created online transparency have done so with little upfront cost.
Some of the leading state transparency efforts come from surprising places. Open Door Kentucky allows visitors to easily search view contracts past and present and to search by contractor or type of activity contracted for, with explanations of the purpose of individual contracts. Tax subsidies and economic development grants are included, as are expenditures by some quasi-public agencies. Similarly, the state of Illinois' new Corporate Accountability Project tracks grants to companies for job creation - and provides yearly reports signed by senior company officers detailing how many jobs were actually created.
Twenty-five states got "Cs" and "Ds." They've taken some steps but they have a ways to go. And 18 states received an "F" grade because they lack a website with checkbook-level detail. (Click here to read Following the Money Executive Summary and download a PDF of the full report.)
The transparency trend is growing. A broad coalition of local and state groups joined together as States for a Transparent and Accountable Recovery (STAR). The organization Good Jobs First has long called for better state disclosure of economic development grants, and earlier this year the group ranked states' transparency related to their use of Economic Recovery funds. The Sunlight Foundation provides tools and reports for journalists and citizens alike. And a new website on responsible government contracting highlights government contracting issues and case studies across a wide range of policy areas.
Transparency at the federal, state and local levels can help taxpayers follow the money - including the private use of public dollars - and can play a key role in holding our elected officials and agencies accountable. Now it's up to citizens, citizen-journalists, journalists and others to follow their money and make sure it is being spent in the public interest.
For more on U.S. PIRG's tax and budget campaign, click here.