States with spending online

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The movement pushing for state governments to post their spending online achieved its first major victory when President George W. Bush signed the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590) into law in September 2006. Sponsored by Senators Tom Coburn and Barack Obama, this bipartisan legislation required that federal grant and contract funding data appear online in a searchable database.^[1]

For the new administration, OMB Watch has produced suggestions to increase transparency and government openness. Read the report by clicking here. Prospects for transparency look hopeful, although President Obama may face challenges in promoting it. ^[2]

[edit] Spending information online

Since S. 2590 passed, states have increasingly developed and updated websites in order to disclose information about state government spending. The state websites vary in how much information they offer. Some state websites are comprehensive, while others are limited.

In some cases, a state may not have a well-developed transparency website, but an independent government watchdog within the state will have such a website. In the case of Maine, for example, the state's website offers limited spending information, but a website (MaineOpenGov.org) run by a government watchdog within the state, Maine Heritage Policy Center, offers lots of information.

Below, a table evaluates the comprehensiveness of various state and, in some cases, privately run websites that offer spending information.

**Criteria for evaluating spending databases**
State Database	Searchability	Grants	Contracts	Line Item Expenditures	Dept/Agency Budgets	Public Employee Salary
Alabama: Open Alabama
Alaska: Checkbook Online
Arkansas: Office of Budget
Arkansas: Department of Finance and Administration
Arkansas: Office of Budget
California: Reporting transparency
California: EBudget
Colorado: TOP
Connecticut: ct.gov/governorrell
Delware: budget.delaware.gov
Florida: Florida's Checkbook
Georgia: Open Georgia
Hawaii: hawaii.gov
Idaho: idaho.gov
Illinois: Open Books
Illinois: Comptroller's Website
Indiana: Active Contracts
Indiana: in.gov
Kansas: KanView
Kentucky: Open Door
Kentucky: Check It Out Kentucky!
Kentucky: V.I.E.W.
Louisiana: LaTrac
The Maine Heritage Policy Center: MaineOpenGov.org
Maine: maine.gov
Massachusetts: mass.gov
Maryland: DBM
Minnesota: Transparency and Accountability Project
Mississippi: Management and Reporting System
Missouri: Missouri Accountability Portal
Montana: Office of Budget and Program Planning
Nebraska: nebraskaspending.com
Nevada: Open Government
New Hampshire: admin.state.nh.us
New Jersey: department of treasury
New York: Open Book New York
New York: Project Sunlight
New Mexico: budget.nmdfa.state.nm.u
North Carolina: Open Book
North Carolina: Office of Budget and Management
North Dakota: nd.gov/fiscal
Oklahoma: Open Books
Ohio: obm.ohio.gov
Oregon: Budget and Management Division
Pennsylvania: E-Contracts
Pennsylvania: Governor's Budget Office
Rhode Island: Open Government
South Carolina: Spending Transparency
South Dakota: Open South Dakota
Tennessee: TN.gov
Tennessee: open gov
Texas: Where the Money Goes
Texas: Chron database ^[3]
Utah: Transparent Utah
West Virginia: 79th Legislature
Vermont: Vermont Transparency
Virginia: Open Virginia
Wisconsin: Department of Administration
Washington: Washington Fiscal Information
Washington: General Administration of Washington, Contracts
Wyoming: Transparency in Government