Bill Description: House Bill 456 would give the state controller authority to develop a policy for enforcing transparency requirements that apply to state agencies.

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Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency, accountability, or election integrity? Conversely, does it increase public access to information related to government activity or increase government transparency, accountability, or election integrity?

Idaho code contains a provision requiring "all state officers and departments, divisions, bureaus, and agencies of the state of Idaho" to "report to the state controller any agreement entered into, including any memorandum of agreement or memorandum of understanding, within ten (10) days of the state officer or department, division, bureau, or agency entering into such agreement." It also says, "The state controller shall store, maintain, and publish a current list of all such agreements."

In spite of these requirements, there have been some compliance issues that necessitate more comprehensive policies regarding how these agreements and memorandums should be disclosed. 

House Bill 456 would amend Section 67-1085, Idaho Code, to remove certain incomplete specifics and add new language stating, "The state controller shall have authority to develop a policy in order to carry out the provisions and requirements of this section, including the scope and method of reporting agreements, and shall publish and maintain such policy in the same location where the list of agreements is published. The stated intent of the policy shall be to further improve transparency of state agreements."

While this new language is light on specifics, it gives the controller direct authority to create a policy to improve the transparency of state agreements and memorandums, which was always the purpose of this law. 

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