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Transparency bill passes Senate unanimously
Legislative Update Transparency bills clear Senate
FRANKFORT — Two bills aimed at making government and quasi-governmental groups more accountable to the taxpayers passed the Senate unanimously yesterday.
Senate Bill 40, sponsored by Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, would require all three branches of government to put their spending records online as a searchable database by January 1, 2011. The databases would be updated monthly, with information in the state’s electronic accounting system would be updated weekly. The information would include the amount and description of the spending, along with any documentation available electronically.
“This puts Kentucky’s checkbook online,” Thayer said of the bill, known as the Taxpayer Transparency Act of 2010.
Senate Bill 87, also sponsored by Thayer, extends the same requirements to the Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Association of Counties, both funded by dues and insurance premiums from local governments. In addition, SB 87 requires an annual audit of each group’s finances, with the state’s Auditor of Public Accounts given access to the findings.
“We need to re-establish taxpayer confidence in these entities,” Thayer said. “It is unfortunate that this body had to take these steps” in the wake of media reports last summer involving KLC and KACo spending. SB 87 incorporates into law some of the recommendations made by Auditor Crit Luallen made after those reports, including mandates for formal procurement, compensation, and ethics policies.
The bill also clarifies that both organizations fall under the state’s Open Records and Open Meetings laws, with exceptions for proprietary insurance information.
Each bill passed on a 37-0 vote and now moves to the House for its consideration.
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