As the state released numbers this week projecting that Connecticut's multilayered economic-development efforts have led to the creation or retention of more than 40,000 jobs, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order requiring more transparency in reporting how incentive money for businesses is being spent.

"Connecticut's taxpayers have a right to know what their state government is doing to promote economic development and job creation," Malloy said in a statement Tuesday. "This directive demonstrates that we are serious about making state government more transparent, more responsive and more efficient. ..."

Malloy's executive order directs the state Department of Economic and Community Development to work with revenue officials to create an online database so citizens can easily search how money is being distributed through various state programs.

These include the Small Business Express Program and the First Five initiative, two linchpins of the 2011 nonpartisan Jobs Bill that attempted to get the state's economy moving after it had dipped into a prolonged recession following the 2007-2008 financial meltdown.

DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith unveiled the first step toward adhering to Malloy's executive order Tuesday by revealing that the website www.CTOpenForBiz.com has made available to the public an interactive map where the names of companies that have received state assistance are revealed, along with the number of jobs created or retained. The map, a "work in progress," does not yet include the amount of money various businesses have or will receive.

Smith released a report Tuesday in conjunction with Malloy's directive that estimated the state has spent $475 million in direct incentives to businesses in the state, resulting in $1.9 billion in additional private investments. DECD estimates also showed that these investments have resulted in nearly 12,000 jobs being created, while another 31,000 or so have been retained.

In addition, according to the DECD report, $17.8 million in funding for community colleges to establish Advanced Manufacturing Centers at three location has helped bolster workforce competitiveness. Subsidized training programs have also increased work skills, leading to the placement in new jobs of nearly 2,000 previously unemployed people

"Our new innovative and flexible economic development programs are assisting companies of all sizes, from large corporations to small Main Street operations," Smith said in a statement.

Malloy's directive calls for the the Commissioner of Department of Revenue Services to report to DECD on tax-credit claims. These figures will be posted online as they become available.

The state's efforts to make its investments more easily accessible is one of several steps taken over the past few months by the Malloy Administration to provide more transparency and streamline regulations.

Last summer, Malloy announced the so-called E-Regs project that for the first time required all state agency regulations be posted online at www.ct.gov/eregulations, and a couple months ago he signed an executive order requiring that agencies review regulations to determine whether there was room for amending requirements that were obsolete or burdensome.

l.howard@theday.com