Thursday, April 10, 2014

W.Va. Gets a “C” on Government Spending and Transparency


West Virginia rates a "C'' when it comes to transparency and government spending.

The rating is from the U.S. Public Interest Group's annual report on public access to government spending. It's the second year the state has received a "C'' grade.

Phineas Baxandall is a senior analyst for U.S. PIRG. He says West Virginia has extensive, easy-to-access information on state contracts and spending. But when it comes to economic development subsidies, the state lags.

Ted Boettner of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy said the lack of transparency with state economic development subsidies has been a continuing problem.