About the Data

Transparency begins with knowing where information comes from. This page explains our data sources, how records are traced back to their origin, and the safeguards we use to keep information accurate and neutral.

Where the data comes from

We use only publicly published datasets from California state agencies. Every record can be traced back to its official source.

California State Controller's Office Open Data

Monthly or quarterly, depending on dataset

State expenditures, payee information, and legacy FI$Cal exports published for public transparency.

Visit source

Open FI$Cal / FI$Cal Transparency Portal

Quarterly updates

Published CSV files containing California state financial data including contracts and payments.

Visit source

California Department of General Services Cal eProcure

Updated as contracts are awarded

Open data for state contracts, purchase orders, and procurement activities.

Visit source

Evidence & provenance

Every payment and contract record shown includes evidence so you can verify it yourself.

What you'll see on every record

•
Source dataset name — which California state dataset the record came from
•
Record ID — the unique identifier used by the publisher (when available)
•
Last updated date — when the publisher last updated this record
•
Direct link to source — a clickable link back to the publisher's file or API

All amounts and descriptions are shown exactly as they appear in the public record. We do not rewrite or interpret source values.

How often the data is updated

Our tool pulls from state-published datasets. Update frequency depends on the publishing schedule of each California state agency:

Most payment data is updated monthly or quarterly
Contract data is updated as awards are published
Each record displays the publisher’s last update timestamp so you know how current it is

If a record appears outdated, check the source link to see if the publisher has released newer data.

Privacy & redaction handling

Public spending data should be transparent without exposing private information. We take the following steps:

If a publisher's file contains Social Security Numbers, bank details, or personal addresses in free-text fields, we mask or omit them
We do not enrich records with non-public data (e.g., no third-party geocoding or vendor lookups)
If a publisher issues a correction or takedown notice, we honor it and log the change without deleting the provenance trail

All data shown is either published by California or explicitly marked as redacted with an explanation.

Legal disclaimer

This tool presents publicly available records for transparency and research purposes. It does not allege wrongdoing, fraud, or illegality.

All information is sourced from datasets explicitly published as public by the State of California. We display the data as published, with source links and timestamps for verification.

Any patterns or flags surfaced by this tool are statistical observations presented in neutral language. They do not constitute accusations, investigations, or legal claims.

Questions or corrections? Contact us at transparency@hacigroup.org

Built by HaciGroup

This tool is developed and maintained by HaciGroup, a California nonprofit building community-owned technology for transparency and public good.

It is an independent product under HaciGroup governance, separate from our other tools like Whenly and NELA Ride.

Learn more about HaciGroup