84-602.04. Taxpayer Transparency Act; web site; contents; link to Department of Administrative Services web site; contents; actions by state entity prohibited; Department of Administrative Services; duties.

(1) The State Treasurer shall develop and maintain a single, searchable web site with information on state receipts, expenditures of state funds, and contracts which is accessible by the public at no cost to access as provided in this section. The web site shall be hosted on a server owned and operated by the State of Nebraska or approved by the Chief Information Officer. The naming convention for the web site shall identify the web site as a state government web site. The web site shall not include the treasurer's name, the treasurer's image, the treasurer's seal, or a welcome message.

(2)(a) The web site established, developed, and maintained by the State Treasurer pursuant to this section shall provide such information as will document the sources of all state receipts and the expenditure of state funds by all state entities.

(b) The State Treasurer shall, in appropriate detail, cause to be published on the web site:

(i) The identity, principal location, and amount of state receipts received or expended by the State of Nebraska and all of its state entities;

(ii) The funding or expending state entity;

(iii) The budget program source;

(iv) The amount, date, purpose, and recipient of all expenditures of state funds; and

(v) Such other relevant information as will further the intent of enhancing the transparency of state government financial operations to its citizens and taxpayers. The web site shall include data for fiscal year 2008-09 and each fiscal year thereafter, except that for any state entity that becomes subject to this section due to the changes made by Laws 2016, LB851, the web site shall include data for such state entity for fiscal year 2016-17 and each fiscal year thereafter.

(3) The data shall be available on the web site no later than thirty days after the end of the preceding fiscal year.

(4)(a) The web site described in this section shall include a link to the web site of the Department of Administrative Services. The department's web site shall contain:

(i) A data base that includes a copy of each active contract that is a basis for an expenditure of state funds, including any amendment to such contract and any document incorporated by reference in such contract. For purposes of this subdivision, amendment means an agreement to modify a contract which has been reduced to writing and signed by each party to the contract, an agreement to extend the duration of a contract, or an agreement to renew a contract. The data base shall be accessible by the public and searchable by vendor, by state entity, and by dollar amount. All state entities shall provide to the Department of Administrative Services, in electronic form, copies of such contracts for inclusion in the data base beginning with contracts that are active on and after January 1, 2014, except that for any state entity that becomes subject to this section due to the changes made by Laws 2016, LB851, such state entity shall provide copies of such contracts for inclusion in the data base beginning with contracts that are active on and after January 1, 2017; and

(ii) A data base that includes copies of all expired contracts which were previously included in the data base described in subdivision (4)(a)(i) of this section and which have not been disposed of pursuant to policies and procedures adopted under subdivision (4)(e) of this section. The data base required under this subdivision shall be accessible by the public and searchable by vendor, by state entity, and by dollar amount.

(b) The following shall be redacted or withheld from any contract before such contract is included in a data base pursuant to subdivision (4)(a) of this section:

(i) The social security number or federal tax identification number of any individual or business;

(ii) Protected health information as such term is defined under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as such act existed on January 1, 2013;

(iii) Any information which may be withheld from the public under section 84-712.05; or

(iv) Any information that is confidential under state or federal law, rule, or regulation.

(c) The following contracts shall be exempt from the requirements of subdivision (4)(a) of this section:

(i) Contracts entered into by the Department of Health and Human Services that are letters of agreement for the purpose of providing specific services to a specifically named individual and his or her family;

(ii) Contracts entered into by the University of Nebraska or any of the Nebraska state colleges for the purpose of providing specific services or financial assistance to a specifically named individual and his or her family;

(iii) Contracts entered into by the Department of Veterans' Affairs under section 80-401 or 80-403 for the purpose of providing aid to a specifically named veteran and his or her family;

(iv) Contracts entered into by the Department of Environment and Energy for the purpose of providing financing from the Dollar and Energy Saving Loan program;

(v) Contracts entered into by the State Department of Education under sections 79-11,121 to 79-11,132 for the purpose of providing specific goods, services, or financial assistance on behalf of or to a specifically named individual;

(vi) Contracts entered into by the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired under the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired Act for the purpose of providing specific goods, services, or financial assistance on behalf of or to a specifically named individual;

(vii) Contracts of employment for employees of any state entity. The exemption provided in this subdivision shall not apply to contracts entered into by any state entity to obtain the services of an independent contractor; and

(viii) Contracts entered into by the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority for the purpose of providing a specific service or financial assistance, including, but not limited to, a grant or loan, to a specifically named individual and his or her family.

(d) No state entity shall structure a contract to avoid any of the requirements of subdivision (4)(a) of this section.

(e) The Department of Administrative Services shall adopt policies and procedures regarding the creation, maintenance, and disposal of records pursuant to section 84-1212.02 for the contracts contained in the data bases required under this section and the process by which state entities provide copies of the contracts required under this section.

(5) All state entities shall provide to the State Treasurer, at such times and in such form as designated by the State Treasurer, such information as is necessary to accomplish the purposes of the Taxpayer Transparency Act.

(6) Nothing in this section requires the disclosure of information which is considered confidential under state or federal law or is not a public record under section 84-712.05.

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