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After a rigorous debate Friday, the School Finance Transparency Act passed a second reading on the Senate floor with strong bipartisan support.

Amendments and delays had previously bogged down Senate Bill 57, which would require school districts to put their check registers online. Though basic budget information is already public, proponents of the bill testified during an initial committee hearing last month that the information is weighty and often very confusing. Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, and Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, are sponsoring the bill.

“If you can’t defend it, don’t spend it,” Harvey said, quoting a common motto of transparency proponents.