Louisiana modernizing its website to track state spending

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Louisiana is upgrading its website that tracks government spending, giving it a more user-friendly and graphics-focused look.
  
Lawmakers hope the changes will draw more eyeballs to the site, where people can review how the state uses taxpayer dollars.
  
The improved site, known as Louisiana Checkbook, is now live. Visit checkbook.la.gov/.
  
The website will allow searching by spending type, agency and financial year, with interactive charts and graphs and ability to download data. It will initially have only a portion of state agencies on the site, adding more over time.
  
The website was the subject of a fierce lobbying effort that put Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration at odds with House Republicans. After three sessions, the administration and lawmakers agreed on legislation about how the financial transparency website should look.