Republican transparency plan signed into law

In what backers call a major victory for Colorado taxpayers, a Republican proposal making government more accountable and placing Colorado on the cutting edge of transparency was signed into law today. The bill, dubbed the Colorado Taxpayer Transparency Act, was sponsored by Senate Republican Caucus Chair Mike Kopp, of Littleton, and Rep. B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland, who both made the case that taxpayers deserved the right to know how the government spends their money.HB 1288 creates an online database--easily accessible by the general public--to detail how the government is spending the taxpayers' money.

“This bill gives taxpayers unprecedented access to the state’s check register. The administration is to be credited for partnering with us in this important reform.”

Some Senate Democrats, led by Evie Hudak, of Arvada, had expressed concern that HB 1288 was redundant due to an executive order issued by Gov. Bill Ritter, which they say largely had the same effect as HB 1288.  Kopp has defended the bill by saying it goes one step further by putting it in state statute, ensuring that future governors can't strike it down with the stroke of a pen."Having this law on the books will encourage government to spend taxpayers' money more prudently," Kopp said.  "It's something every taxpayer will benefit from." Similar legislation has already passed in several states, including Missouri, Kansas and Texas, as well as in the United States Senate. The U.S. Senate version of transparency was sponsored by then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma.