Some transparency work to do

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Iowa's state government flunked a citizen-based advocacy group's measure of financial transparency released this week.

Iowa was one of only 10 states that earned a failing grade in the Public Interest Research Group's annual “Following the Money” report.

PIRG, which works to counter excessive influence by special interest groups, hit Iowa hard, awarding only 32 of a possible 100 points in a rating of states' thoroughness in providing online access to various government spending data.

Iowa leaders and legislators should take a hard look at those numbers. Making sure the public has ready access to information about public business is an important way to help protect against actual and perceived corruption. Transparency is a critical check on government, we are reminded during national Sunshine Week, which promotes open government and freedom of information.

Iowa is significantly behind the majority of states in making government expenditures available online, according to PIRG, which analyzed and graded state websites based on searchability and breadth of information contained.

Forty states have websites allowing the public to access government expenditure databases. Most are searchable, making it easy to track where public money is spent. At least 14 states either created new transparency websites or significantly improved existing sites just last year.

Not Iowa, which the group included in the minority of states providing “limited or superficial information” about government spending.

The analysis does not take into account a bill, signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Terry Branstad, that provides for the creation of a searchable, online state budget database.

We applaud that action. Even so, Iowa PIRG spokespeople said the new law's requirements won't match what Kentucky, Texas, Indiana, Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon are doing. All were lauded for creating user-friendly, searchable, detailed sites that make information about government contracts, tax expenditures, tax subsidies and economic development incentives readily available.

Many include complete copies of vendor contracts or details of past contracts. Users can target the data they're looking for, to generate spreadsheets or maps.

Iowa clearly has some work to do. We should match or beat the online transparency standard set by PIRG's top-rated states. Iowans deserve no less in the digital age.

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