The U.S. Public Interest Research Group gave the Texas Comptroller’s Office an “A” for transparency in government spending.

Read more: Texas earns “A” for openness in government expenditures | San Antonio Business Journal

After notorious scandals eroded public trust in Texas governmental institutions in the 1970s, the Legislature adopted important reforms on open records and the public’s right to access official information. Since those bad old days, and over the objections of some officials who would still prefer to conduct business behind closed doors, those reforms have helped Texas establish a solid trend toward open government.

Cities across Texas are starting to open their books to the public by posting their check registers online.

Transparency is good policy, on its face. Given how much taxpayers are charged for the cost of government, we should get a chance to view the receipt. Texas has led the nation in state-level expenditure transparency, and Comptroller Susan Combs reports the savings have been substantial: tens of millions since late 2007.

“We’re giving users a one-stop shop to find all of our existing database query systems, and we’re showing the state’s financial data in new and interesting ways,” Combs said. “Transparency not only makes government accountable to the taxpayer that ultimately foots the bill, but it equally makes governments stronger, better and more efficient. Transparency efforts in Texas have yielded cost savings of $51 million since 2007. As our own experience shows, if you know what you are spending, you know how to spend better.” - Susan Combs

Elected Texas comptroller in 2006, Susan Combs led an initiative that made a broad range of government spending data available to the public. She currently spearheads the Texas ERP project, which is creating statewide financial and human resources systems that will be shared by Texas agencies. In February, Combs received the Bob Bullock Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship, which is presented annually at Government Technology's GTC Southwest in Austin, Texas.

As long-standing advocates of transparency in government, we believe state Comptroller Susan Combs is on the right track in encouraging cities and other public entities to follow her state agency's example of making public records more easily accessible.

TYLER — State Comptroller Susan Combs said Wednesday that Smith County and Tyler's city and school board have set the standard in financial transparency in local Texas government.

Nobody wants crooked government, especially when it comes to spending tax money.

Taking steps to make sure government is always on the up-and-up is something else. Some people are willing to go to great lengths to oversee what their elected leaders are doing. Some people, on the other hand, don’t even vote.

The people on the "watch ’em like a hawk" side of that spectrum actually have some support from top officials in Texas, including Gov. Rick Perry. In fact, the effort has been given its own buzzword: transparency.