Progress and Pitfalls of E-Budget Information

This paper describes state government web sites and their postings of budgeting information. Some questions are addressed, for example: What types of information are provided? How accessible is this information? How many links does it take to find state budgeting information? How detailed is this information? By researching all 50 states’ official web pages, we find that only two states, Alaska and California, posted a direct link on their home pages to the budget document. If the Internet is going to be a medium used to enhance citizen access to services, enhance knowledge, and increase participation, much work is necessary on behalf of the states as well as its citizens to achieve this goal.