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First, transparency would be much better achieved through the legislature than by executive order. By codifying the legislation in statute, it is much more difficult to tamper with. An executive order can be altered or eliminated on a whim by this Governor or any of his successors.
Second, the language in the executive order is extremely weak. For example:
The TOP system shall provide information about state revenues and expenditures at a level of detail that enables accountability and transparency. Where access to each individual transaction is likely to hinder, rather than foster, this goal, the system may provide access to aggregated information.
Nowhere does it say what constitutes a hindrance to the goal of accountability and transparency. This is a large, gaping loophole that allows state agencies to claim that individual transactions undermine the goal of the site. The value of sites like these are dependent on access to detailed information about individual transactions.
Also:
To ensure that decisions regarding privacy, safety, security, and compliance with state and federal law are made by those most familiar with the relevant data and programs, [the Office of the State Controller]'s policies shall require each department, agency or institution of higher education to determine what information shall be excluded from the TOP system or presented only in aggregate form.
(Emphasis mine). Institutions of higher education get to decide what information they have to provide? What's the point?
Gov. Ritter's embrace of transparency was music to my ears at first. But this executive order does absolutely nothing for me. An alternative, HB 1288, is to be heard in the House Appropriations Committee tomorrow. It's a much more palatable alternative.