Opinion: State must not gamble with public disclosure
December 19, 2010 Sunshine Act | Open meetings
OPINION
The (Towanda) Daily Review
Gambling advocates in the state administration and Legislature proclaimed before, during and after they created the state's casino industry, and again when expanding it to include table games, that Pennsylvania would have the most transparent and accountable gambling regulation of any state.
Now, with the state government all in, the promises have turned out to be quite a bluff.
Auditor General Jack Wagner this week contended that state Gaming Control Board has not been transparent in its own operations. His office's audit of board operations, from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2009, found that the board had violated the state Sunshine Act in awarding 19 of 23 contracts for professional services.
The board disputed the findings but, according to the audit, failed to produce documentation to justify the contract awards, which were worth about $8.7 million.
The Sunshine Act allows public boards to conduct closed executive sessions to discuss negotiations and some contract awards. And state law allows contracts for professional services to be awarded without bids. But in all cases, the law requires actual votes on those contract awards to be conducted at public meetings.
In several cases where the board awarded "emergency" contracts without bids, auditors found that the board did not document the emergency need or the credentials of the vendor to meet that need, or both.
Auditors also determined that the agency has spent excessively on travels, meals and lodging, often exceeding state daily minimums by more than 100 percent without providing actual receipts. They also found that the agency had purchased items such as flowers and reported them as office supplies.
The transparency issues are the most troubling. As the Sunshine Law states: "secrecy in public affairs undermines the faith in public government and the public's effectiveness in fulfilling its role in a democratic society." And as Mr. Wagner said in his report: "By risking questions of transparency and accountability about this one matter of documentation regarding certain contracts, the Board risks further questions of transparency and accountability systemic to its entire operation."
It is not asking much of the board to ensure that its contract awards are made at public meetings, with supporting explanations. Doing so is not simply a matter of complying with well-established law, but with the broader purpose in the corruption-plagued commonwealth of ensuring that gambling regulation is above board.
The (Towanda) Daily Review
Gambling advocates in the state administration and Legislature proclaimed before, during and after they created the state's casino industry, and again when expanding it to include table games, that Pennsylvania would have the most transparent and accountable gambling regulation of any state.
Now, with the state government all in, the promises have turned out to be quite a bluff.
Auditor General Jack Wagner this week contended that state Gaming Control Board has not been transparent in its own operations. His office's audit of board operations, from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2009, found that the board had violated the state Sunshine Act in awarding 19 of 23 contracts for professional services.
The board disputed the findings but, according to the audit, failed to produce documentation to justify the contract awards, which were worth about $8.7 million.
The Sunshine Act allows public boards to conduct closed executive sessions to discuss negotiations and some contract awards. And state law allows contracts for professional services to be awarded without bids. But in all cases, the law requires actual votes on those contract awards to be conducted at public meetings.
In several cases where the board awarded "emergency" contracts without bids, auditors found that the board did not document the emergency need or the credentials of the vendor to meet that need, or both.
Auditors also determined that the agency has spent excessively on travels, meals and lodging, often exceeding state daily minimums by more than 100 percent without providing actual receipts. They also found that the agency had purchased items such as flowers and reported them as office supplies.
The transparency issues are the most troubling. As the Sunshine Law states: "secrecy in public affairs undermines the faith in public government and the public's effectiveness in fulfilling its role in a democratic society." And as Mr. Wagner said in his report: "By risking questions of transparency and accountability about this one matter of documentation regarding certain contracts, the Board risks further questions of transparency and accountability systemic to its entire operation."
It is not asking much of the board to ensure that its contract awards are made at public meetings, with supporting explanations. Doing so is not simply a matter of complying with well-established law, but with the broader purpose in the corruption-plagued commonwealth of ensuring that gambling regulation is above board.
