HCS HB 271 -- LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES

SPONSOR: Wiemann

COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Emerging Issues by a vote of 12 to 0. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Administrative Oversight by a vote of 9 to 0.

The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 271.

This bill establishes the "Missouri Local Government Expenditure Database", to be maintained by the Office of Administration. For each fiscal year beginning after December 31, 2022, the database must include extensive information about a given municipality's or county's expenditures and the vendors to whom payments were made. The database must be accessible by the public without charge and have multiple ways to search and filter the information.

A municipality or county may voluntarily participate in the database, or may be required to participate if a petition process used by its residents is used to require participation as specified in the bill. A link to the database on a municipal or county website is required.

The Office of Administration may stipulate a format for information and will provide a template for municipalities and counties to use in sending information. Other duties and responsibilities of the Office of Administration regarding the database are detailed in the bill. Financial reimbursement to municipalities and counties for costs associated with the database is authorized.

This bill is similar to HB 1933 (2020).

The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.

PROPONENTS: Supporters say that the bill centralizes the location of information related to county expenditures to one place. This allows citizens and counties to readily view and compare data. The bill is voluntary, so cities who already maintain this information for public use do not have to perform additional duties. This bill increases transparency for all levels of government.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Wiemann; Missouri Century Foundation; Missouri State Treasurers Office; and Show-Me Institute. OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Testifying on the bill for informational purposes was Municipal League of Metro St. Louis. This testimony was provided in written form and is available online. 

Statutes affected:
Introduced (0195H.01): 37.1090, 37.1091, 37.1092, 37.1093, 37.1094, 37.1095, 37.1096, 37.1097, 37.1098
Committee (0195H.02): 37.1090, 37.1091, 37.1092, 37.1093, 37.1094, 37.1095, 37.1096, 37.1097, 37.1098
Perfected (0195H.02): 37.1090, 37.1091, 37.1092, 37.1093, 37.1094, 37.1095, 37.1096, 37.1097, 37.1098
Committee (0195S.03): 37.1090, 37.1091, 37.1092, 37.1093, 37.1094, 37.1095, 37.1096, 37.1097, 37.1098, 50.166
Truly Agreed (0195H.08): 37.1090, 37.1091, 37.1092, 37.1093, 37.1094, 37.1095, 37.1096, 37.1097, 37.1098, 49.266, 49.310, 50.166, 50.327, 50.530, 50.660, 50.783, 59.021, 59.100, 64.207, 67.265, 67.398, 67.990, 67.993, 67.1153, 67.1158, 67.1847, 67.2680, 71.1000, 82.390, 84.400, 91.025, 91.450, 115.127, 115.646, 137.280, 139.100, 192.300, 204.569, 221.105, 386.800, 393.106, 394.020, 394.315, 407.297, 407.300, 451.040, 476.083, 485.060, 488.2235, 570.030

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Senate Committee Minutes:
SENATE COMMITTEE MINUTES Bill No.: HCS HB 271
Sponsor: Wiemann
Hearing Date: 3/31/2021


COMMITTEE: Local Government and Elections

CHAIRMAN: Crawford

DATE REFERRED: 3/11/2021 DATE HEARING REQUESTED: 2/18/2021



STAFF:
Mary Grace Bruntrager
Rob Krosley
Barbara Mustoe
Scott Svagera


WITNESSES GIVING INFORMATION:



WITNESSES FOR:
Arnie C. AC Dienhoff
Alex Eaton - Missouri Century Foundation


WITNESSES AGAINST:
Denis Rigdon