In the home state of Silicon Valley, the California Controller's excuses to hide state spending are not only laughable - but a violation of the law.
OPEN THE BOOKS ON THE CALIFORNIA STATE CHECKBOOK
RealClearPolitics | March 20, 2016
What spends nearly a quarter trillion dollars annually at taxpayer expense, but citizens aren't allowed to see where their money goes?
ANSWER: California's state checkbook.
Last week, we celebrated public data capture during national Sunshine Week. Over the weekend, we issued the clarion call to 'open the books on the California state checkbook.'
Our goal is to make California a battleground state - regarding the transparency of government spending.
At OpenTheBooks.com, we've captured and displayed 48 out of 50 state checkbooks. But, not the California state spending record.
For two years, we've asked the Controller of California, for "any" and "all" line-by-line state vendor payments. This information should be available through California's open records law.
The last two controllers, John Chiang and currently Betty Yee, told us: stop asking because the records aren't accessible.
Really? In the electronic, big data age, these excuses to keep public expenditures private are not only laughable and lame, but a violation of the law.
Taxpayers should not have to have a search warrant to see how their money is being spent.
What are the California Controllers trying to hide? Simple answer: waste, politically connected contracts, errors, duplication and countless other problems.
For more information on our efforts to 'open the books in California:'
- Read our Forbes editorial: Our Battle to End the California Transparency Drought, click here.
- Listen to our 600KOGO News Radio, San Diego, The DeMaio Report interview: The Transparency Fight in California, click here.
- Read the recent Techwire article, California Needs Better Open Data, click here.