Enacts online revenues and expenditures transparency act
This bill would create a new section of the Executive Law establishing the “Online Revenues and Expenditures Transparency Act.” It directs the Director of the Budget, working with the Director of the Office for Technology, to develop and operate a single public searchable budget database website by early 2027. The site would be free to use and designed to let the public search, obtain, and aggregate information about state spending, revenues, debt, local aid, and related fiscal activity.
The database would have to include annual expenditures and funding actions to entities and agencies, including grants, contracts, appropriations, tax expenditures, and subsidies, along with funding source, amount, purpose, and links to underlying contracts or grants where possible. It would also include bond debt payments, local aid, annual revenues, bonded indebtedness details, and links to state audits or reports. For tax expenditures and corporate subsidies, the bill requires disclosure of expected outcomes such as jobs created or retained, wages and benefits, and final outcomes, including any recaptured funds for nonperformance. The bill also requires agencies to provide data within 30 days after it becomes available and mandates that the information remain available for at least 10 years.
The bill would amend the Executive Law by adding a new transparency mandate affecting the Office of the State Budget and the Office of Information Technology Services, as well as all state agencies required to supply data. It would expand public access to budget and fiscal information across appropriations, tax expenditures, debt service, local aid, and revenue streams, while also imposing reporting and update obligations on agencies and budget officials. The bill expressly limits disclosure so it does not require publication of individual businesses’ tax liability, profits, sales, or losses.
No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or recorded support/opposition. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be framed as a government transparency and accountability initiative, suggesting generally favorable policy intent toward public access to fiscal information. The absence of recorded votes or discussion means the overall sentiment cannot be measured from legislative history in the provided materials.
The main potential point of contention is the breadth of the reporting mandate and the administrative burden it places on the Director of the Budget, the Office for Technology, and state agencies that must compile and submit detailed data on a continuing basis. Another likely issue is the level of disclosure for tax expenditures and corporate subsidies, especially the requirement to report expected and final job outcomes, wage and benefit information, and recaptured funds. Supporters would likely emphasize transparency, while critics may focus on implementation costs, data standardization challenges, and concerns about exposing sensitive business-related information, though the bill attempts to limit disclosure of individual business tax details.