State Rep. Files Legislation To Create The Louisiana Checkbook

Baton Rouge Representative Barry Ivey is proposing legislation for the regular session that would require state agencies to publish all of their expenditures online for the public.

The measure would create a “Louisiana Checkbook” that Ivey says is all about transparency.

“We want to give taxpayers the ability to be able to see where every single dollar is spent in state government. Not on the aggregate, but on the individual transaction level.”

The proposal seeks to replicate Ohiocheckbook.com, where all Ohio state expenditures are logged, and available to view using a user-friendly interface.
Ivey says an online checkbook would provide citizens with the ability to keep a close eye on every single transaction the state makes.

“If we have a contract with a vendor and we cut a check to that vendor, then we should be able to hyperlink that contract to that transaction. If someone wants to look at that contract, they’ll be able to.”

Fiscal cliff negotiations have centered on potential cuts to state funding, and Ivey says creating the checkbook would allow legislators to take a scalpel to budget.

“What I think most taxpayers don’t realize is that even as a legislator, we are limited in the data that we have available to us.”

The bill was filed as HB 50.