Phil Hart wants transparency

Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, keeps a well-highlighted printout of the U.S. Constitution on his desk in his state Capitol basement cubicle. The third-term Idaho lawmaker has proposed a dozen bills so far this session, his busiest session yet.

COEUR d’ALENE - By next year, Idaho taxpayers might be able to go online to take a look at school districts’ checkbooks.

A bill that requires districts with more than 300 students to post their expense and receipt registers on the Internet was approved Tuesday by the House Education Committee, despite opposition from the state’s school boards, school administrators and rural school districts.

Pitched by Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, the bill requires that districts post their financial data on their Web sites by the end of 2010.

“Idaho lags pretty far behind in what we consider transparency in government,” Hart said during a telephone interview from Boise. Maureen Donlan, Cda Press More here.

Good idea or not?