Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose and Assemblyman Gary Chiusano, R-Sussex, Morris, Hunterdon, along with Senator Steve Oroho, today reiterated their support for the “Transparency in Government Act” and applaud the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee for approving the bill today.
“Now more than ever, New Jersey needs this law to shed light on how our tax dollars are being spent,” stated McHose, who is a long-time champion of the Transparency in Government Act. “With the federal stimulus package sending billions of dollars to the State and the Christie Administration exposing waste in independent authorities, the time for proper oversight by taxpayers and legislators is now.
“If this bill were law, it would better help me and my fellow taxpayers keep an eye on bureaucrats,” said McHose.
McHose and Chiusano are prime sponsors of the two Assembly versions of the “Transparency in Government Act,” A-146 and A-158. Both bills are also prime sponsored by Assemblyman Jay Webber; Assemblymen Upendra Chivukula is also a prime sponsor of A-158. These two bills provide for the creation of a single, searchable Internet website that retains and displays data and information on the State’s annual revenues, expenditures, and total bonded indebtedness. Building upon the legislative proposals in more than two dozen states, this legislation helps facilitate a bi-partisan approach to improving transparency, identifying waste, and eliminating abuse at each level of State government.
Assemblyman Chiusano said proposals like this keep government accountable.
“We have been exposing waste, fraud, and abuse by state agencies for years now,” stated Chiusano. “The ‘Transparency in Government Act’ is a tool that should be utilized by us as legislators and the taxpaying public as a whole. We need to shed more light on the system and an educated electorate is our best weapon against the wasting of state tax dollars.
“Not every citizen can come to Trenton and testify, and attend budget hearings, nor do they receive pages of detailed reports like legislators do,” Chiusano reiterated. “With this act, every taxpayer can learn how their money is being spent and hold State government accountable.”
Assemblywoman McHose and Assemblyman Chiusano recently wrote to Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Louis Greenwald and asked him to place the Transparency in Government Act on the committee’s agenda for a vote.
Senator Oroho, himself a cosponsor of the Senate version, S-708, joined with his colleagues and applauded the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approving the bill.
“Now with the information gathered today, hopefully S-708 will soon be placed on the Senate’s agenda for a vote,” said Oroho, who as a member of the Budget Committee voted for S-708. “I have estimated that the total cost of government at all levels in New Jersey is $60 billion; we owe it to the taxpayers of New Jersey to be transparent on how this money is being spent.”
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August 25, 2011
