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Sen. Storms Gets One Right

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 16, 2008

For good or bad, Ronda Storms is known as a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, she is often misguided.

After all, this session the Valrico Republican led the effort to rewrite Florida's new science standards in a thinly veiled attempt to impose religious views on the study of evolution.

And she supported the bill to require an ultrasound for women who are prepared to have an abortion to guilt them into changing their minds.

Yet she's also a sponsor of a bill Floridians should wholeheartedly support: Transparency in Local Government Contracting.

As a Hillsborough County commissioner, Storms prided herself on being a good steward of the public's money, and her bill would allow citizens to better review government expenditures.

It would require state agencies and local governments to electronically post specific information on contracts of $5,000 or more. And to the extent possible, the contract itself would be put on line.

If a government doesn't have a Web site, the bill would make sure the contract information is in a place readily accessible to interested citizens.

The state's water management districts and larger cities and counties would be required to have contracts posted on the Web by late next year. Medium-sized governments would follow by Dec. 31, 2010, and more rural counties and cities by the end of 2011.

Storms' contract transparency bill represents a commitment on the state's part to open government. It should become law.

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