State Representative Arnie Roblan House District 9	State Representative Jefferson Smith House District 47		State Representative Kim Thatcher House District 25		State Representative Gene Whisnant House District 53
NEWS RELEASE: February 25^th, 2009				CONTACT: Rosie Shatkin  503.986.1409 rep.roblan@state.or.us
Legislature Hears “Open Books” Transparency Website Bill Bi-Partisan Effort To Engage Citizens, Track Public Revenue & Expenditures
(Salem)  A bi-partisan group of Oregon legislators presented the “Open Books Oregon Project” to the House Rules Committee today. The Project is contained in House Bill 2500. These legislators are becoming leading voices in a growing national conversation about civic engagement and government accountability.  HB 2500, co-sponsored by State Representatives Arnie Roblan, Kim Thatcher, Gene Whisnant, and Jefferson Smith, creates a comprehensive website where citizens can learn everything from the basics of government spending to the more detailed budgets of our many public agencies.  State Representative Arnie Roblan (D-Coos Bay) is a chief co-sponsor of HB 2500 and is also the Chair of Rules Committee.  "We have already started the process of making state government more accessible and transparent through our work on rebalancing the state's budget," said Roblan.  "This bill will improve on those efforts so every Oregonian can understand how the budget of state government works and what benefits they are getting from state services.  If Oregonians know what is going on in their state government, they are more likely to be involved." “We hope this new website can be put up for almost no cost and we know in the long run it has the potential to save the state millions of dollars," said State Representative Gene Whisnant (R-Sunriver), who serves on a legislative budget committee. "As a small business owner, I have to make sure we monitor the money we spend and the money we receive on every project," explained State Representative Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer, Newberg, St. Paul). “State government should be no different and the taxpayers who provide the funding should be able to follow the dollars.” “This effort was born from a fundamental belief about including Oregonians in their government,” said State Representative Jefferson Smith (D-Mid-Multnomah County).  “This bill is just the beginning of a larger conversation about how our citizen legislature can better engage our fellow citizens.”  Nearly two dozen states currently have similar programs either up and running or being developed and several more have pending legislation.  Three years ago then-Senator Barack Obama spearheaded an Act of Congress to create a website to track federal spending (www.usaspending.gov). Sandra Fabry, Executive Director of the Center for Fiscal Accountability, is encouraged to see Oregon joining other states, “to empower taxpayers to track their tax dollars at a mouse click, which is sweeping the country.  Taxpayers, who ultimately fund every expenditure made by government, deserve full accountability, and that is what Reps. Roblan, Smith, Thatcher, and Whisnant are looking to deliver with this bill.” In his speech to Congress Tuesday night, President Obama promised unprecedented oversight for the federal stimulus dollars and many of the same provisions were included in Oregon’s own recent stimulus package.  Dave Rosenfeld, Executive Director of the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) has been preparing a report on state transparency systems and sees HB 2500 as big step in the right direction.  “The ability to see how government uses the public purse is essential to democracy.  Budget transparency checks corruption, bolsters public confidence in government, and promotes fiscal responsibility.” ####
State Representative Arnie Roblan 900 Court Street NE H-272 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 www.leg.state.or.us/roblan Rep.arnieroblan@state.or.us	State Representative Jefferson Smith 900 Court Street NE H-486 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1447 www.leg.state.or.us/smithj Rep.jeffersonsmith@state.or.us		State Representative Kim Thatcher 900 Court Street NE H-472 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1425  www.leg.state.or.us/thatcher Rep.kimthatcher@state.or.us		State Representative Gene Whisnant 900 Court Street NE H-471 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1453  www.leg.state.or.us/whisnant Rep.genewhisnant@state.or.us