The Crowley Chamber of Commerce is among a coalition of chambers of commerce, business associations and other groups backing the “Louisiana Checkbook,” a proposed website that would track government spending across the state of Louisiana. The proposal is high on the agenda of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
The Crowley Chamber joins more than two dozen groups, including One Acadiana and associations for the oil and gas, restaurant, retail and chemical industries, among others, in backing the proposal.
“Accountability & trust among voters continues to decline. Having a system of transparency, like LouisianaCheckbook.com will ultimately lead to increased accountability and trust, with the hopes of a greater prioritization of how those dollars should be spent.” noted Chamber President Amy Thibodeaux “Our people deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent.”
Pitched as a transparency measure, the concept would allow residents to track spending by state and local governments, school districts, courts and other public entities.
The proposal is modeled after Ohio Checkbook, an interactive website where people can review government spending. An Ohio official will demonstrate the program at LABI’s annual gathering this week. Supporters recently created a website to rally support for bringing the idea to Louisiana.
LABI and the Louisiana chapter of the conservative, Koch brothers-funded group Americans for Prosperity, have both made the checkbook idea a priority for the upcoming regular legislative session.
