SB 6177
In CommitteeSenate
LEAP website
Modifying the legislative evaluation and accountability program website.
This status may be delayed. See Action History below for the latest updates.
How does a bill become law?
- Introduced: The bill is filed and assigned a number.
- Committee: A subject-matter committee holds hearings, takes public testimony, and decides whether to advance the bill.
- Floor Vote: The full chamber (House or Senate) debates and votes on the bill.
- Opposite Chamber: The bill repeats the committee and floor vote process in the other chamber.
- Governor: The Governor reviews the bill and decides whether to sign or veto it.
- Signed: The bill has been signed into law.
AI Analysis
This bill improves transparency by expanding the LEAP website to include more detailed, up-to-date, and location-based data on state spending, performance, and projects. It requires the state to make budget and project information easier for the public to find and understand online.
- Requires the LEAP Committee, in collaboration with the Office of Financial Management, to maintain and improve the state expenditure information website with current and historical budget and accounting data.
- Mandates inclusion of detailed spending data by fund/account, agency/program/subprogram, revenue source, expense category, agency workloads/caseloads, budget balances, and agency fees.
- Requires capital and transportation projects to be coded with geographic information (e.g., legislative district, county, agency project ID) so the public can search by location.
- Adds new mapping features to the website, allowing users to view project details—including project title, total appropriation, description, expenditures, and administering agency—on an interactive map.
- Requires periodic updates to the website and retention of ten years of historical budget data, with prior-year data updated as new data become available.
Who is affected
- General public — Residents and taxpayers gain better access to how state money is spent, including where projects are located and how agencies perform.
- Local governments and researchers — Local governments, community groups, and researchers can use detailed, geographically coded data to analyze state spending in their areas.
- State agencies — State agencies must ensure their budget, performance, and project data are accurately reported and integrated into the website.
- LEAP Committee and Office of Financial Management — The Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program (LEAP) Committee and Office of Financial Management are responsible for maintaining and updating the website.
Pro/Con Analysis
Stronger case for benefits
Potential Benefits (5)
The expansion of searchable, historical budget and performance data—including workloads, caseloads, and fees—empowers residents, journalists, and watchdog groups to hold agencies accountable for service delivery, especially in areas like child welfare, corrections, and behavioral health where underfunding or mismanagement can directly impact public safety.
Public SafetyPeopleRef: Sec. 1(1)(a)-(h), (3)Geocoding capital and transportation projects by legislative district, county, and agency ID allows residents and local governments to verify whether their communities are receiving promised investments—e.g., checking if a highway improvement or school construction project actually reached their area—reducing geographic inequities in infrastructure spending.
Local GovernmentPeopleRef: Sec. 1(4), (5)By requiring disclosure of agency fees (e.g., housing licensing, building permit fees) and budget balances, the bill helps tenants, housing advocates, and local governments assess whether state agencies are overcharging or underfunding local housing initiatives—supporting more equitable housing policy.
HousingPeopleRef: Sec. 1(1)(f), (g), (h)Public access to agency performance measures and historical budget data—including for higher education—enables families, students, and educators to evaluate whether funding aligns with stated goals (e.g., graduation rates, workforce alignment), supporting more informed advocacy and resource allocation.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 1(1)(e), (3)Interactive mapping of transportation projects—showing total appropriation, expenditures, and administering agency—helps everyday commuters, transit advocates, and local planners assess whether road or transit investments serve their communities or prioritize corridors with higher-income populations.
TransportationPeopleRef: Sec. 1(5)
Potential Concerns (3)
The bill requires state agencies to report granular budget and performance data (e.g., workloads, caseloads, fees) to the LEAP website, which increases administrative burden on agencies—particularly smaller or under-resourced ones—though no new funding is provided to support this added reporting.
Local GovernmentRef: Sec. 1(1), (3), (5)The requirement to test the website with users and ensure usability adds procedural overhead to the LEAP Committee and Office of Financial Management, but since this is done “within existing resources,” it diverts staff time from other tasks without compensation.
Local GovernmentRef: Sec. 1(5)While improved transparency is a stated goal, the bill does not mandate verification of data accuracy or establish penalties for misreporting—reducing the reliability of public accountability and potentially enabling misinterpretation of complex performance metrics by non-experts.
Public SafetyRef: Sec. 1(1), (3)
Who Is Most Affected
Residents gain tools to verify whether state spending aligns with local needs—especially in infrastructure, education, and social services—reducing information asymmetry and enabling more effective civic engagement.
Local governments and community organizations can use geocoded data to advocate for equitable resource allocation, track promised projects, and evaluate whether state investments match local priorities—though they may face challenges interpreting complex budget data.
State agencies must invest staff time to ensure accurate data entry and reporting, but since no new funding is provided, this may strain already tight resources—particularly for agencies with limited data infrastructure.
The LEAP Committee and Office of Financial Management gain expanded authority but must allocate existing staff time to maintain and improve the website—potentially diverting resources from other transparency or fiscal analysis work.