Georgia received a “C” grade Wednesday in a report on how transparent state government is about the taxpayer money it spends.
The ranking placed Georgia in the bottom half of states in a report released by the Georgia Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, a consumer and good government group.
The organization ranked states on what information is available and how easy it is to use transparency websites.
Oregon, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Connecticut ranked among the top states. California and Idaho ranked among the worst.
Georgia got high marks for the public's ability to search for spending by state agency and recipient of state government spending on open.georgia.gov, and for its report on how much tax exemptions cost the state and save the beneficiaries. However, it received low marks in several areas, including information on whether the public benefits from things like tax breaks and incentives given to businesses. Some state programs shield the public from knowing how much businesses get from special tax incentives and tax breaks lawmakers approve annually.
“States like Georgia still have a way to go to meet the high national standards for state spending transparency,” said Michelle Surka, program associate with U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund.
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