New report: Kansas sinks on spending transparency
scores Kansas as a “D-minus” and Missouri as a “C-plus” when it comes to the transparency of state spending records.
A spokesman for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund was particularly critical of Kansas.
“State governments across the country have become more transparent about where public money goes, providing citizens with the information they need to hold elected officials and recipients of public subsidies accountable,” spokesman Phineas Baxandall said.
"But Kansas has a long way to go."
The group described Kansas in the report as a "lagging state." That means checkbook-level spending on Kansas' website is less accessible to users than checkbook-level spending in other states.
For example, citizens cannot search by key word or download and analyze entire data sets to uncover trends over time.
Kansas’ score fell from 68 last year to 50 this year.
“This doesn’t mean spending became less open, but the state’s transparency improvements didn’t keep pace with rising standards, improved technological capacity and growing public expectations around the country,” Baxandall said in a statement.
This story was originally published April 20, 2014 at 9:19 PM with the headline "New report: Kansas sinks on spending transparency."