Bill Text: PA SB105 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Providing for the establishment of a searchable budget database-driven Internet website detailing certain information concerning State expenditures.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 26-7)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2009-06-03 - Referred to FINANCE [SB105 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SB105-Amended.html

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PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 175, 976 PRINTER'S NO. 1005
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 105 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, BRUBAKER, PILEGGI, ALLOWAY, ROBBINS, FOLMER, BAKER, PICCOLA, WARD, ORIE, ERICKSON, BOSCOLA, VANCE, TOMLINSON, EARLL, WOZNIAK, GORDNER, RAFFERTY, O'PAKE, WILLIAMS, WONDERLING, CORMAN, WAUGH, SMUCKER, M. WHITE, LEACH, VOGEL, PIPPY, FERLO, EICHELBERGER, GREENLEAF, D. WHITE AND WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 6, 2009
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, MAY 6, 2009
AN ACT
Providing for the establishment of a searchable budget database-
driven Internet website detailing certain information
concerning State expenditures.
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 Taxpayer
Transparency Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:"
"Agency." A Commonwealth agency, a judicial agency or a
legislative agency as defined under section 102 of the act of
February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.
"Commonwealth agency." Any of the following:
(1) Any office, department, authority, board, multistate
agency or commission of the executive branch, an independent
agency or a State-affiliated entity. The term includes:
(i) The Governor's Office.
(ii) The Office of Attorney General, the Department
of the Auditor General and the Treasury Department.
(iii) An organization established by the
Constitution of Pennsylvania, a statute or an executive
order which performs or is intended to perform an
essential governmental function.
(2) The term does not include a judicial or legislative
agency as defined under section 102 of the act of February
14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.
"Expenditures." A Disbursements of funds related to a grant, <--
contract, appropriation or any tax expenditure as defined in
section 624 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known
as The Administrative Code of 1929.
"Funding recipient." A person or political subdivision that
receives State funding other than an individual recipient of
State assistance or services or employee benefits buyouts.
"Funding source." The General Fund, special funds or other
Federal or State funds appropriated by the General Assembly,
statute or executive authorization.
"Person." A An individual, corporation, association, limited <--
liability company, partnership, limited liability partnership, <--
limited partnership, nonprofit organization, educational
institution, political subdivision or other government entity.
The term does not include an individual recipient of State
assistance or services or employees benefits buyouts.
"Searchable budget database." A database-driven Internet
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website that allows the public to search for and aggregate
budget information.
"State audit or report." An audit report issued by the
Auditor General, a Commonwealth agency, including the Governor’s
Office, Office of Comptroller Operations, the Joint State
Government Commission or the Legislative Budget and Finance
Committee relating to a funding recipient, a budget program or
an agency.
"Treasury." The Treasury Department of the Commonwealth.
Section 3. Searchable budget database.
(a) Development.--By October 1, 2009, the treasury shall
develop and implement an Internet website, available to the
public, that provides a single, searchable budget database
containing the data for the fiscal year 2009-2010 budget
required under this section. The treasury shall maintain the
Internet website which shall allow the public to search for and
aggregate data at no cost. The Internet website shall include
the following data relating to expenditures of $25,000 or more:
(1) The name and principal location or address of the
recipient of funds.
(2) The amount of funds expended or received.
(3) The funding source.
(4) The disbursing agency and the budget line item from
which the expenditure is made.
(5) A description of the purpose and type of
expenditure.
(6) The expected performance outcomes achieved from the
expenditure, if available.
(7) Past performance outcomes achieved from the
expenditure, if available.
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(8) Any State audit report relating to the funding
recipient, the budget program or an agency administering the
funding.
(9) Any other relevant information specified by the <--
treasury.
(10) (9) All budget implementation data described in <--
section 620(a) of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175),
known as The Administrative Code of 1929.
(b) Hyperlink.--A hyperlink to contracts maintained under
Chapter 17 of the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known
as the Right-to-Know Law, that pertains to the expenditure shall
be provided where practicable.
(c) Exemption.--Records, material dates or other information
exempted from disclosure under 24 Pa.C.S. § 8502(e)(2) (relating
to administrative duties of board) or 71 Pa.C.S. § 5902(e)(2)
(relating to administrative duties of board) shall be exempt
from placement on the searchable database.
(d) Revenue reporting requirements.--
(1) The searchable budget database shall include weekly
revenue reports for the General Fund and the Motor License
Fund. The weekly revenue reports shall be prepared in a
manner consistent with section 620(b) of the act of April 9,
1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of
1929. In addition to the requirements set forth in section
620(b) of The Administrative Code of 1929, the weekly revenue
reports shall include a comparison of the actual collections
of revenue with prior year actual collections for each week.
(2) Notwithstanding section 4(b) of this act, the weekly
revenue reports shall be made available on the searchable
budget database within three days after the immediately
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preceding week.
Section 4. Updates.
(a) Time of updates.--Beginning July 1, 2010, and each
fiscal year thereafter, data, including expenditure symbols,
relating to the appropriations adopted in the general
appropriation act, nonpreferred appropriations acts and special
fund appropriations acts and all funds authorized by the
executive branch for that fiscal year shall be added to the
searchable budget database no later than 30 days following the
beginning of the fiscal year. The treasury shall add additional
data required under section 3 relating to the expenditure of
funds, as the data becomes available.
(b) Agency requirements.--Each agency shall provide the
treasury with all data required under section (3)(a) no later
than 30 days after the data becomes available to the agency. The
agency shall not be required to provide information that is
exempt from disclosure under the act of February 14, 2008
(P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.
(c) Format.--Each agency shall create and maintain data
under this section in ASCII-delimited text file, spreadsheet
file or other file as required by the treasury.
(d) Data maintenance.--The treasury shall ensure that all
data added to the searchable budget database remains accessible
to the public for a minimum of ten years.
Section 5. Compliance.
The treasury shall not be considered in compliance with this
act if the data required for the searchable budget database is
not available in a searchable manner or is unable to be
aggregated or if the public is redirected to other government
Internet websites unless the other Internet websites contain the
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information as required under this act.
Section 20. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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