Republican Sen. Dean Cameron and his Senate Finance Committee want to know just how state agencies are handling federal dollars and require better reporting for those funds.

In a rare meeting without its House counterpart, the panel voted Wednesday to approve legislation to require disclosure of federal dollars in state budgets.

The measure now heads to the Senate floor for further consideration.

The vote comes less than a year after Idaho Gov. Butch Otter issued an executive order requiring agencies disclose much of the information Cameron’s bill mandates.

The Senate bill, though, would go a step further. The measure requires agency officials disclose to budget-writers when they know federal dollars funding state programs will evaporate, leaving Idaho taxpayers on the hook.

The measure exempts Idaho’s colleges and universities, who already prepare similar reports annually. Officials at a previous hearing said becauseprofessors are constantly applying for federal research grants, universities would have difficulty complying with the rules.

The Senate will hear the bill within the next week or so.