Bill Text: PA HB1880 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Establishing the Pennsylvania Government Accountability Portal; providing for portal requirements and for data requirements; conferring powers and conveying duties on the Treasury Department and other State agencies; and providing for exception to publication.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 27-14)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-02-08 - Referred to STATE GOVERNMENT [HB1880 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB1880-Amended.html

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PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 2491, 2884, 2929 PRINTER'S NO. 2985
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 1880 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY MIRABITO, CHRISTIANA, GERBER, EACHUS, JOSEPHS, DeWEESE, HANNA, BENNINGHOFF, BRADFORD, BRIGGS, CUTLER, DePASQUALE, DRUCKER, FAIRCHILD, FREEMAN, GIBBONS, GRELL, HORNAMAN, HOUGHTON, KORTZ, LEVDANSKY, MATZIE, McILVAINE SMITH, MELIO, MUSTIO, QUINN, ROAE, ROCK, SAINATO, SHAPIRO, SIPTROTH, M. SMITH, VULAKOVICH, WHITE, MANDERINO, REESE, MARSHALL, SANTARSIERO, DELOZIER, CALTAGIRONE AND FARRY, JULY 21, 2009
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DECEMBER 8, 2009
AN ACT
Establishing the Pennsylvania Government Accountability Portal;
providing for portal requirements and for data requirements;
conferring powers and conveying duties on the Treasury
Department and other State agencies; and providing for
exception to publication.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Pennsylvania
Government Accountability Portal Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in the act shall
have the meaning given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Class." A group of employee positions sufficiently similar
in the duties performed, degree of supervision exercised or
received, minimum requirements of education or experience and
the knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform the
functions and duties of each position.
"Contract." The term shall have the meaning given to it in
62 Pa.C.S. § 103 (relating to definitions) and shall include any
contract for professional services and a Statewide requirements
contract as that term is defined in 62 Pa.C.S. (relating to
procurement).
"Department." The Treasury Department of the Commonwealth.
"Expenditure." The outlay or transfer of any State-
appropriated or nonappropriated funds in an amount in excess of <--
$1,000 by any State agency, including, but not limited to,
contracts and subcontracts, purchase orders, tax refunds,
rebates and credits. The term shall not include the transfer of
Federal or State assistance payments to an individual recipient
or beneficiary of such assistance payments.
"Pennsylvania Government Accountability Portal" or "Penn-
GAP." The fully searchable Internet website that allows the
public to search and aggregate the data required to be published
to it under this act and is accessible from any State agency's
home page.
"State agency" or "State agencies." Any Commonwealth agency,
independent agency, legislative agency, judicial agency, State-
affiliated entity or State-related institution as those terms
are defined under the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3),
known as the Right-to-Know Law.
Section 3. Pennsylvania Government Accountability Portal.
(a) Establishment.--No later than July 1, 2010, the State
Treasurer, with assistance from the Governor's Office, the
Department of Revenue, the Department of General Services, the
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Department of State, the Auditor General, the Department of
Community and Economic Development, the Appropriations Committee
of the Senate, the Appropriations Committee of the House of
Representatives, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania
Courts and any other State agency, as necessary, shall develop,
maintain and make available a single fully searchable Internet
website which shall be known as Penn-GAP. Penn-GAP shall be
configured as a fully searchable database to allow any person to
examine and aggregate the data required to be maintained in
accordance with the provisions of this act.
(b) Accessibility.--Penn-GAP shall be, except for
maintenance, technology upgrades or unanticipated technical
events, accessible on a 24-hour basis without cost and shall be
readable in plain and easily understandable language.
Section 4. Portal requirements.
Penn-GAP shall provide the following:
(1) A searchable database of all current Commonwealth
expenditures, consisting of financial data relating to the
purchase of goods and services, including professional and
technical services and financial disbursements through
various Commonwealth programs sorted separately by State
agency, expenditure category, amount of expenditure, contract
or vendor and legislative and senatorial districts.
(2) If not reported under paragraph (1), a searchable
database of:
(i) All expenditures for State agencies, as
applicable, including:
(A) The total amount of expenditures.
(B) The total amount expended from the General
Fund and other funds or accounts separate from the
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General Fund.
(C) The name of any person, other than an
individual, to whom an expenditure was made and the
amount of the expenditure.
(D) The source of moneys for the expenditure.
(E) The budget line item for the expenditure.
(F) A brief summary detailing the purpose of the
expenditure.
(G) The expected or actual performance outcome
for the expenditure.
(H) A brief summary detailing any past
performance outcomes achieved for a similar
expenditure in a prior State fiscal year.
(I) The amount and nature of bonded
indebtedness, including, but not limited to, the
total amount of obligation stated in terms of
principal and interest, an itemization of each
obligation, the term of each obligation, the source
of funding for repayment of each obligation, the
amounts of principal and interest previously paid to
reduce each obligation, if any, the balance remaining
of each obligation, any refinancing of any obligation
and the cited authority to issue such bonds.
(J) The total amount of salaries and wages paid
to State agencies' employees.
(K) Amounts paid under contracts, including
amounts paid to subcontractors.
(L) Amounts paid for capital budget projects,
including original appropriation and disbursements
throughout the life of each project.
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(ii) Revenues received by each State agency,
including, but not limited to:
(A) The total amount of revenues received.
(B) The total amounts received from Federal
funds, the General Fund, the State Lottery Fund,
other funds or accounts, other dedicated funds or any
other source, each listed separately.
(iii) A copy of any audit report that may be issued
by the Auditor General or any audit required under law
for any State agency.
(iv) Salaries and total compensation for all elected
officials of State agencies.
(v) Any other information that the State Treasurer
may deem appropriate.
(3) A searchable database of all tax credit programs
administered by the Department of Revenue under the
applicable provisions of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6,
No.2), known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971, including
information on approved tax credits for projects undertaken
by businesses and those approved for individuals and
nonprofit organizations and other organizations. The tax
credit database shall be sorted by tax credit category,
amount of tax credit, recipient, purpose and legislative and
senatorial districts.
(4) A searchable database of each business that failed
to pay the sales and use tax and each business that is
subject to auditing for underreporting the sales and use tax
collected. The database shall be sorted separately by name of
business, geographic location, actual or estimated amount of
unreported sales and use tax, amount of penalty and interest
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assessed and findings of audit.
(5) A searchable database of all revocations and
suspensions of professional and occupational licenses,
registrations or certificates by the various licensing boards
and commissions of the Bureau of Professional and
Occupational Affairs of the Department of State, which shall
be sorted separately by name, geographic location,
certificate, registration or license number, as applicable,
date of suspension or revocation and date of license,
certificate or registration reinstatement.
(6) A searchable database of all investments of public
funds, which shall include the following to be updated
semiannually:
(i) The total amount of funds held by the State
Treasurer.
(ii) The asset allocation for funds invested by the
State Treasurer.
(iii) The benchmarks established by the State
Treasurer.
(iv) Current and historic five-year return
information.
(v) A detailed listing of time deposit balances,
including, for each deposit, the name of the financial
institution and the deposit rate.
(7) A searchable database of completed audit reports of
State agencies prepared by the office of Auditor General,
including at least the following:
(i) The agency that is the subject of the audit.
(ii) The program or activity that is the subject of
the audit, if applicable.
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(iii) The entity performing the audit.
(iv) The estimated completion date for an audit not
yet completed.
(v) All costs associated with conducting the audit.
(vi) A link to the Auditor General's website
containing the findings and results from the completed
audit after it has been released to the public.
(8) A listing compiled annually and updated quarterly of
all State agencies' full-time positions grouped by job class
and sorted by the number of full-time employees, average
compensation in each class and the actual compensation for
each position receiving annual compensation equal to or more
than $50,000 per year. The listing required under this
paragraph shall not contain any personal identifying
information that can be used to identify an individual
employee or an entry for salary, wages or other compensation
paid to individual employees. The annual listing shall be
made available on Penn-GAP on or before January 31 of each
year.
(9) A searchable database of monthly credit card
statements for each State agency, including credit card
statements for credit cards issued to officers and employees
of each State agency for official use. Each State agency
shall make its monthly credit card statement available to the
department for the purposes of Penn-GAP. The credit card
number on each statement shall be redacted prior to making
the statement available to the State Treasurer. Credit card
statements shall be made available no later than the 30th day
after the first date that any portion of the balance due as
depicted on the statement is paid.
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(10) Links to each State agency Internet website where
available.
(11) A counter to show the number of times the Internet
website is accessed.
Section 5. State agency cooperation and submission, publication
and retention of data.
(a) State agency cooperation.--Each State agency shall
compile and make available to the State Treasurer all data
required to be included in Penn-GAP. The department shall
establish guidelines prescribing:
(1) The attributes of and format for data that State
agencies are required to supply to ensure compliance with
this subsection.
(2) The process through which the department acquires
the data.
(b) Publication of data.--Penn-GAP shall become operational
no later than July 1, 2010. Thereafter, Penn-GAP shall be
updated as new data becomes available in a format that can be
compiled and published on it by the department.
(c) Retention of data.--The State Treasurer shall ensure
that all data published on Penn-GAP remains accessible to the
public for a minimum of ten years from the date of initial
publication.
Section 6. Duties of department.
The department shall enforce the provisions of this act and
shall:
(1) Collaborate with State agencies to carry out the
provisions of this act.
(2) Determine the information to be compiled and
recommend a format for collecting and publishing information
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from State universities, State-related universities, private
colleges and universities, public schools, community colleges
and political subdivisions that receive State appropriations.
(3) Collaborate with State agencies to develop uniform
guidelines to govern the submission of data for publication
to Penn-GAP. The guidelines shall be published in the
Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Section 7. Exception to publication.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize the
publication of State agency data on Penn-GAP that is exempt from
publication under the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3),
known as the Right-to-Know Law, or to require disclosure of data
deemed to be confidential or otherwise exempt from disclosure
under any Federal or State law.
Section 8. Funding.
The provisions of this act shall be implemented upon
appropriation of funds by the General Assembly to the department
and State agencies to carry out the purposes of this act.
Section 9. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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