Watchdog group gives Washington B- for corruption risk

You can find examples of corruption in nearly every aspect of our society - private sector, nonprofits, and college sports. Scandals like the ones involving former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and lobbyist Jack Abramoff show that governments are also susceptible to corruption.

These stories of corruption are the exceptions. The vast majority of businesses, nonprofits, sports organizations, and governments operate on the up and up serving their customers and constituencies. Many of them avoid exposure to corruption by instituting practices that deter corrupt activities before they have a chance to spread.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, Washington ranks third among all states for having laws, rules, and practices in place for an open, transparent, and less corruptible government.

The CPI released the State Integrity Investigation yesterday judging states on issues such public access to information, political financing, and ethics enforcement. Washington received an overall grade of B- ranking third behind New Jersey (B+) and Connecticut (B).

According to the report, our state received high marks for our redistricting process, lobbyist disclosure requirements, and internal auditing.

Among some of the many elements Washington has in place to contribute to an open and transparent government are:

• TVW
• Public Disclosure Commission
• Bipartisan, open redistricting process
• Executive, legislative, and judicial ethics boards
• Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials
• Rules in the House and Senate requiring a five-day notice for public hearings

While the report is critical of all states for none of them receiving an overall “A” grade, it recognizes Washington for having a progressive model that could be used by other states. You can read more about the project and Washington’s rankings here.

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