Committee advances bill to replace monthly engineering-contract report with annual searchable Open Georgia dashboard

House Bill 704, which would replace a 1970-era monthly statistical report on architectural and engineering contracts with an annual, searchable dashboard posted on the Open Georgia website, passed the Small Business Development Committee after several hours of debate.

Carol Schwini, executive director of the Department of Audits and Accounts, told the committee the current monthly report is burdensome and incomplete: "only about 70% of the required reportees are submitting the information on a monthly basis," she said, adding that the department already collects comprehensive annual contract data that could feed a more useful dashboard.

Supporters argued a searchable annual dashboard would improve transparency and reduce repetitive agency work. Schwini said a dashboard could allow users to filter contracts by vendor location, rural versus urban vendors, and potentially by certifications if system integration with the Secretary of State or the Department of Administrative Services is implemented.

Opponents and some committee members urged more frequent reporting. Representative Adesanya warned that "if we want to ensure and force transparency, there is no way you go from providing information for people to make decisions from 1 month to 12 months and you think that's transparent." Representative Kendrick moved to amend the bill so reporting would be biannual (twice a year); the amendment failed on a hand count.

The committee then voted to advance HB 704. After a hand count, the chair declared the bill passed; the committee recorded the amendment vote as 10 in favor and 14 opposed and the final committee tally as 15 yeas and 10 nays. The department said the change would not alter procurement or award processes and that the dashboard approach was intended to make vendor activity — including activity in rural Georgia — easier to view.

The bill will move to the next stage of the legislative process. Committee members asked staff to consider whether the statute should explicitly describe the output as a "searchable dashboard" and whether the dashboard could include state-issued business certifications.