Will Brownsberger — State Senator, Democrat, 2d Suffolk and Middlesex District

The state’s new “Open Checkbook” website is a big step forward.

In the spirit of transparency which I believe is the foundation of trust in government, I wanted to report to you about a hacking incident affecting my websites (among many others at my web hosting company, InMotion Hosting).

The House agreed last week to make important improvements in budget and tax credit transparency.

I applaud your efforts toward transparency re: state contracting. I am a bit concerned, however, re: transparency as understood by the Pioneer Institute.

I remember how shocked I was when the cable broadcasts of the House and Senate sessions were dropped, and then I checked into it and found that long before I even moved to Massachusetts, which was in 1983, the legislature had voted to exempt itself from both Open Meetings laws and the Freedom of Information [...]

This from a lifelong Democrat and continuing true believer in government spending: The heart of our problem is a sense of entitlement to spend the taxpayers’ money.

Just read this Globe article today.; A growing group of dissidents in the Massachusetts House yesterday called on Speaker Robert A. DeLeo to open the chamber’s books, allow healthy debate on all bills, and subject the Legislature to the laws that cover other elected bodies – including laws on public records, open meetings, and competitive [...]

There is a deep and passionate conversation going among legislators right now around the issue of transparency. There is a growing group of legislators who feel that the legislature needs to change the way it manages its own business.

This post relates to a fairly technical question that has been the subject of some confusion on the House floor: Exactly what information is available to the public about spending on legislative operations?

I have been reading about the idea of having a budget transparency website where citizens can get information easily.  Apparently, there are 23 states using this system and wonder what your thoughts are on the pros and cons of this.