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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| 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 AND GREENLEAF, FEBRUARY 6, 2009 |
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| REFERRED TO FINANCE, FEBRUARY 6, 2009 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Providing for the establishment of a searchable budget database- |
2 | driven Internet website detailing certain information |
3 | concerning taxpayer investments. |
4 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
5 | hereby enacts as follows: |
6 | Section 1. Short title. |
7 | This act shall be known and may be cited as the Taxpayer |
8 | Transparency Act. |
9 | Section 2. Definitions. |
10 | The following words and phrases when used in this act shall |
11 | have the meanings given to them in this section unless the |
12 | context clearly indicates otherwise:" |
13 | "Agency." A Commonwealth agency, a judicial agency or a |
14 | legislative agency as defined under section 102 of the act of |
15 | February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law. |
16 | "Commonwealth agency." Any of the following: |
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1 | (1) Any office, department, authority, board, multistate |
2 | agency or commission of the executive branch, an independent |
3 | agency or a State-affiliated entity. The term includes: |
4 | (i) The Governor’s Office. |
5 | (ii) The Office of Attorney General, the Department |
6 | of the Auditor General and the Treasury Department. |
7 | (iii) An organization established by the |
8 | Constitution of Pennsylvania, a statute or an executive |
9 | order which performs or is intended to perform an |
10 | essential governmental function. |
11 | (2) The term does not include a judicial or legislative |
12 | agency as defined under section 102 of the act of February |
13 | 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law. |
14 | "Expenditures." A grant, contract, appropriation, tax |
15 | exemption or tax credit. |
16 | "Funding recipient." A person or political subdivision that |
17 | receives State funding other than an individual recipient of |
18 | State assistance or services or employee benefits buyouts. |
19 | "Funding source." The General Fund, special funds or other |
20 | Federal or State funds appropriated by the General Assembly, |
21 | statute or executive authorization. |
22 | "Person." A corporation, association, limited liability |
23 | company, partnership, limited partnership, nonprofit |
24 | organization, educational institution, political subdivision or |
25 | other government entity. The term does not include an individual |
26 | recipient of State assistance or services or employees benefits |
27 | buyouts. |
28 | "Searchable budget database." A database-driven Internet |
29 | website that allows the public to search for and aggregate |
30 | budget information. |
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1 | "Secretary." The Secretary of the Budget of the |
2 | Commonwealth. |
3 | "State audit or report." An audit report issued by the |
4 | Auditor General, a Commonwealth agency, including the Governor’s |
5 | Office, Office of Comptroller Operations, the Joint State |
6 | Government Commission or the Legislative Budget and Finance |
7 | Committee relating to a funding recipient, a budget program or |
8 | an agency. |
9 | Section 3. Searchable budget database. |
10 | (a) Development.--By June 1, 2009, the secretary shall |
11 | develop and implement an Internet website, available to the |
12 | public, that provides a single, searchable budget database |
13 | containing the data for the fiscal year 2008-2009 budget |
14 | required under this section. The secretary shall maintain the |
15 | Internet website which shall allow the public to search for and |
16 | aggregate data at no cost. The Internet website shall include |
17 | the following data relating to expenditures of $25,000 or more: |
18 | (1) The name and principal location or address of the |
19 | recipient of funds. |
20 | (2) The amount of funds expended or received. |
21 | (3) The funding source. |
22 | (4) The disbursing agency and the budget line item from |
23 | which the expenditure is made. |
24 | (5) A description of the purpose and type of |
25 | expenditure. |
26 | (6) The expected performance outcomes achieved from the |
27 | expenditure, if available. |
28 | (7) Past performance outcomes achieved from the |
29 | expenditure, if available. |
30 | (8) Any State audit report relating to the funding |
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1 | recipient, the budget program or an agency administering the |
2 | funding. |
3 | (9) Any other relevant information specified by the |
4 | secretary. |
5 | (b) Hyperlink.--A hyperlink to contracts maintained under |
6 | Chapter 17 of the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known |
7 | as the Right-to-Know Law, that pertains to the expenditure shall |
8 | be provided where practicable. |
9 | (c) Exemption.--Records, material dates or other information |
10 | exempted from disclosure under 24 Pa.C.S. § 8502(e)(2) (relating |
11 | to administrative duties of board) or 71 Pa.C.S. § 5902(e)(2) |
12 | (relating to administrative duties of board) shall be exempt |
13 | from placement on the searchable database. |
14 | Section 4. Updates. |
15 | (a) Time of updates.--Beginning July 1, 2009, and each |
16 | fiscal year thereafter, data, including expenditure symbols, |
17 | relating to the appropriations adopted in the general |
18 | appropriation act, nonpreferred appropriations acts and special |
19 | fund appropriations acts and all funds authorized by the |
20 | executive branch for that fiscal year shall be added to the |
21 | searchable budget database no later than 30 days following the |
22 | beginning of the fiscal year. The secretary shall add additional |
23 | data required under section 3 relating to the expenditure of |
24 | funds, as the data becomes available. |
25 | (b) Agency requirements.--Each agency shall provide the |
26 | secretary with all data required under section (3)(a) no later |
27 | than 30 days after the data becomes available to the agency. The |
28 | agency shall not be required to provide information that is |
29 | exempt from disclosure under the act of February 14, 2008 |
30 | (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law. |
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1 | (c) Format.--Each agency shall create and maintain data |
2 | under this section in ASCII-delimited text file, spreadsheet |
3 | file or other file as required by the secretary. |
4 | (d) Data maintenance.--The secretary shall ensure that all |
5 | data added to the searchable budget database remains accessible |
6 | to the public for a minimum of ten years. |
7 | Section 5. Compliance. |
8 | The secretary shall not be considered in compliance with this |
9 | act if the data required for the searchable budget database is |
10 | not available in a searchable manner or is unable to be |
11 | aggregated or if the public is redirected to other government |
12 | Internet websites unless the other Internet websites contain the |
13 | information as required under this act. |
14 | Section 20. Effective date. |
15 | This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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