Interested in how Idaho’s $1.25B in federal COVID relief will be spent? Check out Transparent Idaho.

Residents interested in learning how Idaho’s $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief funding will be spent can expect an updated Transparent Idaho website from Idaho State Controller Brandon Woolf, according to a press release from his office.

On the website, COVID-19 initiatives will be grouped categorically, and the site will include new visualizations for Idahoans to compare spending data from multiple government entities throughout the state.

The updates will also provide more insight on other federal COVID-19 funding distributions, such as the American Rescue Plan Act. While local government spending is not usually available on the Transparent Idaho website, these updates will start to allow Idahoans to dive into local government expenditures by jurisdiction in the future, the press release said.

House Bill 73, which allows Woolf’s office to begin working with local governments from across the state to create a uniform accounting and financial reporting platform on Transparent Idaho, was passed by the House and Senate. It was signed into law by Gov. Brad Little on March 19.

“Transparent Idaho has always been about increasing trust in state government by illuminating Idaho’s responsible approach to state spending,” Woolf said in the press release. “It is appropriate to expand its function to show the public that Idaho’s local government entities are spending their tax dollars appropriately as well.”

The updates should help taxpayers, state lawmakers, local policymakers and journalists have better access to spending data on a day-to-day basis, according to the press release.