Open government advocates are hailing passage of a state budget transparency bill by a legislative committee this week.

The bill would establish a comprehensive state budget Web site that would detail, to anyone with a computer, all state revenue and spending.

The bill was approved by the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight and will now move to the House floor. The bill is co-sponsored locally by state Reps. Peter V. Kocot, D-Northampton, John W. Scibak, D-South Hadley, and Ellen Story, D-Amherst.

"It's an important bill," Kocot said. "If we're asking people to sacrifice in paying more taxes to the state, then they have every right to expect - and we have a responsibility to make - that information available."

The site's searchable budget database would include details about the costs, recipients and purposes for all appropriations, including contracts, grants and tax subsidies funded by state government. The site also would include revenue sources and expenses, including those of "quasi-public" agencies.

If implemented, Kocot said the site could become a powerful planning tool for state officials and local cities and towns.

Deirdre Cummings, legislative director of MassPIRG, described the bill as a "critical reform which will increase efficiency and promote budget accountability."

The public interest research group notes that passage of the bill would put Massachusetts in line with at least 31 other states that by law provide citizens with access to searchable online databases of government spending. The bill calls for the database to be updated regularly.

"In the 21st century, transparent government means so much more than declaring documents to be public record," Cummings said in a statement posted on her group's Web site. "Making information available, accessible and easy to find and understand is what citizens expect in the age of the Internet."