CA SB598

Establishes the Open Financial Statement Commission with 9 members in the Treasurer's office to study transitioning public agency financial reporting to machine readable formats.

Authorizes the commission to contract with vendors to build financial data taxonomies (including XBRL) and create open source software tools enabling public agencies to easily create machine readable financial documents.

Requires the commission to submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2021 recommending whether to transition state and local agency financial reporting to machine readable formats, including cost and timeline analysis.

Addresses the current burden on local agencies that submit dual annual financial statements to the Controller in PDF format, which creates inconsistent data and difficult analysis.

Repeals the entire chapter effective January 1, 2025.