Rep. Dovilla and Treasurer Mandel Discuss Proposal to Provide Real Government Accountability to Ohio Taxpayers

State Representatives Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) was joined by Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel at a press conference today to unveil legislation seeking to establish “Open Ohio,” a state government expenditure database showing taxpayers exactly where their money is being spent.

In an effort to increase government accountability and transparency, this legislation creates a searchable, freely accessible database that displays the expenditure information of state agencies, including the amount of the expenditure, the date of the expenditure, the person to whom the expenditure was paid, and the state entity that made or requested the expenditure.

“Ohio’s hardworking taxpayers deserve to know how their state government is spending their tax dollars,” said Dovilla. “We are committed to advancing efficient, effective state government that respects taxpayers, and one of the best ways to accomplish this objective is to allow Ohioans to help us root out government waste, fraud, and abuse.”

“As Ohio's taxpayer watchdog, I believe it's important that Ohioans have the ability to follow their tax dollars and hold elected officials accountable. Shining sunlight on state spending and decisions made deep in the bureaucracy will give taxpayers the resources to help root out waste, fraud and abuse," said Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel. "This new database of state government expenditures will give Ohioans fully searchable access to billions of dollars of spending information at their fingertips. I am proud to have partnered with Representative Dovilla and the Ohio General Assembly on legislation to publicly display this state expenditure database, which is a continuation of the Treasurer's Transparency Project I launched shortly after taking office.”

Under Representative Dovilla's legislation, Treasurer Mandel's office will host the new fully searchable state agency expenditures database on www.OhioTreasurer.gov. The legislation also places in statue a requirement that the Treasurer's office host fully searchable databases that display salaries of state employees and local school district education employees, a practice that the Treasurer's office started in 2011.

The legislation will now undergo further consideration in the Ohio House of Representatives.