BILL REQ. #:  H-2855.1 

Prefiled 12/03/13. Read first time 01/13/14.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to providing contract information online for state capital and transportation projects; reenacting and amending RCW 44.48.150; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes the importance of a transparent government to the citizens of the state. Therefore, the legislature intends to increase accessibility to contract expenditures by requiring state capital and transportation contracts to be posted online.

Sec. 2   RCW 44.48.150 and 2013 c 327 s 2 and 2013 c 63 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) By January 1, 2009, in collaboration with the office of financial management, using existing databases and structures currently shared, the office of the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee shall establish and make available to the public a searchable state expenditure information web site. The state expenditure information web site shall provide access to current budget data, access to current accounting data for budgeted expenditures and staff, and access to historical data. At a minimum, the web site will provide access or links to the following information as data are available:
     (a) State expenditures by fund or account;
     (b) State expenditures by agency, program, and subprogram;
     (c) State revenues by major source;
     (d) State expenditures by object and subobject;
     (e) State agency workloads, caseloads, and performance measures, and recent performance audits;
     (f) State agency budget data by activity; and
     (g) The inventory of state agency fees required by RCW 43.88.585.
     (2) "State agency," as used in this section, includes every state agency, office, board, commission, or institution of the executive, legislative, or judicial branches, including institutions of higher education.
     (3) The state expenditure information web site shall be updated periodically as subsequent fiscal year data become available, and the prior year expenditure data shall be maintained by the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee as part of its ten-year historical budget data.
     (4) By January 1, 2014, current and future capital project and transportation project investments must be coded with the geographic information sufficient to permit the public to search and identify appropriation and expenditure data at the parent and subproject level to the extent available by:
     (a) State legislative district;
     (b) County; and
     (c) Agency project identifier.
     (5) The office of the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee must, within existing resources, update the state expenditure information web site to allow the public to search for capital budget and transportation projects by selecting from an online geographical map. The map must allow an in-depth examination of financial and other data associated with such projects. Data elements must include:
     (a) Project title;
     (b) Total appropriation;
     (c) Project description;
     (d) Expenditure data; and
     (e) Administering agency.
     (6) By January 1, 2015, an electronic link to the contract for each project must be included on the map in subsection (5) of this section.
     (7) The web site must be easy to use, contain current and readily available data, and allow for review and analysis by the public. The legislative evaluation and accountability program committee must test the web site with potential users to ensure that it is easy to navigate and comprehend.
     (8) Agencies that receive an appropriation for a capital or transportation project must provide the department of enterprise services with project-related contract and subcontract documents or data requested by the department in the format defined by the department. The department must work with the office of the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee to post the electronic link to the map in subsection (5) of this section.