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A00646
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
48
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY GROVE, JONES, RYAN, KAUFFMAN, SAYLOR, HILL-EVANS,
THOMAS, KEEFER, B. MILLER AND MOUL, JANUARY 11, 2021
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, JANUARY 11, 2021
AN ACT
Amending Title 72 (Taxation and Fiscal Affairs) of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for financial
transparency.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 72 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 5
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Sec.
501. Definitions.
502. State Treasury transparency portal.
503 . Duties of Commonwealth agencies.
504. Duties of the General Assembly.
§ 501. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
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"Commonwealth agency." Any office, authority, board,
multistate agency or commission of the executive branch, an
independent agency or a State-affiliated entity. The term
includes any of the following:
(1) The Governor's Office.
(2) The Office of Attorney General.
(3) The Department of the Auditor General.
(4) The Treasury Department.
(5) An organization established by the Constitution of
Pennsylvania, a statute or an executive order which performs
or is intended to perform an essential government function.
(6) A legislative agency.
(7) A judicial agency.
"Independent agency." Any office, authority, board or agency
of the Commonwealth that is not subject to the policy,
supervision or control of the Governor.
"Judicial agency." Any of the following:
(1) The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
(2) The Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
(3) The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
(4) The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
"Legislative agency." As defined in section 102 of the act
of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know
Law.
"State-affiliated agency." Any of the following:
(1) The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
(2) The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
(3) The State System of Higher Education.
§ 502. State Treasury transparency portal.
(a) Development.--The State Treasurer shall develop and
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maintain on the Treasury Department's publicly accessible
Internet website a transparency portal with information relating
to the Commonwealth's finances. The following shall apply:
(1) The transparency portal shall be made available to
the public and include figures and visual aids to demonstrate
growth or reduction in expenditures and revenue starting no
later than the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
(2) The visual aids required under paragraph (1) shall
include, but not be limited to, charts and graphs.
(3) Information provided by the Treasury Department
shall be made available to the public to download as an image
and spreadsheet document.
(b) General Fund information.--The following shall apply:
(1) The State Treasurer shall provide on the
transparency portal an analysis of the General Fund updated
to accurately reflect the General Fund at the end of the
prior day, including:
(i) Cash flow within the General Fund, which shall
include a line graph showing changes in cash flow with a
range starting from the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
(ii) The current General Fund balance.
(iii) General Fund expenditures. The public shall be
able to delineate expenditures under this subparagraph by
appropriation paid out of the General Fund by the
Commonwealth agency that made the expenditure.
(iv) General Fund revenues, including information
relating to the difference between estimated revenues
provided by the Independent Fiscal Office under section
605-B of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175),
known as The Administrative Code of 1929, for the given
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fiscal year and actual revenues collected. The Treasury
Department shall also include a graph comparing changes
within the General Fund revenues and General Fund
expenditures starting with the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
(2) In order to assist the State Treasurer in compiling
the information required under this subsection for the
analysis of the General Fund, each Commonwealth agency shall
provide the information to the Treasury Department in a file
format specified by the Treasury Department through interface
files.
(c) Budget information.--The State Treasurer shall provide
on the transparency portal information relating to the General
Fund to accurately reflect the Commonwealth's finances at the
end of the close of business the previous day, including:
(1) Expenditures from each of the Commonwealth's special
or restricted accounts, including a breakdown of Commonwealth
agency expenditures from within those funds.
(2) Daily changes in revenue and expenditures for the
Commonwealth's special and restricted funds.
(3) In order to implement this subsection, each
Commonwealth agency shall provide the Treasury Department
data collected under the act of June 30, 2011 (P.L.81,
No.18), known as the Pennsylvania Web Accountability and
Transparency (PennWATCH) Act, in a file format stipulated by
the Treasury Department through interface files.
(d) Treasury investment information.--The State Treasurer
shall provide information on the transparency portal relating to
the Commonwealth's investments managed by the Treasury
Department . The information shall include the daily balances of
each fund within the investment pools managed by the Treasury
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Department. The State Treasurer shall ensure that the
information is updated to reflect changes in investment pools
and account balances from the close of business the previous
day.
(e) Commonwealth programs.--The State Treasurer shall
include in the transparency portal an analysis of the
appropriations for Commonwealth programs based on the
appropriations at the close of business for the prior day. The
analysis shall include each appropriation, total budgeted
appropriation, total augmenting revenue, total spent
appropriation and percentage of the total appropriation spent.
(f) Commonwealth Financial Watch.-- The State Treasurer shall
include in the transparency portal a Commonwealth Financial
Watch which includes:
(1) The top 20 highest expenditures as designated by
appropriation within the General Fund during the current
fiscal year starting with the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
(2) The 10 Commonwealth agencies with the highest dollar
amount of General Fund expenditures during the current fiscal
year starting with the 2019-2020 fiscal year, including the
percent of the Commonwealth agency's General Fund
appropriation spent.
(g) Time period.--All information provided under this
section shall reflect changes within the Commonwealth's funds
starting no later than the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
(h) General Assembly.--The State Treasurer shall include, in
the transparency portal, information provided by the General
Assembly under section 504 (relating to duties of the General
Assembly).
§ 503. Duties of Commonwealth agencies.
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A Commonwealth agency shall provide the State Treasurer with
the data required for the operation of the transparency portal
under section 502 (relating to State Treasury transparency
portal ) in a file format stipulated by the Treasury Department
through interface files.
§ 504. Duties of the General Assembly.
A caucus or chamber of the General Assembly that initiates a
lawsuit in Federal or State court shall provide monthly updates
to the State Treasurer detailing all costs and expenses incurred
due to the lawsuit during the preceding month. The General
Assembly shall provide the State Treasurer with the data
required under this section in a file format stipulated by the
Treasury Department.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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