A New CALPIRG Report Details the Ins and Outs of California’s New Government Transparency Website
SACRAMENTO, Calif., October 15 - The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) Released a new report today, California Budget Transparency 2.0: Online Tools for Better Government.
“The ability to see how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy,” said Pedro Morillas CALPIRG Consumer Advocate. “There is no reason seeing how the government spends tax dollars should be any more difficult than checking your bank statement,” added Morillas.
The report shows the places where California’s online transparency tools measure up and where they fall short. California’s Reporting Transparency In Government website scores high marks for affordability, at a cost of $21,000 for the initial set up. Additionally, state contracts are searchable by department, supplier name, and price. The information can be downloaded in Excel format as well, making it easier for Californians to analyze the data.
“We applaud the governor for taking the first step in upgrading California’s transparency infrastructure,” said Morillas.
Despite the highlights, there are still some pretty big holes that should be filled. The biggest gap in the data reported is corporate tax breaks. California spends about $4 billion a year on corporate tax breaks, but there is only limited information on them, and no information on how effective they are. Another major oversight is that quasi-public agencies such as the High Speed Rail Authority and the Prison Industry Authority are not accounted for on the site.
“Corporate tax breaks, money adding up to billions in California, should be scrutinized at least as well as funding for education or healthcare,” according to Morillas.
To truly be transparent California’s website should include:
Corporate tax breaks: California should incorporate information on tax subsidies for corporations into its transparency Web site, including the names of the corporations that benefit, the intent of the subsidies, and a measure of whether the subsidy was successful.
All public and quasi-public agencies: California should require all agencies to report expenditures on the transparency Web site, including independent authorities.
The purposes of all contracts: It should be possible to search for all of the money the state spent for particular purposes, from employee healthcare to office supplies. At minimum, a sentence or two describing the purpose of each contract should be included; ideally, a PDF of the actual contract would also be available online.
Browsable contract information: Contracts should be organized into common-sense categories, rather than provided as full lists, and it should be easy to sort the lists by any category.
“The state’s transparency website should be as easy to use as anything in the private sector. The tools are so readily available that, especially in today’s budget climate, there is no reason to hold government to a lower standard,” concluded Morillas.
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Read the report by clicking here.
