Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Im proud that
Texas leads the nation in our determined efforts toward greater budget transparency and accountability and I am committed to keeping government spending in check and keeping this information easily accessible to Texans" said Gov. Rick Perry while announcing that Texas was ranked #1 out of all 50 states for transparency of government spending according to Following the Money 2012 an annual report produced by the United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG).
States were ranked by U.S. PIRG on their progress toward a comprehensive one-stop one-click budget accountability and accessibility system. Texas user-friendly transparency portal received the highest grade 98 out of 100 points.
For government to be held accountable for efficiently providing essential services Texans need to be able to track how and where their hard-earned dollars are spent" Gov. Perry said.
Since 2003 Perry has worked with legislative leadership to produce a budget that is more
transparent and easier for Texas taxpayers to understand.
In 2005 the governor signed RP 47 which required school districts to post expenditures online. The Governors Office Comptrollers Office and Texas Education Agency soon followed suit and in 2007 the governor signed HB 3420 requiring all state agencies to post their checkbooks online.
To view U.S. PIRGs full report visit
http://www.texpirg.org/reports/txp/following-money-2012.
For more information on where the money goes in Texas visit
http://www.texastransparency.org/moneygoes/.
