SB 751 (Sturtevant) passed the Senate on February 12 by a vote of 26-13 and now heads to the House for consideration. The bill requires every locality with a population greater than 25,000, and every school division with greater than 5,000 students, to post on its website a register of all transactions. This includes vendor name, date of payment, amount and description of the type of expense. VACo opposes the measure because of its potential costs for localities to comply with this mandate. It should be a local option. In addition to the cost of software, the bill will require significant staff time to implement, since staff would need to review transactions and redact certain payments (such as payments to undercover law enforcement).
VACo Contact: Joe Lerch, AICP