Louisiana ranks 16th in a report that declares no winners' for the country's 50 states when it comes to measuring state integrity and risk of corruption.
A first of its kind look at how all 50 states fare on transparency and lack of corruption gives Louisiana a "C-" grade, the 16th highest score in the nation, for accountability and risk of corruption. Not a single state scored an "A."
According the its website, the State Integrity Investigation is "an unprecedented, data-driven analysis of each state's laws and practices that deter corruption and promote accountability and openness:"
Experienced journalists graded each state government on its corruption risk using 330 specific measures. The Investigation ranked every state from one to 50. Each state received a report card with letter grades in 14 categories, including campaign finance, ethics laws, lobbying regulations, and management of state pension funds.
Louisiana, as reported through Advocate reporter Mark Ballard, is viewed as a state with "a colorful history of corruption that has tried to clean up its act."
"Despite a series of new laws, oversight issues remain," he says in his introduction to the story behind Louisiana's corruption report card. "Part of the state's identity comes from its association with rascals. Local society columnists noted that the lines to greet former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards, who was released from federal prison in 2011, at Gov. Bobby Jindal's second inaugural ball in January were longer than the ones to shake hands with the current governor."
Though typically known for having fairly strong public records laws, the state earns an "F" under the category of Public Access to Information.
The Huffington Post attributes the poor public access score to "an exemption for records that are part of the deliberative process' in the governor's office, which could mean anything from budget negotiations to communications between the governor and his staff."
The state's strongest letter grades came in the categories of Internal Auditing (A), State Insurance Commissions (B+) and State Budget Processes (B).
Read the full results of the integrity investigation here.