SENATE DOCKET, NO. 945        FILED ON: 1/20/2011

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1624

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Bruce E. Tarr

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to provide for accountability and transparency in the finances of the Commonwealth..

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 945        FILED ON: 1/20/2011

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1624

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1455 OF 2009-2010.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the Year Two Thousand Eleven

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An Act to provide for accountability and transparency in the finances of the Commonwealth..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Definitions – For the purposes of this section, the terms below shall be defined as follows:

            Entity – whether for-profit or not for profit,

            a corporation

            an association

            a partnership

            a limited liability corporation

            a limited liability partnership

            a sole proprietorship

            any other legal business entity

            a political subdivision of the Commonwealth

            provided that an employee of the Commonwealth or an individual recipient of assistance shall not be considered an entity.

            State expenditure – an expenditure of state funds including grants, subgrants, loans, awards, cooperative agreements, financial assistance, contracts, subcontracts, purchase order, task orders and delivery orders, and excluding transactions below $25,000.

            Searchable website – a website which allows the public to:

            Search and aggregate state expenditures by any item identified in the definition of website contained herein

            Ascertain through a single search the total amount of state funding awarded to an entity by fiscal year, and

            Download information, including the results of searches.

            Website – a searchable website which includes for each state expenditure:

            The name of the receiving entity

            The amount of the expenditure

            Information describing the expenditure such as transaction type, funding agency or program, and title descriptive of the purpose of the expenditure

            The location of the entity receiving the expenditure and the primary location of performance pursuant to the expenditure, including the city, state, country and legislative district

            A unique identifier of the entity receiving the award and of any parent entity of the recipient

            Any other relevant information specified by the Operational Services Division.

            SECTION 2. The Secretary of Administration and Finance, the Comptroller, the Treasurer and the Operational Services Division are hereby authorized and directed to develop a single searchable website, accessible by the public without cost, to enable the public to research and examine state expenditures as defined herein. Said website shall be designed so as to maximize utility, minimize cost and promote accessibility of information, and shall build upon resources currently existing, including, but not limited to, the “EASI” website, so-called, administered by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, and the Comm-Pass system, so-called, administered by the Operational Services Division of the Executive Office of Administration and Finance.

            In developing said website, the Secretary shall seek to obtain the use of coding and other information management infrastructure developed by the federal government pursuant to the “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006”.

            Said website shall seek to provide information for Fiscal Year 2011 and subsequent years.

            A plan for the development and implementation of said website, together with any estimates for funding required and other legislative recommendations, shall be filed with the clerks of the House and Senate not later than November 30, 2011.