Beck Launches ‘Open Checkbook’ Site to Show Georgia Insurance Dept. Spending

The Georgia Department of Insurance has unveiled a new program called Open Checkbook on its website that details how the agency spends its funds.

According to a statement from Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck, Open Checkbook includes details of how the agency’s approximately $21 million budget is spent so taxpayers can see where their money goes.

“I ran for this position promising new levels of transparency. Taxpayers fund 100 percent of our operations and they should be able to see how we are being stewards of the resources entrusted to the Department. I am hoping by offering this unprecedented public access to our finances we can reinforce confidence in our department,” Beck said.

GADOI is currently running the first version of Open Checkbook features spending by category to give taxpayers a more granular view of where the department spends. Beck noted the initiative would be an ongoing process that he expects to provide even better information as the department continues to work on it.

“We want to offer even greater levels of detail and more of a dynamic model so you can see the transactions as they happen,” Beck said. “That is going to take some time to get right, but we didn’t want to wait to begin to lift the curtain on the finances of our office.”

Beck said he believes the people of Georgia have a right to know how their tax money is being spent and added “I am grateful to our team here at the department for helping me to post our finances online for the public to view any time of day.”

Source: Georgia Department of Insurance

Topics Georgia Training Development