Tag: transparency
Maryland gets D grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation
Maryland’s disastrous health exchange rollout combined two elements — procurement problems and lack of transparency — that are among several recurring themes that led to the state earning a score of 64, or a D grade,ranking it 23rd among the 50 states in the State Integrity Investigation, a data-driven assessment of state government accountability and transparency by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity. While Maryland moved up in the state rankings this year, it was due to other states falling, not because of any significant improvements in such areas as government transparency and financial disclosure.
Read MoreMaryland government gets lower grade for spending transparency
According to a report by the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), Maryland received a C grade for transparency in government spending this year. The grade, which is based on the state’s transparency website, is a half step down from last year’s C+.
Read MoreFully transparent State House still has a way to go
It was not a great week for openness and transparency at the State House. Perhaps it is more accurate to say it was business as usual in Annapolis, with a few events reminding us that while much of the public business has become remarkably accessible over the Internet, much of it still happens behind closed doors.
Read MoreMaryland government gets poor grade for corruption prevention
In the midst of a session that has seen ethics and transparency pushed into the spotlight, two reports released this week gave the state poor rankings on both issues.
A nationwide report conducted by the State Integrity Investigation ranked Maryland 40th out of 50 states for corruption prevention, awarding the state a D- on their report card.
Read MoreMaryland does a poor job putting data online, open government advocates say
Maryland lags behind other states in making government information easy for citizens to access online, open government advocates said, despite Gov. Martin O’Malley’s push to make Maryland more digitally transparent.
Read MoreNew government transparency committee members named
Senate President Mike Miller and Speaker of the House Michael Busch named the 12 members of the new legislative joint committee responsible for improving government transparency on Thursday. Sen. Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore City, and House Majority Leader Kumar Barve, D-Montgomery, will co-chair the committee. I
Read MoreFree public wi-fi coming to State House in 2012; website redesign planned
The entire State House complex will provide free public wi-fi access starting with the 2012 legislative session. The Joint Advisory Committee on Legislative Data Systems unanimously approved a measure on Wednesday to allow the public to access the Internet for free from all meeting rooms and office areas throughout the complex. The committee also supported a recommendation to redesign the General Assembly website which has changed little in the last decade.
Read MoreSponsor of new open government committee proposes improvements
The governor Thursday signed legislation creating a Joint Committee on Transparency and Open Government that specifically notes that “Maryland’s overall rankings on government transparency by prominent national organizations continues to lag behind other states.” Just before the bill signing, Del. Heather Mizeur, the lead sponsor, handed House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Mike Miller a memo giving an overview of proposals for the new committee to take up.
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