PENNSYLVANIA'S OPEN RECORDS LAW
Now you can track your tax dollars
July 23, 2008
By Charles Thompson
Of The Patriot-News
HARRISBURG — It's getting easier for citizens to track the spending of their tax dollars.
You can search online to find out about state contracts for goods and services or grant awards worth more than $5,000. The online database includes any contracts or purchase orders executed since July 1.
The search tool is on the state Treasurer's Web site: www.patreasury.org. State Treasurer Robin Wiessmann unveiled it at a news conference Tuesday.
SEARCH TIPS
Click into the PA Contract e-Library. Contracts can be searched by agency, keyword, vendor, date or cost.
Direct links will take you to the contracts. Some information may be blacked out for security reasons or trade secrets. Redactions are subject to appeal to the state's new Open Records Office.
For more information, call 800-252-4700.
MORE OPEN RECORDS
The e-Library might be one of the most practical benefits of the open-records law, which was enacted in February. In the past, requests for records would take six weeks or longer to process.
More agencies must make information public under the law. Some aspects of the law won't take effect until Jan. 1.
The e-Library could help ensure that contracts are awarded fairly and encourage more vendors to bid for state work, said Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause PA.
"With the potential for many, many more eyes watching, the quality of government is likely to improve," Kauffman said.
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