The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously passed a bill creating a searchable internet-accessible database of all state and local government funding and spending, along with that of independent state-affiliated agencies such as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the Commonwealth Financing Authority, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, the State Public School Building Authority, the Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities Authority and the State System of Higher Education.
The news was tweeted by Sen Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9) at 4:10 this afternoon, June 28.
The bill, HB 15, returns to the State House for concurrence.
The bill directs the website, to be called PennWATCH, to be available by Dec. 31, 2012.
The site will include:
- The name and address of the Commonwealth agency or other entity receiving funding and the applicable identifier and classification under the vendor identification system
- The amount of the funding action or expenditure.
- The agency initiating the funding action or expenditure.
- The applicable appropriation and the appropriation fiscal year from which the funding action or expenditure is made.
- A counter to show the number of times the website is accessed.
- The funding source.
The site will also show the total number of individuals employed by each Commonwealth agency as of the 15th day of the previous month, and list by the name, position title and current annual salary for each individual employed by each Commonwealth agency.
Pileggi also tweeted that the Senate passed SB 326, which provides for certification of birth for stillbirths and is now before the Governor for his signature.
Pileggi also tweeted that the Senate unanimously passed SB 995, which provides that all operators of oil and gas wells in the state provide GPS coordinates to the state Department of Environmental Protection and 911 centers.
He noted the Senate is now taking up HB 1485 which is the bill setting the state budget for next year.
Pa. Senate OKs Searchable Budget Database
Transparency in Government – what a novel idea. Now we have to figure out how to motivate citizens to monitor the information once the PennWatch site is launched at the end of the year. My guess is that the click count will be low because John Q. Public is so apathetic. Hope I’m wrong!