Americans for Prosperity: Floridians Need Improved Access to Public Records, Budgets, and Contracts

The Florida chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a conservative political advocacy group,has issued a statement responding to Thursday's meeting of the stateSenate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee, which discussed government transparency and reviewed presentations on two of the states current transparency websites.

It was refreshing to hear the members of the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee declare their dedication to increasing transparency of government spending, said AFP-FLs director of policy Abigail MacIver in the statement. Chairman [Jeremy Ring, D-Margate,] has made it clear that he is determined to provide Floridians with a better, more transparent system than we currently have. It makes no difference that Florida has publicly available records if the citizens dont know how or where to find them. It is important that citizens are able to not only access information but put it into the correct context."

Senators also focused on the differences between the current sites and the Transparency 2.0 site that was created for the Senate under former Senate President Mike Haridopolos, with members reportedly criticizing the no-bid contract and the cost associated with the creation and maintenance of the site.

We hope that the members of the committee dont become so focused on the previous contract that they lose sight of the bigger picture here, which is providing citizens with access to the states records, budgets and contracts, continued MacIver. The members rightly want to ensure that there is accountability for contracts they enter into, and believe they may have paid too much for too little with the Transparency 2.0 project. Ending the Legislatures current practice of awarding no-bid contracts while also providing public access for legislative spending would help prevent any future misuse of taxpayer dollars.

AFP Florida, which claims the support of more than 145,000 activist members in the state, has outlined its 2013 legislative priorities in its "Five for Florida" plan. Point three of the plan addresses transparency as a measure of good government.