Senate committee advances local‑transparency bill, tables property‑tax recall proposal after superintendent testimony

A Senate committee on a joint session approved legislation to centralize links to local governments’ public financial documents and tabled a separate property‑tax recall measure after school leaders warned it could hamper districts’ ability to finance facilities.

Senator Mays Bledsoe presented Senate Bill 218, a bill directing the Department of Revenue to create a central web page that links to publicly available local government financial information. Bledsoe said the information is already public but difficult for constituents to find. The committee recorded a motion from Senator Mayden with a second from Senator Webb and, after a roll call, the committee recorded 10 aye votes and no nays; the measure passed with favorable expression.

Why this matters: supporters said the measure improves transparency by giving citizens a single entry point to public financial records. Sponsors said the bill has no material…