It wasn’t long after President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law, on Feb. 17, that people began wondering when and where federal stimulus dollars would begin showing up in the states.

The $49 billion allocated in this year’s recovery funds is a huge amount and, when parceled out among the 50 states and then further divvied up among municipalities and counties, it can be difficult to know whether this money matters or whether it’s being wasted.

Fortunately, some transparency was attached to the money, so you may track it from the comfort of your computer chair. Stateline.org has devised a nifty map from which you can begin your search in whatever state you choose. Over the next three years, Idaho is set to receive about $1.2 billion. In Washington state, the amount is about $4.1 billion.

By clicking on the Washington map, you can find a chart showing that the state has received $2 billion, or nearly half its allocation, and spent $435 million. You can also see how much each state agency has spent thus far and how much it expects to receive. Drilling deeper, you can find that Spokane County is set to receive about $49.5 million thus far, and of that amount, $26 million is earmarked for education and $11 million for transportation.

This is an unusually specific accounting of government spending, especially when considering that the law was adopted only five months ago.

Similarly, Washington last December launched a budget transparency Web site – fiscal.wa.gov – that helps residents track the state budget.

Jason Mercier, of the Washington Policy Center, recently completed a six-month analysis of the site and found it to be quite forthcoming. Want to know how much Labor and Industry spends on travel? It’s there. How much did the state Liquor Board spend on wages and salaries for 2007-’09? It’s there. Mercier reports that the search tools are handy and that the volume of information is impressive.

These exercises in transparency coincide with the public’s rightful demand that government better account for taxpayer money. People who use these accountability tools don’t have to like the spending, but they cannot complain that the government is trying to hide it.