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Greetings, Spending transparency may be on its way to Virginia, as Del. Ben Cline's HB 2285 passed the House Science and Technology Committee early this evening. Now, it's on its way to the Appropriations Committee, where it may be heard as early as Tuesday morning, February 3rd. NTU urges you to call legislators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Technology Oversight and Government Activities and urge them to vote yes on this important legislation! HB 2285 would create a comprehensive searchable database of Virginia government spending, easily accessible to all taxpayers. Over a dozen state governments have enacted similar legislation cheaply and efficiently, and the federal government did so in 2006 with the creation USASpending.gov. It's time to bring the same transparency and accountability to Virginia's budgetary process, giving taxpayers the right to see how their money is being spent. The major roadblock is an exaggerated fiscal impact statement that puts a $3 million price tag on this bill. In reality, a searchable transparency database will not cost near that amount of money. The federal government did it for only $1 million, and other states have done it with pre-existing funds. To see a letter from Nebraska Treasurer Shane Osborn, who implemented a transparency database for $38,000, click here: http://www.familyfoundationblog.com/?p=1004. It's time for transparency and accountability in Richmond. Call members of the Technology Oversight and Government Activities Subcommittee and join NTU in telling them you deserve to see how your money is being spent! The members of the Subcommittee and their phone numbers are listed below: Del. R. Steven Landes (Chairman): (804) 698-1025 |
