CHAPTER 65

HB 1651-FN – FINAL VERSION

17Feb2010… 0490h

04/07/10 1252s

2010 SESSION

10-2449

09/10

HOUSE BILL 1651-FN

AN ACT requiring that current information and reports relative to the state budget be made available on the state website.

SPONSORS: Rep. Major, Rock 8; Rep. M. Smith, Straf 7; Rep. Almy, Graf 11; Rep. W. D. Scamman, Rock 13; Rep. Kurk, Hills 7; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Odell, Dist 8; Sen. Janeway, Dist 7; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Downing, Dist 22

COMMITTEE: Finance

ANALYSIS

This bill requires that current information and reports relative to the state budget be made available by the department of administrative services on the state website.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

17Feb2010… 0490h

04/07/10 1252s

10-2449

09/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten

AN ACT requiring that current information and reports relative to the state budget be made available on the state website.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

65:1 Purpose. The purpose of this act is to promote transparency in the state budget process by providing the public and the general court access to budget, expenditure, and revenue information and reports which are not confidential and which are vital to good government.

65:2 New Chapter; Online Access to Budget Information and Reports. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 9-E the following new chapter:

CHAPTER 9-F

ONLINE ACCESS TO BUDGET INFORMATION AND REPORTS

9-F:1 Online Access to Budget Information and Reports.

I. The commissioner of administrative services shall make available on the state website the information and reports required to be made available to the public and to the general court under paragraphs II-III of this section. All of this required information shall be accessible on a single state transparency website to be created by the department of information technology.

II. The state transparency website shall include the following:

(a) All expenditures by state agencies shall be published monthly, no later than the 15th day of the following month. These expenditures shall be reported in a total fund format, showing budgeted/revised budgeted amounts spent for the month, for the year, and for the year to date. Expenditure reports generated by the financial reporting system of the state for agency use shall be used to satisfy this requirement.

(b) Annual salaries of all full-time state employees, listed by pay type category and in a searchable format.

(c) Links to information posted to the websites of various state agencies/entities for the following:

(1) Audit reports from the office of the legislative budget assistant.

(2) Annual reports for individual agencies.

(3) Agency budgets submitted in accordance with RSA 9:4.

(4) The governor’s budget in accordance with RSA 9:2.

(d) Any other information as determined by the department of information technology and the department of administrative services, in consultation with the legislative oversight committee established in RSA 9-F:2.

III. Annually on or before October 31, a report from each agency shall be made available which shows the total amount expended during the prior fiscal year for each program providing aid or assistance to individuals. This annual report shall also document any changes in eligibility criteria or payment amount or formulas. Each agency shall prepare its annual report by analyzing and summarizing the content of its statement of appropriation. Each agency shall submit its annual report to the commissioner of administrative services on or before September 1. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, each agency shall submit existing reports to fulfill the requirements of this paragraph. Beginning in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012 and in each year thereafter, each agency’s report shall be in a format developed by the commissioner of administrative services in consultation with the legislative oversight committee established by RSA 9-F:2.

9-F:2 Legislative Oversight Committee Established.

I. There is established a legislative oversight committee to monitor compliance with the requirements for online access to budget information and reports under RSA 9-F:1.

II.(a) The members of the committee shall be as follows:

(1) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(2) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.

(b) Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.

III. The committee shall monitor compliance with the requirements for online access to budget information and reports under RSA 9-F:1. The committee shall work with the department of administrative services and the department of information technology to explore what components reasonably can be added to the state website to provide increased transparency and to establish reasonable timelines for implementation based on staffing, funding, hardware, and software capacity. Among those components to be discussed:

(a) Expenditure information similar to that in RSA 9-F:1, II, only on a general fund basis.

(b) State grant information.

(c) State contract information.

(d) An online version of the state’s checkbook.

(e) A statewide searchable budget database.

(f) Any other components which the committee determines will increase transparency.

IV. The members of the legislative oversight committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.

V. The legislative oversight committee shall submit interim reports of its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2010 and November 1, 2011, and shall submit a final report on or before November 1, 2012.

65:3 Applicability; Contingency. The department of administrative services shall have 90 days after the effective date of this act to take the steps necessary to implement this act. Section 2 of this act shall take effect on the date that the commissioner of administrative services certifies to the secretary of state and the director of the office of legislative services that the technology is available and capable of protecting individual and corporate privacy rights when providing online access to budget information and reports.

65:4 Effective Date.

I. Section 2 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 3 of this act.

II. The remainder of this act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

Approved: May 18, 2010

Effective Date: I. Section 2 shall take effect as provided in section 3.

II. Remainder shall take effect July 1, 2010.