Americans for Prosperity Backs “South Carolina Checkbook” Bill

Mar 22, 2018 by AFP

Measure would establish new website to track state gov’t spending

SC activists see new tool to improve transparency and accountability

COLUMBIA, SC – Americans for Prosperity-South Carolina today cheered the introduction of The Taxpayer Transparency Act, a measure that would create the “South Carolina Checkbook,” a searchable online database that posts government spending by state agencies. The website would be regularly updated with new expenditures allowing citizens and their lawmakers to more easily track Columbia’s use of taxpayer dollars. Both the Senate and House versions of the bill were introduced today. S.1139 was introduced by Senator Scott Talley (Spartanburg) and H.5181 by Representative Jason Elliott (Greenville).

Americans for Prosperity-South Carolina State Director Andrew Yates issued the following statement:

“South Carolinians deserve to know how exactly their taxpayer dollars are being spent. South Carolina Checkbook will be a user-friendly tool that will help taxpayers and elected officials root out wasteful government spending. Increasing transparency and accountability is key to restoring trust in government and should not be a partisan issue. We urge all legislators to empower taxpayers by supporting this commonsense legislation and sending it to Governor McMaster’s desk before the end of regular session.”

Background:

According to a recent report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, South Carolina ranked near the worst in the nation for providing online access to state government spending data.