TRANSPARENCY FOSTERS GOOD GOVERNMENT, FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY – Straight From The Senate

In our modern digital age, it seems that any piece of information, no matter how broad or specific, can be found with a quick Google search. More and more we find ourselves turning to the internet to look up the answers to our questions, but did you know that Indiana has been hard at work making information about your state government just as easy to access?

The Indiana Transparency Portal (ITP) is maintained by the office of Auditor of State Tera Klutz, who previously served as Allen County Auditor. The ITP, first launched in 2010, is a one-stop shop for all things related to the way Indiana spends its money. Over the years there have been several upgrades to the site, and most recently, the website got an “Extreme Makeover” in order to make that information more easily understood and accessible than ever before in the Hoosier state.

On the ITP, Hoosiers can access a breadth of information ranging from the number of state employees, to employee salaries, to vendor payments, to revenue reports and so much more. Some of the new information to the ITP includes displaying the top vendors statewide and by agency, agency-to-agency transfers, and purchase and travel card expenses summarized by agency.

In addition to ensuring transparency in state spending, the legislature does our part to make the legislative process as transparent and accessible as possible. On the Indiana General Assembly’s website, iga.in.gov, you can find schedules for session and committee meetings, full drafts of each bill, amendments, stream legislative meetings and sessions live or watch archived video of meetings, view information on all 150 legislators and more.

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Indiana’s efforts for transparency aren’t going unnoticed. In 2016, the ITP received an A+ grade from the U.S. Public Interest Group, and in 2017, Indiana was ranked the No. 1 state government in the country by U.S. News and World Report, including ranking No. 1 in the country for budget transparency.

The creation and development of a transparency portal has long been a legislative priority of mine, including back in 2010 when it first launched. I believe transparency fosters good government and encourages state officials to be careful administrators of taxpayer dollars and responsible lawmakers. I am proud of Indiana’s work on transparency, and we will continue to look for ways to improve these resources.

To access the ITP, visit www.in.gov/itp. If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding this or other topics, contact my office by phone at 800-382-9467 or by email at Senator.Long@iga.in.gov.