New state contract database to shed some light on spending

The new state contracts database unveiled Wednesday by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish will give the public some information on where taxpayer money is heading.

But it won't tell the whole story. It leaves out a major chunk of state spending -- i.e. the $5.5 billion state general fund budget. Several other states put their entire checkbook online, and many here hope that happens someday. Already, a measure to do that passed the Senate but died in the House.

But in a year that some would say has seen less and less transparency in state government, the new database is a step in the right direction. And, if nothing else, it saves anyone who is interested the hassle of requesting documents about the contracts, and waiting for days for the hard-copy information. In this day and age, that kind of information should be available online.

Happy New Year.