Government integrity: Washington ranks No. 4 in report

• Published October 27, 2008

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A new report by a Chicago-based civic group ranks Washington No. 4 among the states for government integrity. New Jersey, Rhode Island and Hawaii ranked higher, and Louisiana ranked just below the Evergreen State.

The Better Government Association, which created its BGA-Alper Integrity Index, examines states’ laws for freedom of information access, whistleblower protections for government workers, campaign finance, open meetings, and conflicts of interest. It also did a report in 2002 that I'm still trying to track down.

See the 2008 report here.

Washington's overall score was 310.5 percent out of a possible 500 percent, giving it an achievement rating of 62.1 percent, according to the 25-page document. New Jersey was rated at 65.4 percent. Washington’s highest scores were in conflict of interest protections (93.5 percent) and whistleblower law (71 percent) and its lowest was in campaign finance (42 percent).

Other states appeared to rank higher in the campaign-finance category, despite Washington's record of finance disclosure; the rating system gave points to states with public-financed campaigns, criminal penalties for finance violations and limits on state-employee donations to campaigns, all of which Washington lacks.

The group put out an announcement with this statement from its executive director, Jay Stewart: