Public Spending Actof 2029

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Public Spending Act of 2029.

Findings and purpose

1. Residents fund public institutions and have a right to follow how that money is spent.
2. Waste and corruption concentrate where public payments cannot be traced from budget to delivery.
3. Residents trust budgets more when they have a direct voice in part of them.
4. Transparency must apply to public money, not to the private lives of residents.

The purpose of this Act is to make every public payment traceable, to give every resident an equal voice in part of the budget, and to protect the privacy of personal spending.

Definitions

1. Public funds: money raised, held or spent by the jurisdiction or on its behalf, including grants and contracts.
2. Covered payment: any disbursement of public funds to a person, business, nonprofit or other government.
3. Public spending record: the published entry for a covered payment described in section 4.
4. Allocation pool: the share of the budget residents direct under section 5.
5. Personal payment data: any record of what an individual resident buys, pays or receives in a private capacity.

Every public payment on the record

Within 30 days of each covered payment, the jurisdiction publishes a public spending record showing: the approved budget line; the payee; the amount; the date; a fingerprint (cryptographic hash) of the invoice or contract; and the proof of delivery once received. Records are published in an open, machine-readable format, kept permanently, and never altered; corrections are published as new records that reference the original.

One resident, one allocation

Each year the legislative body sets an allocation pool of up to 5 percent of the discretionary budget. Every eligible resident may direct an equal share of the pool among programs the body has approved in advance, such as scholarships, schools, clinics or local infrastructure.

Each resident receives the same share regardless of income, wealth or how much the resident spends. Allocations are cast with a secret, verifiable ballot: the totals are public and every resident can check that their choice was counted, but no one can see how an individual allocated.

Privacy of residents

Nothing in this Act requires any resident to record, disclose or route their personal payments through any system. Personal payment data may not be collected, published, sold or used to score, rank or penalize residents. Cash remains legal tender for all public dealings. Transparency under this Act applies to public funds only.

Technology and payment neutrality

The jurisdiction may use any ledger, database or payment network that meets the publication, integrity and privacy requirements of this Act, and may change providers. No resident or business is required to use or hold any particular currency, token or network.

Audit and whistleblowers

An independent auditor reviews the public spending records and the allocation results every year and publishes the findings. Any person may flag a record as incomplete or suspicious, and the jurisdiction must respond publicly within 60 days. Employees and contractors who report misuse of public funds are protected from retaliation.

Savings returned to residents

Each year the jurisdiction publishes the waste, duplicate payments and cost overruns identified through the records. The legislative body must consider returning identified savings to residents through lower taxes or fees, and must publish its decision and reasons.

Pilot, review and sunset

The Act first applies to one department or program for 12 months. The auditor then reports on cost, participation, errors and privacy, and the legislative body decides whether to expand, amend or end it. Unless renewed, the Act expires 3 years after its effective date.

Effective date

This Act takes effect on January 1, 2029, or on a later date the legislative body sets.