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Representative Mike Ball Passes New Government Accountability Measure On Last Day of 2009 Regular Session
05-15-2009 - from Press Release, Office of Rep. Mike Ball
“Bill will increase transparency and accountability for all state expenditures”
Huntsville-On the last day of the 2009 regular session Representative Mike Ball was instrumental in passing a bill in the House that will make help make government more open and transparent. The bill will require the Secretary of State’s office to establish and post on the Internet a database of state expenditures, including contracts and grants that can be electronically searched by the public. It will also require state entities to cooperate with the Secretary of State’s office in providing information to be posted on the Internet. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) and now awaits the Governor’s signature in order to become law.
Senator Orr and Representative Ball have worked together in the 2009 regular session by sponsoring and introducing bills that demand accountability, transparency, and ethical reform. Orr and Ball will continue to work together in the upcoming sessions to address this needed reform in Montgomery.
Despite the success of today’s passage Ball realizes there is lot more left to do to bring accountability to Montgomery. “I am thrilled that we were able to pass this measure” said Ball. “Even though this is a step in the right direction, it is still not enough. As elected officials, we owe it to the public and to our constituents to work in an open, honest government. Elected officials should be held accountable to the tax payers. All of the bills that I introduced in this session would have helped to achieve this” concluded Ball.
This measure adds to the long list of other bills that Representative Ball has introduced in the 2009 session related to accountability from government officials and entities. “It has always been my priority to keep the public informed and I will continue to fight this battle in the next session,” said Ball.
Other bills include the following:
• HB 295 Requires a public disclosure of the names of public officials or spouses of public officials, or candidates who are employed by the state or who have a contract with the state, a county, or a municipality.
• HB 288 Under existing law, campaign finance reports are required to disclose the name of any person making a contribution in excess of $100. This bill would require that the report also include the occupation and name of the employer of the contributor.
• HB76 Currently, the State Ethics Commission does not possess subpoena power. This bill would grant subpoena power to the commission.
• HB 135 Prohibits public funds from being passed through from one entity to another at the direction of a member of the Legislature; defines “pass-through” appropriations; expressly protects the right of a legislator to lobby for or offer support for a legal and valid program of an agency; provides for reporting of grants; and provides penalties for violations.
• HB 137 This bill would require the Governor to disclose each quarter all expenses from the Governor's Contingency Fund and the flight logs of state aircraft.
• HB 247 This bill would provide an additional procedure for the electronic filing of campaign finance disclosure reports in a computer format for contributions or expenditures of a certain amount and would provide a phase-in period.
• HB 402 This bill would provide that employees, including those who provide services under a personal or professional services contract, of the state, a state department, agency, board, or commission, or educational institution in this state, including a city or county board of education and public colleges and universities are ineligible from holding any statewide elective office or serving in the Legislature. This bill would provide that an individual who is a public official would not be disqualified from holding the office during the term of a contract that was in effect before the effective date of this bill until the contract can be terminated without penalty.
• HB 283 requires that all elected officials regardless if they have an opponents in any primary, special, runoff, or general election to file a financial report.
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