New Jersey’s integrity ranks highest
New Jersey’s laws are the most transparent, ethical and accountable, according to the Chicago-based Better Government Association’s (BGA) BGA-Alper Integrity Index, which was released Oct. 27. Nevertheless, BGA Executive Director Jay Stewart said in a statement that even the Garden State still could improve its performance in some areas.
The BGA-Alper Index rates all 50 states in five areas of law: open records, whistleblower protection, campaign finance, open meetings and conflicts of interest. Rounding out the top five after New Jersey were Rhode Island, Hawaii, Washington and Louisiana. “The top five states should be congratulated for their performance. However, all of the states have room for improvement,” Stewart said. “New Jersey earned a combined score of just 65 percent. When the top state fails to break 70 percent, clearly all 50 have a long way to go in improving transparency and promoting ethics.” State-by-state results are available at www.bettergov.org.
5 highest ranked states
New Jersey • Rhode Island • Hawaii • Washington • Louisiana
5 lowest ranked states
Montana • Tennessee • Alabama • Vermont • South Dakota