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6/25/2009 3:34 AM

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There's a bill moving through the Pennsylvania Legislature that promises to bring state spending - all of it, including lawmakers' everyday purchases from their expense accounts - accessible to anyone via the Internet. House Bill 1460, termed the PennWATCH Act, calls for the establishment of Web site by that name that will make state spending available and searchable online to everyone at no cost.

The legislation is sponsored by a Beaver County Republican, Rep. Jim Christiana, who said his bill is part of an "obvious movement across the country to empower taxpayers."

He has taken issue with Senate Democrats who have said the proposal will cost millions of dollars, and noted the most expensive site in the country was Texas, which cost $310,000, and many states were able to implement the sites with existing funds.

Christiana is getting wide support for the bill, from Democrats in the House as well, most notably Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, the party's whip.

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DeWeese has hardly been a proponent of open records throughout his long career in the General Assembly, but he says his recent close elections, the "midnight pay raise fiasco" and "Bonusgate" have made him see the light.

"If we are going to do reform, we have to believe in open records," he said earlier this week.

DeWeese contends that rather than costing money, PennWATCH will actually save the state money by reducing the number of cases handled by the Office of Open Records. Terry Mutchler, the office's executive director, agrees. She told the House Republican Policy Committee last week that her Office supports HB 1460 but expressed concern about the Aug. 31 deadline. She stated, "I would rather it be delayed to make sure it's done right" and suggested "instead of waving the transparency flag," take the time to implement a Web site that will provide true transparency.

We have long been supporters of open-record legislation, so we beg forgiveness for looking this gift horse in the mouth. But we must agree with Mutchler that this bill should not be rushed into law without careful examination of its teeth, and what exceptions may be made in amendments to it.

We cannot agree more with DeWeese that transparency in government is a right of the people. Twenty other states have made their spending transparent through searchable Web sites, and it's about time Pennsylvania did the same.

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