Bill > SB0126

This bill requires local governments and school corporations in Indiana to provide specific financial information for posting on the Indiana transparency Internet web site, which is a publicly searchable online database designed to increase government accountability. This information includes expenditures categorized by personal services, other operating expenses, total operating expenses, and debt service, which encompasses lease payments related to debt. Additionally, local entities must list their fund balances, clearly identifying any funds being used to save money for future capital projects. The bill also mandates that after July 31, 2017, the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF), a state agency responsible for overseeing local government finances, will publish an annual financial and operational summary for each political subdivision, which refers to any local governmental entity like counties, cities, towns, or school corporations, on the transparency website. This summary will be presented in a user-friendly format, often called an "Internet dashboard," and for school corporations, it will also include educational performance information determined by the Department of Education. The bill also clarifies that certain hospitals are exempt from these requirements and addresses the confidentiality of individual employee salaries for hospitals, stating that this information can be withheld from public disclosure but must be provided to the State Board of Accounts upon request. Finally, the bill urges the legislative council to assign the topic of expanding open data availability in Indiana to a committee for study, focusing on improving data quality, accessibility, and considering privacy concerns.