May. 02, 2018
HARRISBURG – With overwhelming bipartisan support, the House on Wednesday approved legislation by Rep. Seth Grove (R-York) to greatly enhance the public’s ability to track every cent Pennsylvania receives and how the state spends taxpayer dollars.
“I have full confidence the taxpayers will appreciate and use this tool to examine and better understand how their money is being spent by state government,” Grove said. “This bill would clean and enlarge the window through which taxpayers view the state’s financial dealings and ensure this tool will be around for decades to come.”
Grove’s
House Bill 1843 would enhance the Pennsylvania Treasury’s Transparency Portal website and codify the program so it’s permanently available to taxpayers.
Specifically, the legislation would create the Commonwealth Checkbook, a user-friendly online ledger to show the public how and where their tax dollars are spent. The bill would also require state agencies to post budget requests online.
Pennsylvania received a “C” mark from the U.S. PIRG report, “Following the Money 2018.” The report ranked Pennsylvania 28th in the nation when it comes to providing online access to government
spending data.
“Being in the middle of the pack may be satisfactory for some people but not for me. Pennsylvania should be in the forefront of access to how tax dollars are spent and my bill would move the Commonwealth to the top of the list,” Grove said.”
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Representative Seth Grove
196th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com
RepGrove.com /
Facebook.com/RepSethGrove