Susan Combs
From Ballotpedia
Susan Combs serves as the Texas comptroller. She had declared herself in support of transparency for the state budget and state expenses.
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Transparency advocacy
"Where the money goes"
Combs spearheaded the creation of an online portal for state expenditures, “Where the Money Goes.” The basis for the site began with Combs’ first week in office in January 2007, when she posted detailed expenditure information for the Comptroller’s office online. Before transparency legislation was signed into Texas law on June 15, 2007, Combs had already built the Web site detailing expenditures of 24 agencies responsible for 80 percent of the state’s spending.
The site was later re-launched under the name “Where the Money Goes” in October 2007. The site now offers users a free, searchable database of all state agency expenditures. The four major search functions on the portal include state agency search, vendor search, spending category search and purchasing code search, a feature that allows users to “drill down” to item levels for the biggest agencies.
Open Book Texas
On Dec. 3, 2008, Combs introduced Book Texas, a three-part set of initiatives aimed at improving government spending, transparency and accounting accuracy. The Comptroller’s Texas Smart Buy initiative gives state agencies and local governments access to an online shopping cart to purchase goods and services through state-negotiated contracts, effectively leveraging the state of Texas’ bulk buying power to receive lower prices. Combs is also directing a comprehensive study of ways to integrate data across Texas state government to make processes and systems more cohesive, standardized and efficient.
Texas Transparency Check-up
But most important in terms of transparency, Combs unveiled a new Web site, Texas Transparency Check-Up, which expands the Comptroller’s previous online accountability efforts and encourages transparency at all levels of Texas government finance. The Web site offers transparency guidance to local governments and provides Texans an opportunity to see how well their local governments stack up in offering online access to financial information.
External links
- Americans for Tax Reform Center for Fiscal Accountability, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs to Discuss Transparency Initiatives on Wednesday (audiocast available), Dec. 1, 2008
- Susan Comb's bio
- Houston Conservative, Statement on Comptroller Susan Combs’ Transparency Initiatives, Dec. 3, 2008
- Americans for Tax Reform, Transparency in Government Spending
- Gov Tech, Texas Grades State Agencies and Local Governments on Financial Transparency, Dec. 5, 2008
