Bill Text: MS HB1334 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Mississippi Accountability & Transparency Act; clarify and enhance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2014-02-04 - Died In Committee [HB1334 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2014-HB1334-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: S.C. Accountblty,Efficiency,Transparency; Appropriations
By: Representative Hood
House Bill 1334
AN ACT TO CLARIFY AND ENHANCE THE MISSISSIPPI ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 27-104-155, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DESCRIBE THE MANNER OF PRESENTING INFORMATION ON THE SEARCHABLE WEBSITE THAT INCLUDES INFORMATION ON EXPENDITURES OF STATE FUNDS OPERATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION; TO PROVIDE IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY FOR AN OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE OF THE DEPARTMENT WHO POSTS INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE IN RELIANCE ON A DETERMINATION MADE BY A STATE AGENCY ABOUT THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT MAY NOT CHARGE A FEE TO THE PUBLIC TO ACCESS THE WEBSITE; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 27-104-153, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 27-104-155, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
27-104-155. (1) The Department of Finance and Administration shall develop and operate a searchable website that includes information on expenditures of state funds from all funding sources. The website shall have a unique and simplified website address, and the website shall present information in a manner that is both searchable and intuitive to users. The information shall be presented and organized through the use of graphical representations, such as pie charts. At a minimum, the website must allow users to search and aggregate state funding by any element of the information; ascertain through a single search the total amount of state funding awarded to a person by a state agency; and download information yielded by a search of the data contained in the website. The department shall require each agency that maintains a generally accessible Internet site or for which a generally accessible Internet site is maintained to include a link on the front page of the agency's Internet site to the searchable website required under this section.
(a) With regard to disbursement of funds, the website shall include, but not be limited to:
(i) The name and principal location of the entity or recipients of the funds, excluding release of information relating to an individual's place of residence, the identity of recipients of state or federal assistance payments, and excluding any other information deemed confidential by state or federal law relating to privacy rights;
(ii) The amount of state funds expended;
(iii) A descriptive purpose of the funding action or expenditure;
(iv) The funding source of the expenditure;
(v) The budget program or activity of the expenditure;
(vi) The specific source of authority and descriptive purpose of the expenditure, to include a link to the funding authorization document(s) in a searchable PDF form;
(vii) The specific source of authority for the expenditure including, but not limited to, a grant, subgrant, contract, or the general discretion of the agency director, provided that if the authority is a grant, subgrant or contract, the website entry shall include a grant, subgrant or contract number or similar information that clearly identifies the specific source of authority. The information required under this paragraph includes data relative to tax exemptions and credits;
(viii) The expending agency;
(ix) The type of transaction;
(x) The expected performance outcomes achieved for the funding action or expenditure;
(xi) Links to any state audit or report relating to the entity or recipient of funds or the budget program or activity or agency; and
(xii) Any other information deemed relevant by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(b) When the expenditure of state funds involves the expenditure of bond proceeds, the searchable website must include a clear, detailed description of the purpose of the bonds, a current status report on the project or projects being financed by the bonds, and a current status report on the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds.
(c) The searchable website must include access to an electronic summary of each grant, * * * subgrant, * * * and contract, including amendments; and payment voucher that includes, wherever possible, a hyperlink to the actual document in a searchable PDF format, subject to the restrictions in paragraph (d) of this section. The Department of Finance and Administration may cooperate with other agencies to accomplish the requirements of this paragraph.
(d) (i) Nothing in Sections 27-104-151 through 27-104-159 shall permit or require the disclosure of trade secrets or other proprietary information, including confidential vendor information, or any other information that is required to be confidential by state or federal law. If an officer or employee of the department posts on the website information in reliance on a determination made by a state agency about the confidentiality of information related to the agency's expenditures, then the officer or employee is immune from any civil liability for posting confidential information under this paragraph.
(ii) The department may not charge a fee to the public to access the website or any information contained therein.
(e) The information available from the searchable website must be updated no later than fourteen (14) days after the receipt of data from an agency, and the Department of Finance and Administration shall require each agency to provide to the department access to all data that is required to be accessible from the searchable website within fourteen (14) days of each expenditure, grant award, including amendments; subgrant, including amendments; or contract, including amendments; executed by the agency.
(f) The searchable website must include all information required by this section for all transactions that are initiated in fiscal year 2015 or later. In addition, all information that is included on the searchable website from the date of the inception of the website until July 1, 2014, must be maintained on the website according to the requirements of this section before July 1, 2014, and remain accessible for ten (10) years from the date it was originally made available. All data on the searchable website must remain accessible to the public for a minimum of ten (10) years.
(2) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall create the IHL Accountability and Transparency website to include its executive office and the institutions of higher learning no later than July 1, 2012. This website shall:
(a) Provide access to existing financial reports, financial audits, budgets and other financial documents that are used to allocate, appropriate, spend and account for appropriated funds;
(b) Have a unique and simplified website address;
(c) Be directly accessible via a link from the main page of the Department of Finance and Administration website, as well as the IHL website and the main page of the website of each institution of higher learning;
(d) Include other links, features or functionality that will assist the public in obtaining and reviewing public financial information;
(e) Report expenditure information currently available within these enterprise resource planning (ERP) computer systems; and
(f) Design the reporting format using the existing capabilities of these ERP computer systems.
(3) The Mississippi Community College Board shall create the Community and Junior Colleges Accountability and Transparency website to include its executive office and the community and junior colleges no later than July 1, 2012. This website shall:
(a) Provide access to existing financial reports, financial audits, budgets and other financial documents that are used to allocate, appropriate, spend and account for appropriated funds;
(b) Have a unique and simplified website address;
(c) Be directly accessible via a link from the main page of the Department of Finance and Administration website, as well as the Mississippi Community College Board website and the main page of the website of each community and junior college;
(d) Include other links, features or functionality that will assist the public in obtaining and reviewing public financial information;
(e) Report expenditure information currently available within the computer system of each community and junior college; and
(f) Design the reporting format using the existing capabilities of the computer system of each community and junior college.
SECTION 2. Section 27-104-153, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-104-153. As used in Sections 27-104-151 through 27-104-159:
(a) "Searchable website" means an Internet site that:
(i) Allows the public to access information identified in Sections 27-104-151 through 27-104-159 without any fee or charge to the public for that access;
(ii) Provides keyword or other efficient search capability to support the public's ability to find, aggregate and display that information with reasonable ease by accessing a single website; and
(iii) Allows the public to programmatically search and access all data in a serialized machine readable format, such as XML, via a Web-services application programming interface.
(b) "Agency" means a state agency, department, institution, board, commission, council, office, bureau, division, committee or subcommittee of the state. The term "agency" includes individual agencies and programs as well as multiple agencies whenever programs and activities involve more than one (1) agency. The term "agency" includes all elective offices in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government. The term "agency" does not include counties or municipalities.
(c) "Entity" or "recipient" means a corporation, association, union, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, grantee, contractor, county, municipality or other local government entity, or any other legal business entity, including a nonprofit entity. The term "entity" or "recipient" does not include an individual recipient of state public assistance.
(d) "Expenditure of state funds" means the disbursement or transfer of any funds, from any source or funds, whether appropriated or nonappropriated, from any agency. The term "expenditure of state funds" includes the expenditures from bond proceeds.
(e) "Funding action" means the transfer of funds from a state agency to another entity for a specific purpose. These would include subgranting of funds for specific purposes or the funding through bonds or other authority specific projects and actions.
(f) "Funding source" means the state account against which an expenditure is recorded.
(g) "State audit or report" means any audit or report issued by the State Auditor, Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) or an executive body relating to the entity or recipient of funds or to the budget program or activity or agency.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after June 30, 2014.
