S.289 would impose thorough transparency requirements on local governments. Under this bill, counties, municipalities and school districts would have to post the following information on their websites: elected officials’ contact information, meeting agendas, FOIA guidelines, budget data, contracts with lobbyists, employee compensation, etc. On top of this, they would have set up a searchable database that tracks all of the revenue they collect.  If a county, municipality or school district don’t follow these guidelines, a resident located in that area may sue and ask the court to force compliance.

If passed, the database must be operational by January 1, 2020.