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Ever
since the corporate and accounting scandals that
rocked our economy in the early 2000s, the public
has placed a premium on added transparency.
The U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed new
reporting regulations on corporate American to
improve financial disclosure, accountability and
transparency. It was only a matter of time before
those same calls were turned on government itself.
Indeed, new efforts at both the federal and state
level hold much promise to add more sunshine on
how government operates and spends our tax
dollars.
Technology
and the internet have established a new premium on
openness and information. We can find out just
about anything we want with a few clicks of the
mouse. This unprecedented ease of access is
largely responsible for push for greater
government transparency. In the phenomenon
sometimes referred to as “Google government”,
governments are creating searchable databases of
grants, contracts and other funding information.
Surprising
to most, it was the federal government that first
got into act with the passage of the Federal
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S.
2590) in 2006. Since then at least 20 states have
considered legislation on similar transparency
efforts, many of which passed and were signed into
law. In addition, a few governors have signed
executive orders establishing the databases.
It’s
well established that there is a need for greater
transparency. Web-based information would make
government more transparent by allowing taxpayers
access to spending information and clarity on
where their tax dollars are being spent.
Unfortunately neither Virginia's Governor nor the
General Assembly have made progress on a “Google
government” database.
“Google
government” is just one piece of the
transparency puzzle. Fortunately, the Commonwealth
has set a much stronger foundation in other areas,
including understanding how various programs
actually function.
In
a recent Reason Foundation report, "Innovators
in Action," Del. Chris Saxman,
R-Staunton, discusses the need for transparency to
effectively communicate with constituents and shed
light on government operations. Saxman notes that
the General Assembly has made some significant
progress in recent years. For example, the
Cost Cutting Caucus, which Saxman chairs,
successfully carried two pieces of legislation
that have created a more transparent budget
document (2003 HB 1838) and established the
Council for Virginia’s Future (2002—HB 252).
Saxman
notes that the Council was established to “set
the goals and direction for the Commonwealth and
the new budget document set up the funding towards
those goals with objectives and measurable
goals.” Transparency by itself is not enough
though. Simply knowing where money is spent
doesn’t make the Commonwealth a better place to
live or do business.
The
transparency and government performance pieces
need to be more intimately tied together. Knowing
something isn’t efficient or doesn’t work is
only half the equation. Policy makers need to be
empowered and prepared to make significant policy
changes based on what transparency bears. This
includes, of course, a willingness to weed out
under- or non-performing programs or activities.
Past
efforts at reform have seen their success tempered
because of an inability to put the results into
action. Here we can emulate what the federal
government and what several other states have
done. For example, Texas and Florida have
effectively used sunset commissions to eliminate
unneeded or ineffective government programs.
Indiana and the federal government have used a
robust performance assessment tool for years to
accomplish the same goals. The bottom line is that
we can learn from these examples and create our
own approach, so long as we do it.
Transparency
can be a powerful tool and should be embraced and
expanded. We should always be on the look out for
new ways to shine a brighter light on how our
government operates and spends our tax dollars.
However, to achieve the full promise of shining
light on government programs and activities, we
must couple transparency with the power and a
willingness to address what we find.
--
July 30, 2007
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