Report: Mass. Shows Improvement On Gov't Spending Transparency

A new report shows Massachusetts is doing a better job at being transparent about government spending. The Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group said the state scored a B+ for its Web portal "Massachusetts Transparency." That's a jump from a failing grade last year.

But the group's legislative director, Deirdre Cummings, said the state still needs to improve on providing checkbook-level detail on spending and information about companies that receive tax subsidies.

"We do a terrible job in the state at putting out what they were supposed to do with that tax break, and then following back up and saying, 'did they actually do that,'" Cummings said.

"If the public wanted to go in and look for specific information, they would be hard-pressed to find it, and in some cases they wouldn't find it."

But Cummings admits that despite its shortcomings, the state's improvement in transparency is significant.

"This report shows that we are one of the leaders in the country, but [we] have room to grow," Cummings said.

The report ranks Massachusetts sixth among states most open about spending. Kentucky ranks first.