Hawaii Fails Transparency Test

Hawaii received an “F” in a study grading states on their online access to government spending data, according to a report from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The state’s grade on spending transparency dropped from last year’s “C” grade in the report card issued by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund.

The PIRG education fund is one of four that rates states based on transparency issues.

Keone Kali, the state’s deputy chief information officer told the newspaper that the study is incomplete, because it only examined the state procurement office’s website and there are many other places to find information on the state’s spending practices.

A PIRG education fund spokesperson told the newspaper the falling score doesn’t mean the state has become less transparent, but that other states are improving faster.

The nation’s top-performing states in government spending transparency are Texas, Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Oklahoma, according to the report.

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