The state Senate is scheduled to vote today on the most fiscally responsible bill to grace the floor this year.
The transparency bill already passed the House unanimously last month and was voted out of committee unanimously in the Senate earlier this week. Every senator must vote yes. Giving citizens the tools to hold their government accountable must not be a partisan issue. It was not at the federal level, where Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sponsored the legislation that turned into USAspending.gov.
Maryland?s legislation would make available online in a searchable database all state expenditures above $25,000 from 2008 forward. Users, starting in January, will be able to search by the name of the person receiving a payment or his or her ZIP code and the agency disbursing the money. The only exception will be salaries of state employees. We think the threshold should be lower and that state salaries should be included in the database, as all of that information is public and relevant to the proper running of state government.
But the bill makes it much easier for all Marylanders “to see where their money is spent,” said Del. Warren Miller, R-Howard, the bill?s sponsor in the House.
He?s hoping ? as are we ? the bill will spur Maryland?s local governments to create their own Web sites to monitor local spending. Howard County will launch one in 2010. The Anne Arundel County Council will consider the issue next week. In particular need of transparency is Baltimore City, where trying to find local government information is like sifting through medieval archives, as nothing is automated.
If other states can serve as a guide, the Web sites promise to help save Marylanders money by making it easier to find duplicate spending and to question dubious projects. There is no reason to confine the savings to state government. Senators can spur the process by voting yes today, and Gov. Martin O?Malley, a champion of transparency through his StateStat program, should sign the legislation into law.
