Bill Text: MS HB478 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: MS Accountability and Transparency Act; require detailed description of expenditures of bond proceeds on website.
Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2013-03-20 - Approved by Governor [HB478 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2013-HB478-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: S.C. Accountblty/Efficiency/Transparency
By: Representative Gunn
House Bill 478
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-104-155, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN AN EXPENDITURE OF STATE FUNDS BY A STATE AGENCY INVOLVES THE EXPENDITURE OF BOND PROCEEDS, THE SEARCHABLE WEBSITE OPERATED UNDER THE MISSISSIPPI ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT 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; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 27-104-153, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH CONTAINS DEFINITIONS FOR THE MISSISSIPPI ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT, FOR THE 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:
[Through June 30, 2014, this section shall read 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 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 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 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;
(vi) The expending agency;
(vii) The type of transaction; and
(viii) 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, including amendments; subgrant,
including amendments; 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) 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.
( * * *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 award, including amendments; or contract, including amendments;
executed by the agency.
( * * *f) The searchable website must include
data for all fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 2010, and 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 State Board for Community and Junior Colleges (SBCJC) 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 SBCJC 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.
[From and after July 1, 2014, this section shall read 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 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 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, including amendments; subgrant,
including amendments; 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) 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.
( * * *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 State Board for Community and Junior Colleges (SBCJC) 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 SBCJC 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 July 1, 2013.
