LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land announced Wednesday that her department is posting detailed spending information online, the latest announcement by a state official in an apparent race for transparency in Michigan government.

Land said in a news release that her initiative "marks the first time that a Michigan government agency has provided such detail on its Web site."

The latest report can be downloaded at the following link: MDOS Expenditures For Fiscal Year 2007 (PDF 130 KB)

Back in February, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced that his office was the first in state government to create a Web page detailing expenditures, including salaries and wages, equipment and other spending.

That can be found on the Track Your Taxes section of the attorney general's Web site.

Cox had the support of consumer advocate Ralph Nader when he made the announcement and urged Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to adopt a similar practice statewide.

Land said in a news release that she is putting more than 80 pages of in-depth FY 2007 spending information online, including payments for individual leases, contracts, employee travel, utilities and grants to local governments.

Land said the online report will be updated quarterly.

She credited the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland for encouraging government to go beyond the basic requirements of right-to-know laws through its Show Michigan the Money initiative.