[nfbmi-talk] FW: mich ranks last on laws on ethics

[Terry D. Eagle]

Michigan ranks last in laws on ethics, transparency

Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press 12:01 a.m. EST November 9, 2015

635824231115795078-Rick-SnyderBuy Photo

 

Gov. Rick Snyder(Photo: Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo

 

LANSING - 

Michigan ranks last in a national study of state ethics and transparency
laws and safeguards, set for release today,  partly due to its weak public

records law and an absence of laws requiring personal financial disclosures
by lawmakers and top state officials.

 

In all, 11 states received failing grades of F in the study, but Michigan's
rating was last in the study by the Center for Public Integrity and Global
Integrity,

two nonprofit organizations that promote government transparency and ethics.

 

Michigan scored 50.5 points out of a possible 100. The other 10 states that
received an F were: Wyoming, with 50.9; Delaware, with 55.5; South Dakota,
with

55.9; Nevada, with 57.1; Pennsylvania, with 57.9; Oregon with 57.9; Maine,
with 58.6; Kansas, with 58.6; Louisiana, with 58.8; and Oklahoma, with 59.

 

"What you see across the board is just a lack of some of those
accountability and transparency laws and practices that some states have
enacted," Nicholas

Kusnetz, the project director, told the Free Press on Friday.

 

Michigan's worst--in-the-nation ranking doesn't mean Michigan is the most
corrupt state. The score doesn't speak to the level of corruption in
Michigan,

since that's not what's being measured, Kusnetz said. Instead, the study
looks at what laws are in place and how those laws are implemented, in order
to

assess the systems intended to prevent corruption and expose it when it does
occur.

 

Michigan was ranked last in the nation for its ethics and transparency laws
in a study of all 50 states released Monday.

 

Michigan data

 

Source:

http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/09/michigan-ranks-last-laws
-ethics-transparency/75288210/