Missouri Spending Transparency

Recent Developments

 

Sen. Scott Rupp (R-Wentzville) in January introduced SB 757, which establishes the Joint Committee on Recovery Accountability and Transparency to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of the funds received by the state or any political subdivision from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This committee will have the power to oversee the reporting of contracts and grants using covered funds, review whether competition requirements applicable to contracts and grants have been satisfied, review covered funds, refer matters for investigation to the Attorney General or the agency dispersing the funds, receive regular reports from the commissioner of the office of administration, receive regular testimony from the State Auditor, review audits from the State Auditor, and review the number of jobs created in the state using these funds.

Introduced in Senate on January 13, 2010. Passed Senate on March 25, 2010. Introduced in House and assigned to House Committee on Budget on March 30, 2010. Recommended Do Pass as substituted from committee on April 20, 2010.

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt (R) in July of 2007 issued an executive order to create a searchable website for government expenditures and launched the Missouri Accountability Portal on the same day. 

HB 191, sponsored by Rep. Tim Flook (R-Liberty) codifies Gov. Blunt's executive order into law and was signed into law in June 2009.

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State Spending Transparency Efforts

Website:
Missouri Accountability Portal
live since July, 2007

Legal Authority:
Governor Matt Blunt (R) issued Executive Order 7-24 on July 11, 2007.

Agency Tasked With Implementation:
Office of Administration
Harry S Truman Building
301 West High Street, Room 570
Jefferson City, MO 65101
If you have specific questions about the Missouri Accountability Portal, click here.

Cost:
The Missouri Accountability Portal was created within existing revenues.

Timeline:

• In May 2007, a team comprised of accounting, technical and business leaders began work on the project.
• The website launched in July of 2007 on the same day Gov. Blunt issued the executive order.  The site, which featured expenditure information at that time, registered one million hits in under two months.
• In October 2007, information on tax credits was added to the site, and the hit count climbed up to two million.
• In January 2008, state employee salary was added to the website. Meanwhile web hits had jumped to over three million.
• MAP won the American Business Award for Best MIS & IT Team in June of 2008.
• In August of 2008, MAP reached the ten million hit mark.

Covered Expenditures:

• State expenditures, including those made under contracts and on purchase cards beginning with the year 2000;
• grant and contract information;
• state employee salaries.

Also covered:

• Tax credits.

 Exempt Information:

• Not specified in executive order.

Data Format:

• The executive order requires an easy-to-search database of financial transactions related to the purchase of goods and services and the distribution of funds for state programs.
• The portal must be updated each state business day and maintained as the primary source of information about the activity of Missouri’s government.

Expenditure Document Included?

• Not specified in executive order, but some contracts are directly accessible, and a direct link on the site leads to the state's Contract Public Records Seach.

Salary Information Included?
Yes.

Additional Features:

• The MAP has an exensive q&a that provides users with much useful information to put the data on the portal in context.
• Furthermore, contact information for follow-up questions on expenditures is provided.
   

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Previous Levels of Spending Transparency

 The Office of Administration hosts a Contract Public Records Search.

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State Think Tank Spending Transparency Efforts

Show Me Institute

The Show Me Institute has developed a "Tax Estimator" which generates a Missouri household's estimated total state and local tax burden.

 

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Elsewhere Around the Country