Texas is serving as the model of state transparency efforts. According to a guest column on GoSanAngelo.com, Texas has achieved the following benchmarks in the fight for transparency:

- posting state budget information online in a user-friendly format
- streaming video of live House and Senate proceedings
- passage of multiple bills related to transparency and accountability
- Gov. Rick Perry signed an Executive Order in 2005 requiring school districts to post their check registers online if they failed to meet certain spending criteria
- Texas legislators, working in tandem with the governor’s office, enacted the “Truth-in-Taxation” bill in 2005
- Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has converted the state’s massive budget into a user-friendly package with the introduction of “Where the Money Goes,” which saved more than $2.3 million in her agency alone
- The Texas Public Policy Foundation recently launched a new Web site, TexasBudgetSource.com, which supplements “Where the Money Goes” with detailed budget analysis of state expenditures over the past 20 years, links to the online check registers of more than 150 Texas school districts, and lists of counties and cities that have posted their budget information online and more

Aiding the above efforts is a new kid on the block, Texas Watchdog. According to its website, Texas Watchdog is a news Web site and training center that scrutinizes the actions of government agencies, bureaucracies and politicians in Texas. It is an independent, nonpartisan entity founded on the belief that our American democracy depends on transparency in government.

All of this good government in a huge state like Texas just tells me one thing… 49 states have some ’splainin’ to do.

Category: Transparency Legislation