Pennsylvania Treasurer Robin L. Wiessmann opened a new searchable transparency site yesterday that allows taxpayers access to information on state contracts. The database was created to comply with PA’s new Right-to-Know Law signed into law early this year.

According to the WSJ, the database seems to have been carefully crafted for usability.

To aid in public use of the database, the Pennsylvania Treasury Department is requiring agencies to supply summaries with every contract for easier access and identification. In addition, when searching for a contract, the Pennsylvania Contracts e-Library will also provide links to any related contracts, such as amendments or purchase orders, to allow users to more readily track the evolution of an agency’s transactions with a particular vendor.
The Pennsylvania Treasury Department launched the Pennsylvania Contracts e-Library in just four months by holding focus groups with users and building the online portal for the database.

Additional parts of the Right-to-Know legislation will be enacted on Jan 1, 2009.

Category: sunshine