Oklahoma House of Representatives voted today in favor of more transparency in state spending. House Bill 3422 by Rep. Ken Miller (R-Edmond) passed unanimously and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
The bill requires that the state’s current Open Books website be upgraded to include all expenditures no matter how small.
It would also make the raw data available for downloading so that anyone can look through and sort the data as they see fit. Open Books would also become an archive of all past spending so that data from one year to the next can be compared.
“Open Books put Oklahoma at the forefront of state spending transparency, but since then, other states have moved ahead by providing more information,” said Brian Downs, Oklahomans for Responsible Government Executive Director. “Open Books 2.0 will allow taxpayers to get a better idea of how their money is being spent by the state.”
The passage of HB 3422 comes on the same day that the House passed HB 3253 by Rep. Gus Blackwell (R-Goodwell) which will put all school district spending on the State Department of Education’s website.
“There’s no doubt that stories about school district funds and stimulus dollars being spent in questionable ways is shining a light on the need for more transparency in government,” said Downs. “Now, more than ever, taxpayers are demanding accountability and transparency and it’s good to see lawmakers are listening.”