Rhode Island Ranked #1 in National Integrity Index

Rhode Island Ranked #1 in National Integrity Index

According to the Better Government Association, "“Integrity” is not a word we generally associate with the states of Rhode Island, New Jersey, Illinois and Louisiana."

However, those states took four of the top six spots in the watchdog group's recently released 2013 "Integrity Index" -- with Rhode Island taking top honors.

In the "exclusive report and analysis of vital laws in all 50 states forged to fight government corruption and compel public officials to be more open and responsive to the people," the BGA took a look a four statutes -- Freedom of Information laws, open-meetings laws, whistleblower-protection laws and conflict of interest laws -- to see how each state complied, and ranked them accordingly.

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"The majority of states are failing miserably when it comes to enacting laws that enable regular citizens to fight corruption by attending public meetings, reviewing government documents and raising questions without fear of retribution", said the BGA, which is a Chicago-based non-partisan organization.

Despite Rhode Island taking top honors, the BGA was critical of every state's performance overall.

"In measuring ethics laws and government conduct in all 50 states, the Integrity Index determined the overall national average is an unacceptable 55 percent, with all states receiving scores categorized as mediocre or poor and not a single state cracking 70 percent."

The BGA said that the highest-ranked states "likely rank higher today because years of corruption and embarrassing scandals led to the adoption of stricter safeguards and more comprehensive sunshine laws."

See slideshow below for how New England states fared in the rankings.  

While some community and political leaders saw the top ranking as a positive reflection of the Ocean State, others took a more critical view.  Here's what they had to say:  

Governor Lincoln Chafee:  “We welcome Rhode Island’s strong ranking in the Better Government Association’s ‘Integrity Index.’ We have made progress to improve open meetings and public records laws, and my administration remains deeply committed to strengthening the accountability, transparency and ethical standing of our government."  

Gary Sasse, former Executive Director of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and fiscal advisor to the Providence City Council:  "It is good that Rhode Island is recognized as a leader in open government legislation. However, it is important to remember that events drove the need for this good government legislation.  Finally, because such law are on the books we must be vigilant they are aggressively applied."

John Marion, Executive Director of Common Cause Rhode Island:  "We believe that Rhode Island should rank well for integrity laws because groups like ours have worked for decades to put them in place. But it's important to remember that this ranking is based on what the laws look like on the books, and not necessarily as enforced by our government officials. For instance the ACLU has documented the sometimes weak enforcement of our Access to Public Records Act. That is one area where our integrity laws need significant improvement. Another important thing to keep in mind with this ranking is that the measurements they use aren't perfect. For instance the Conflict of Interest measure only looks at a state's financial disclosure requirements. There is much more to regulating conflicts of interest than requiring financial disclosure."

Distinguished URI Professor of Business Administration Edward Mazze:  "The Integrity Index looks at laws in place not the enforcement of the laws, the "old boy" practices that still take place in government agencies and the tone set by the leaders of the executive and legislative branches of government. It is nice to be ranked number one in having legislation in place but "the proof of the pudding" is in how these laws are enforced, and by whom, and what does not take place in day to day government practice. One of the things the top-rated states have had in the last ten years is scandals involving legislators and appointed/elected officials. Rhode Island has the laws on open meetings, conflict of interest and freedom of information.

However, this does not prevent cronyism (appointments of convenience rather than competence), lack of transparency, little oversight of government activities and agencies and generally poor leadership. Rhode Island and open government has not gone hand-in-hand when one political party is in control. There are no checks and balances. What we need is a transparent government, a strong code of ethics and consequences when unethical activities take place. The toughest challenge in building integrity is regaining confidence in those elected. The executive and legislative branches are so poorly thought of by the citizens of the state that most Rhode Islanders believe the integrity index is a bad joke funded by legislative grants."

Former Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams: "It really comes down to whether the glass is half full or half empty.  It's hard for the working person in the state to hear this and say, "But i need a job" -- and I understand that.  However, I say it's good news. We should take pride in the fact that in these areas we've come a long way.  Granted, it's 70%, not 90%, but we should take solace in this top ranking.  We have an independent judiciary, which I worked for.  The judiciary should not be overwhelmed by the other two branches of government. Part of this independence is to call very difficult cases as you see them."

Mike Stenhouse, Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity:  "Our Center is proud to have provided an unprecedented amount of transparency in Rhode Island via our RIOpenGov.org and RIVotes.com websites, where we list pension and salary payments for state and municipal employees, as well as bills and voting records, and where we plan do more soon.

This new government transparency ranking, while positive news on the one hand, illustrates the complete disconnect between the general public and their elected officials on the other hand. If Rhode Island ranks high in being transparent about a collective body of legislation and government actions that have caused our state to be continually ranked at or near last in so many other more important categories, then this sadly displays that voters are not holding legislators accountable for their poor performance. It would be like Red Sox fans sitting silently on their hands in the stands, instead of loudly booing, if the Sox were a perpetual last place team, on full display, right in front of them at Fenway Park."