The Bayou State is upper middle of the pack in a ranking of states with the most measures in place to prevent corruption and ensure transparent operation of state government, coming it at 15th out of 50 states.
The Bayou State is upper middle of the pack in a ranking of states with the most measures in place to prevent corruption and ensure transparent operation of state government, coming it at 15th out of 50 states.
Released Monday by the Center for Public Integrity, the State Integrity Investigation gives Louisiana a score of 72 percent, or C-. New Jersey leads the ranking with a B+ (establishing that no state received an A). The CPI study's authors stress that the ranking does not factor the number of corruption cases prosecuted in each state; it only considers the measures in place to prevent corruption - an important caveat as New Jersey's public persona is one of being the most corrupt state in the union.
In descending order Connecticut, Washington, California and Nebraska join New Jersey in the top five. Eight states, meanwhile - Georgia, Maine, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming - received an F.
Louisiana received its lowest mark, an F, for public access to information. It received its only A in the area of internal auditing.
Read the full report here.