Bill Text: AZ SB1264 | 2010 | Forty-ninth Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Comprehensive reporting of governmental information
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-23 - Referred to Senate RULES Committee [SB1264 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2010-SB1264-Introduced.html
|
REFERENCE TITLE: comprehensive reporting of governmental information |
|
State of Arizona Senate Forty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session 2010
|
|
SB 1264 |
|
|
|
Introduced by Senator Paton
|
AN ACT
amending title 41, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding chapter 46; relating to governmental reporting of information.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 41, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 46, to read:
CHAPTER 46
GOVERNMENTAL REPORTING OF INFORMATION
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
41-4601. Definitions
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Agency website" means a website that is connected to the internet and that is owned, operated or funded by a governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity.
2. "Governmental entity" or "quasi‑governmental entity" means this state or any political subdivision of this state, including a county, a city, a town, a state university, a community college district, a school district, a special taxing district and any other special district or entity that is established by this state regardless of how the entity's revenues are obtained.
41-4602. Comprehensive internet web portal of governmental and quasi‑governmental entities; civil penalty
A. The auditor general shall establish an internet web portal that provides a list of all governmental and quasi-governmental entities with jurisdiction over any address entered by a user. Each listing shall be linked to an agency website maintained by each entity that shall primarily contain the following information:
1. The name of the entity's governing board with official contact information for each board member, including a phone number for direct contact by constituents.
2. The name and contact information for the administrative head of the entity.
3. Information for how the governing board and administrative head of the entity are selected, including dates of the next election, if any, durations of terms and names and contact information of appointing authorities, as applicable.
4. Information on taxes or fees controlled by the entity and proposed changes in the taxes or fees.
5. Information on special elections, which shall be posted at least ninety days in advance of the election date.
6. Links to financial information of the entity.
B. The auditor general shall enforce this section. After a hearing, the auditor general may impose a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars against a governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity that knowingly posts information that is not current. The auditor general shall deposit, pursuant to sections 35‑146 and 35‑147, civil penalties collected pursuant to this section in the state general fund.
41-4603. Comprehensive database of receipts and expenditures of local and quasi‑governmental entities; applicability
A. On or before December 31, 2011, except as provided in subsection H of this section, each governmental entity and quasi‑governmental entity, shall establish and maintain an official agency website that is electronically searchable by the public at no cost and that contains a comprehensive database of receipts and expenditures of all monies.
B. Each governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity must present information in the database in a manner that is intuitive to members of the general public, including graphical representations. The database must allow users to:
1. Search and aggregate payments by individual budget units and programs.
2. Search and aggregate payments by individual vendors, including the total amount of funding awarded to individual vendors.
3. Download information yielded by a search of the database.
C. The database shall include the following information:
1. Annual receipts of revenues including:
(a) Revenues from other state and local governmental units.
(b) Taxes.
(c) Earnings, including amounts collected for merchandise sold, services performed and licenses, certifications and permits issued.
(d) Revenue from the use of publicly owned money or property, including leases and licenses.
(e) Gifts, donations and grants received, including amounts received from the federal government.
(f) Any other type of public revenue, however denominated or derived, deposited into the state or local treasury.
2. Annual expenditures and disbursements from various funds, including:
(a) Bond payments, debt service and redemption charges and fees.
(b) Contractual services and cooperative agreements.
(c) Commodities.
(d) Capital outlay.
(e) Revenue sharing and other aid to other levels of government, including tribal governments.
(f) Any other expenditure or disbursement, however denominated or structured.
D. Expenditure data shall list:
1. The manner of payment, including check or warrant or credit, debit or other purchase card.
2. The funding source, including categorical codes and the state or local accounts the expenditure is appropriated from.
3. A standardized descriptive title of the type and purpose of the transaction.
4. The date and amount of each payment.
5. The state or local agency or budget unit making the payment.
6. The name of the person or entity receiving the payment, including to the extent practical a parent entity of the recipient if the recipient is owned by another entity.
7. The primary location of performance under the contract.
E. The database shall not include:
1. Tax payment or refund data that include confidential taxpayer information.
2. Payees' addresses or telephone numbers, but the governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity may allow public access in the database to information identifying the county in which the payee is located.
3. Work product in anticipation of litigation or information subject to attorney-client privilege.
4. Any other information that is designated by law as confidential or preapproved as confidential by the governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity pursuant to rule. The governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity and any officer or employee of the governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity:
(a) May rely on a determination made by a budget unit regarding confidentiality of information relating to the budget unit's expenditures.
(b) Are immune from civil liability for posting confidential information under this section if the posting is in reliance on the budget unit's determination relating to confidentiality.
F. The database shall be updated within thirty days after the end of each fiscal year and may be updated as new data become available. The data shall be retained in the database for at least ten full fiscal years.
G. Each budget unit that maintains a generally accessible internet website, or for which a generally accessible website is maintained, shall include a link on that website to the database under this section.
H. This section does not apply to the department of administration or a state budget unit that complies with section 41‑725.
41-4604. Performance benchmarks for local governments; applicability
A. A governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity shall establish performance benchmarks for all programs, ongoing service areas and administrative levels. Benchmarks shall be:
1. Outcomes-based.
2. At least partly based on cost efficiency expressed in outcome per dollar spent.
3. Measurable.
4. Reflective of the original purpose and intent of the entity's creation.
B. A governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity shall make the information readily obtainable by an interested party by posting the information on the agency's website.
C. This section does not apply to a state agency. END_STATUTE
41-4605. Reporting of public funding for promotional spending
A. Every public official of this state shall report to the auditor general all expenditures of public monies, regardless of source, that are spent for all publications, flyers, billboard advertising, broadcast advertising and press releases that include the public official's proper name or physical likeness.
B. The auditor general shall maintain a searchable database of these expenditures, including the type of medium and total expenditures.
41-4606. Reporting of school performance by department of education
The department of education shall establish and maintain an online searchable database of raw student test scores searchable by district, school, grade level and teacher. The database shall be accessible by researchers and other interested parties, allowing downloads without charge. The department shall take necessary steps to comply with federal privacy laws.
41-4607. Debt reporting by governmental entity; enforcement; civil penalty
A. All governmental entities and quasi-governmental entities shall report to the department of revenue all incurred debt, including date of issue, purpose, original amount, current balance, interest paid to date and interest paid in the latest full fiscal year.
B. The department of revenue shall maintain an online accessible and searchable database and, subject to approval by the joint legislative budget committee, may require additional information not listed in this section.
C. Governmental entities and quasi‑governmental entities shall report debt data to the department of revenue each year according to a schedule determined by the department of revenue.
D. The director of the department of revenue shall enforce this section. After a hearing, the director may impose a civil penalty of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars against a governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity that fails to report the data required by subsection C of this section. The director shall deposit, pursuant to sections 35‑146 and 35‑147, civil penalties collected pursuant to this section in the state general fund.
41-4608. Crime statistics; reports on agency websites
A. All law enforcement agencies of this state, state universities, community college districts, cities, towns and counties shall post on their agency websites statistics on the number of crimes that are reported within their jurisdictions, by category, pursuant to the definitions and guidelines of the federal bureau of investigation uniform crime reporting program, or such other national database as may be applicable. The agencies shall maintain these statistics on their websites for at least five consecutive years.
B. In addition to the requirements of subsection A, each law enforcement agency shall report, by category, the number of crimes that have been cleared during that year, broken down by the number of crimes cleared by arrest or exception, pursuant to federal bureau of investigation definitions and the number of cases by category referred for prosecution.
C. Each law enforcement agency shall post the statistics required pursuant to this section by July 1 of the following year.
D. If the law enforcement agency does not maintain an agency website, the law enforcement agency shall report the statistics required by this section on the agency website of the appropriate governmental entity that has jurisdiction over the law enforcement agency.
41-4609. County attorney; report on referred prosecutions
A. Each county attorney shall annually report on its agency website the number of cases, by category, that were referred by each law enforcement agency in that county to the county attorney for prosecution.
B. The county attorney shall post the information required in this section by July 1 of the following year.
41-4610. Standing to enforce chapter; attorney fees
A. Any citizen of this state has standing to enforce this chapter.
B. Any individual who prevails in an action to compel a governmental entity or quasi‑governmental entity that has failed to comply in a timely and substantive manner with the reporting requirements of this chapter is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees.
