Bill would put state spending, tax credit details online


House members voted Monday to put online the details of state spending and tax credits, The Oklahoman reported today.

HB 3422 would require each individual expenditure be listed separately instead of being lumped together as one purchase, such as office expenses, the newspaper said.

The database would be searchable by the name of the recipient, the entity making the purchase and the date of the expenditure.

The measure also would require the Oklahoma Tax Commission to prepare and maintain a list of all taxpayers who have claimed any tax credit. The information would be made public on Open Books, the state’s taxpayer transparency Web site.

The searchable, downloadable database would include the identity of all taxpayers or organizations having any part in the chain of custody of the tax credit. The information would be available beginning with the 2011 tax year.

HB 3422 goes to the state Senate for a vote.



Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, or its board of directors. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.