Let the Sun Shine In   Getting the political establishment to agree to budget transparency is like pulling teeth -- from a saber-tooth tiger. But Virginia is slowly making progress.   The goal of getting a better handle on how state and local governments spend our money has stalled this year in Richmond, but it may be gaining steam around the state. The “powers that be” held off action for at least a year, but the groundwork has been laid for more openness.    "Transparency in Government” is the term used to describe the movement that aims the spotlight on how taxpayers’ money is being spent – down to check numbers and the purpose for each check, not just broad-based categories that reveal nothing about what is going on.   A bipartisan bill introduced by Senators Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax County, and Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax County, said that all state expenditures should be placed on a searchable website. The purpose is to enable voters to see what has been spent, for what purpose, and how expenditures compare year over year and between agencies. All grants and contracts would be listed as well.   The bill was “held over” until next year. There are indications that the political establishment was worried that too much sunshine on the budget would not serve them well.   It is strange that our legislators would not embrace this effort. Virginia already has some good information available on the internet. The website “Virginia Datapoint,” published by the Auditor of Public Accounts, is easy to access. Responding to a Thomas Jefferson Institute’s December 2005 study calling for a “Citizen’s Budget,” then-Senate Majority Leader Walter Stosch, R-Henrico, sponsored legislation that created this very good first step.   But in a recent newsletter, Sen. Cuccinelli highlights a disturbing obstacle to the complete implementation of the government transparency bill. In committee testimony, the Auditor said he was blocking Google from searching the Datapoint database! Why? Because the state Auditor considers Google an "intruder" on the order of a hacker because Google’s search users have crashed the Auditor’s database.   But as Cuccinelli states: Why shouldn’t this database be searchable by Google? Indeed, why did the state create a database and brag about how it showed a commitment to “open” government when it can’t be accessed by everyday technology tools?   The Auditor's message is not encouraging to taxpayers. In the same testimony, according to Cuccinelli, the Auditor went on to note that Virginia gives a disk of the Datapoint database to Google every three months. But Google is an Internet search engine and is not in the business of hosting information, only searching it. When you visit Virginia Datapoint and use the search function, it warns you that the average search takes between one and five minutes. Yet Google tracks billions of pages all over the world and those searches typically take only a few seconds. Why is our state reticent to make more information available more easily?   Frankly, in this day and age, web surfers forced to wait two or three minutes for a single search will abandon the search and leave the site. You can’t help but wonder why the state wants to discourage taxpayers, rather encourage them, from accessing data on how their money is spent.   Senator Ed Houck, D-Fredericksburg, who serves on the Senate Finance Committee and is a key member of the all-important Budget Conference Committee, said he was offended by the bill, which implied that Virginia government was not already open and transparent. But facts are facts: Virginia legislators and its citizens cannot find all the budget information online that will explain how our money is spent. It certainly is not there in a well organized fashion that makes sensible research possible.   Things look better for government transparency at the local level. Pat Herrity, a newly elected Fairfax County Supervisor, introduced a motion to develop a fully transparent local government-expenditure database similar to what the Cuccinelli-Petersen bill would do for the state. So far the county government has shown a real interest in pursuing this effort. Meanwhile, in Prince William County, board Chair Corey Stewart and Supervisor John Stirrup are promoting a similar effort.   Hopefully, those in power in Richmond will learn to accept open and transparent databases that allow citizens to easily trace state expenditures. Time will tell. But one thing you can count on: The call for “Transparency in Government” is too powerful for state and local governments in the Old Dominion to ignore. We live in exciting times.   -- February 11, 2008