Lansing — Michigan citizens could see how every single tax dollar is spent by the state if a package of bills created by House Republicans is passed into law.

The Funding Accountability and Transparency, or FAT Act, would require each department in state government, public schools, universities and community colleges to list the use of taxpayer dollars on a Web site accessible to the public.

"It's best described as 'Google government,'" said Rep. Jack Hoogendyk, R-Kalamazoo, at Wednesday's press conference.

Hoogendyk envisions a Web site where a citizen could search for how a government department spends tax dollars. For example, if people want to see how much the government spent on Microsoft products, they simply type 'Michigan, budget and Microsoft' into a search field.

"Up will come every expenditure the state has made with the Microsoft corporation," he said. "It would be broken down by what department purchased it, what it was purchased for and how much it cost."

From there, users could see if bids were made for purchases, and how many bids were made to vendors.

"As more and more people within government know that there's potentially 10 million taxpayers looking over their shoulders, they're probably going to be more conscientious," Hoogendyk said.

Some Democrats aren't impressed by the legislation, saying this could be a cover for the state's real problems.

"If they want to find fat, they should look at themselves to monitor their own behavior," said Dan Farough, spokesman for House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Wayne. "It's nothing more than smoke and mirrors."

Farough criticized the Republicans for blaming the state's budget crisis on others after the budget was approved last year when Republicans held the majority in the House.

For the upcoming fiscal year, Michigan faces a budget deficit up to $1.8 billion.

"It's the height of hypocrisy to blame someone else for your own behavior, and that's exactly what they're doing today," he said.

House bills 5083 and 5084 deal with funding disclosures for public schools and intermediate school districts for the FAT, and a third bill submitted to the House addresses funding disclosure for universities, community colleges and state government departments.

If made law, the FAT Act could bring Michigan citizens into the budget debate that has consumed Lansing for months.

"We've got the debate going on in Michigan right now to either raise taxes or reform government, and it's tough either way you go," said Rep. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba. "At least the people can take a look for themselves and see what's going on, and if it really does need reform, we can make those tough decisions with the public's support."

Currently, detailed information about government spending is not available, said Rep. Dan Acciavatti, R-Chesterfield Township.

"We want to see specifics as close to real time as possible," Acciavatti said. "It would be a whole lot more detailed than the budget lines."

The FAT Act is based on a federal bipartisan plan enacted into law last year by Congress, according to a Michigan GOP press release.

Texas, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Hawaii have similar disclosure regulations, Hoogendyk said.

The FAT Act also would eliminate a loophole for intermediate school districts, which allows lobbying costs to go unreported, said Rep. Fran Amos, R-Oakland.

"Your tax dollars should be going to your children's education, period," Amos said.

Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, wanted more information before he would comment in detail, but he was concerned about the logistics of the FAT Act.

"This shows me they don't have much of an understanding of accounting principles," he said. "There are a number of limitations on how we can keep records and what is available."

While in favor of the public having access to the type of information that would be provided by the FAT Act, Meadows said the expenses and personnel needed to implement such a system would be difficult because of the structure of the state's audit system.

"They're trying to simplify a process that is very complicated without simplifying the process itself," he said.