The Alaska Online Checkbook Act became law recently. In the most recent legislative session in Juneau, Senate Bill 25 passed, which establishes a searchable online database so the public can easily view the details on state government spending and revenues.
The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Bill Wielechowski, who said earlier this year:
“Unfortunately, Alaska has never kept pace with the rapidly improving technology that’s out there. The amount of transparency that we offer our citizens has greatly decreased. There are organizations that keep track of government transparency, nonpartisan organizations like U.S. PIRG, for example, they grade all 50 states. You can see as time goes by, Alaska’s standing grading decreased to the point where we, in 2014, we got an F rating, which is the lowest rating. Eventually we became the worst, if not, tied with the worst in the nation in terms of our government transparency, the online checkbook that we offer.”
All U.S. states make information on state expenditures and revenues available online, but the State of Alaska doesn’t have a centralized location where the data is maintained. The state provides that data in various spreadsheets and webpages on government websites, and, in some cases, financial data updates were inconsistent, and webpages were periodically inaccessible. The bill expands the amount of online financial information and requires its continual availability from a single searchable website.
The legislation received support from 29 members of the House and Senate who signed on as co-sponsors and was strongly urged for passage by organizations like the Alaska Public Interest Research Group and Americans for Prosperity – Alaska.
The bill, because it wasn’t signed or vetoed, became law automatically without the governor’s signature under the guidelines of the Alaska Constitution.
The online checkbook is required to be made available by the Department of Administration by October 1, 2023.
Transcribed audio courtesy of KTOO 360TV.
