Report Gives Maryland A D+ In Transparency On business Subsidies

Despite the commitment of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration to increase government transparency, Maryland received a D+ in transparency of economic subsidy information, according to a national report released on Wednesday.

The report, which was put together by a government accountability work group, Good Jobs First, took a look at information made available to the public online for different economic development programs run by the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The report ranked Maryland 18th in the nation for transparency of its economic development programs – close to the middle, since only 37 states have any sort of disclosure for these programs. Out of a possible 100 points, the state received an average score of 30 for transparency.

The report pointed out that Maryland has some of the nation’s best online transparency – namely reports posted on StateStat and the state’s comprehensive stimulus spending tracker. But it also has programs that are extremely lacking.

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