Georgia state budget

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Where's
The Spending?

Georgia's official spending transparency database, mandated by the Transparency in Government Act of May 2008, is scheduled to go online no later than January 2009. On August 26, 2008, well in advance of that requirement, however, Karen Handel, Georgia's Secretary of State, launched the Transparency in Government Initiative. This website will be updated monthly to account for the agency's expenditures, and includes Handel's budget for 2009.

Contents

News

Sign up for the www.showmethespending.org weekly transparency e-updates. Subscribers will recieve an alert in January when Georgia's Department of Audits and Accounts launches the website.

State budget websites and analysis

Legislation

Government tools

The following table is helpful in evaluating the level of transparency provided by a state spending and transparency database:

Criteria for evaluating spending databases
State DatabaseSearchabilityGrantsContractsLine Item ExpendituresDept/Agency BudgetsPublic Employee SalaryExemption Level
Nonen/an/an/an/an/an/an/a

Limitations and Suggestions for Improvements

Support for creation of the database

The National Taxpayers Union and the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste sent a letter to legislators in Georgia on April 16, 2007, urging them to support Georgia Senate Bill 300 (2008).[1] The Americans for Tax Reform also supported Georgia Senate Bill 300 (2008).[2]

Independent transparency sites

The Georgia Public Policy Foundation has launched a transparency website, the Georgia Report Card for Parents, that focuses on school spending. This site helps place the Foundation on the cutting edge of the transparency movement.

Public employee salary information

External links

References

  1. National Taxpayers Union, "Taxpayers Support Creating Grant and Contract Database in Georgia," April 16, 2007.
  2. Americans for Tax Reform, Letter in Support of SB 300, March 17, 2008.