Incoming Gov. Mike Pence plans to launch a new "transparency portal" to track Indiana's economic development spending and the jobs created by companies that receive those tax credits and incentives.
He said Thursday that money to pay for the portal's launch will be included in the two-year budget his administration will present to state lawmakers next week – and that the goal is to launch the portal this spring.
He said the Indiana Economic Development Corp. is already working on the effort, and said the portal will provide "specific information having to do with incentives and outcomes" once businesses announce their plans to add jobs.
The move is an effort to address criticism over the performance of Indiana's quasi-public job-creation agency under Gov. Mitch Daniels. Critics complained that the state announced companies' plans to create thousands of jobs, as well as tax credits and other incentives that those companies would receive, without then tracking whether those deals came to fruition.
"People have a right to know," Pence said, "and we're going to make a renewed effort under the new leadership at the IEDC and through our new administration to advance transparency both with regard to public investments and activities, but also with regard to outcomes in economic development."
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