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A recent Lexington Herald-Leader editorial praises two bills from this year's General Assembly that deal with transparency in government.

I agree with this editorial in that I think it is fantastic that government transparency has become an issue that is being talked about regularly. In fact, The Bluegrass Institute supported the efforts to make special taxing districts more transparent.

Are these bills perfect? No, they are not. Will we ever get a perfect bill related to transparency? More than likely, no. But what is significant is that the idea of  openness in government and taxpayers' right to access information about how their money is being spent is really starting to gain traction in Kentucky. This is a step in the right direction.

Obviously the work toward an open government does not end here. These bills should be part of an ongoing discussion. Lawmakers should be constantly striving to keep government accountable to citizens. At the same time, taxpayers and groups like The Bluegrass Institute should be constantly reminding lawmakers about this.