Enacts online revenues and expenditures transparency act

BILL NUMBER:S2853A

Title of bill

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to enacting the online revenues and expenditures transparency act

Purpose

Directs the Director of Office for Technology and the Director of the Division of the Budget to create and maintain one-stop-shop budget database web site for all of the roost up-to-date State spending and revenue statistics.

Summary of provisions

Section 1. The Executive Law is amended by adding a new section 183.

§ 183. 1. Definitions 2. Directs the Director of the office for Technology to create, by January 1, 2014 and in collaboration with the Director of the Division of the Budget, a single, searchable database web site for the following statistics' annual State expenditures, bond debt payments, local aid to local governments, annual revenues, receipts or deposits, tax revenues received, agency earnings, revenues from state-owned monies and properties, gifts and donations, federal grants and miscellaneous revenues. 3. Directs the Director of the Division of the Budget to begin operating the web site by February 1, 2014. 4. Requires expenditure and revenue statistics posted on the Web site to be retained for at least ten years. 5. Requires the Director of the Division of the Budget to update the Web site's expenditure and revenue statistics on a monthly basis. 6. Exemptions for online listing of individual businesses' tax liability, profits, sales or losses. 7. Specifies compliance requirements.

Existing law

None.

Justification

Although the Internet has made a wealth of governmental information accessible to New Yorkers, many of them must travel through an online labyrinth to find data relating to New York State's fiscal condition. Much information relating to state spending and revenues is already posted online, but it is spread across web sites run by several State entities, such as the Division of the Budget, the Department of Taxation and Finance, the Office of the Comptroller, the New York Power Authority, the Thruway Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Much of this information is also not updated regularly, making it even harder for New Yorkers to get a clear picture of the State's fiscal condition at any given time. The uncoordinated presentation of this online budgetary information results in uncertainty, not transparency.

This legislation would authorize the creation of a single, searchable budget database Web site, which would pull together most of this information spread across the Internet. The Director of the Office of Technology would develop the Web site and the Director of the Division of the Budget would be responsible for maintaining and updating the Web site. This legislation is modeled after a bill (H.2972) the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed in 2010.

Fiscal implications

Minimal. The Director of the Division of the Budget already receives much of the information that this legislation requires to be posted on the single, searchable budget database web site.

Effective date

This act shall take effect after ninety days of enactment.