Missouri legislators discuss public 'government efficiency' portal, agree on basic data fields and public access rules

Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman and lawmakers at a joint House-Senate working session outlined a plan to create a public-facing government-efficiency portal where Missourians can report perceived waste, fraud, abuse or duplication in state government.

Coleman described two related proposals: "There is, a government efficiency portal, which is a proposal for an IT solution for the government, for the citizens to be able to reach out to its government to share information about where they see waste, fraud, abuse or duplication of efforts," and a parallel proposal for legislative oversight authority to follow up on incoming reports.

The committee focused first on fields the intake form should collect and how the information would be handled. Members agreed by straw poll to remove age as a required field; to collect full street address as a mandatory item; and to make phone number and email optional. The committee also agreed to include a field for "potential solution," and to host the intake temporarily on a Senate committee landing page. "My office will share that spreadsheet on a timely basis, rolling basis to see what kind of things are coming in," Coleman said about how incoming reports would be compiled.

Lawmakers repeatedly noted that submissions would be subject to Missouri's public-records ("sunshine") laws. Coleman said the portal would be "sunshineable," though she acknowledged some submissions might require redaction for sensitive information and that legal counsel might be needed in certain cases.

Members discussed protections to encourage candid reports. Representative Boyco objected to collecting age, and Representative Reed urged that phone and email fields remain optional so constituents are not discouraged from reporting. The committee also discussed separate intake routes for state employees who might wish to report concerns internally; a member suggested a telephone option for state workers to avoid public posting of personnel issues.

Committee members raised practical questions about spam and automated submissions. Representative Reed suggested including CAPTCHA-style verification to prevent bot submissions. Coleman said staff would initially triage submissions and share a compiled spreadsheet with chairs and ranking members of the committee, and that the group would decide routing rules once members approve a final form.

Members asked for clear disclaimers on the portal. Senator Brown and others urged language noting the portal is not a replacement for direct contact with elected officials and that submissions are subject to public-records requests. Coleman said the committee would circulate a tightened, Missouri-specific version of the introductory language and consider approving it at a committee meeting next week.

The joint working session did not produce binding policy or legislation; members took straw polls and provided feedback for a draft intake form and future committee action. The chairs said they will refine the portal language and return it for further committee review before any public launch.

The discussion also identified follow-up items for staff: drafting a public disclaimer about sunshine laws and constituent outreach, building optional contact fields (phone/email), adding a "potential solution" box, adding a way for staff to identify constituent jurisdiction for routing, and testing anti-bot protections.

The working session closed with Coleman asking members and the public to send additional comments by email to her office for incorporation into the next draft.