Ohio gets a 'D' from Center for Public Integrity
By
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The Highland County Press
The Buckeye State received a D grade from the Center for Public Integrity when it comes to transparency, accountability and anti-corruption efforts in government.
The center gave eight state governments an “F” grade: Georgia, Maine, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.
Not one state received an A grade.
New Jersey had the highest grade, while the state of Georgia received the lowest.
Ohio scored a 66 and ranked 34th of he 50 states.
In a comprehensive story by Caitlin Ginley at www.iwatchnews.org, the center reports, "The tales are sadly familiar to even the most casual observer of state politics.
• "In Georgia, more than 650 government employees accepted gifts from vendors doing business with the state in 2007 and 2008, clearly violating state ethics law."
• "A North Carolina legislator sponsored and voted on a bill to loosen regulations on billboard construction, even though he co-owned five billboards in the state. When the ethics commission reviewed the case, it found no conflict; after all, the panel reasoned, the legislation would benefit all billboard owners in the state — not just the lawmaker who pushed for the bill."
• "Tennessee established its ethics commission six years ago, but has yet to issue a single ethics penalty. It’s almost impossible to know whether the oversight is effectively working, because complaints are not made available to the public."
• "A West Virginia governor borrowed a car from his local dealership to take it for a 'test drive.' He kept the car for four years, during which the dealership won millions in state contracts."
"The stories go on and on," Ginley reports. "Open records laws with hundreds of exemptions. Crucial budgeting decisions made behind closed doors by a handful of power brokers. 'Citizen' lawmakers voting on bills that would benefit them directly. Scores of legislators turning into lobbyists seemingly overnight. Disclosure laws without much disclosure. Ethics panels that haven’t met in years.
"State officials make lofty promises when it comes to ethics in government. They tout the transparency of legislative processes, accessibility of records, and the openness of public meetings. But these efforts often fall short of providing any real transparency or legitimate hope of rooting out corruption."
Just last week, Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost reported that only 60 percent of Ohio cities responded promptly to a recent request for public records. Yost reported the results in recognition of Sunshine Week.
“The good news is, six out of 10 cities responded to our request within the reasonable time we specified,” Auditor Yost said. “Many of them did it in only one or two days, several even the same day.
“The bad news is, far too many cities failed timely response. A very few failed to respond at all, despite three additional requests.”
The Auditor of State’s office made a request for payroll records of all 247 cities in Ohio in October, as part of an effort to evaluate the format of electronic records and the ease of use and access to payroll records, which typically represent the majority of spending by local governments.
“Those reporters made their requests as members of the public, in order to test the system,” Yost said. “Within the reasonable time, we were only 10 points better than 2004, and we asked as the Auditor of State. If my office gets only 60 percent, what is the response rate for a lone citizen?”
In 2004, more than 90 people from newspapers, radio stations, two Ohio universities and the Associated Press conducted a statewide “sunshine audit” in all 88 Ohio counties, concluding that only about 50 percent of all requests were complied with.
In reporting on the state of Ohio's overall dismal score, Jon Craig writes at www.stateintegrity.org/ohio_story_subpage:
"Investigations of state departments regulating insurance and workers compensation investments garnered fewer headlines, but they resulted in jail time for state employees and lobbyists and federal prison time for others seeking favorable treatment or election outcomes. Other political scandals and voting irregularities could be added to the list.
"Ohio's citizens – a population now estimated at 11.5 million — have no shortage of ethics laws to help protect them, including financial disclosure requirements and whistleblower safeguards," Craig reports. "But Ohio has a history of state officials violating them – most notably the campaign finance law and a requirement to disclose meals, lodging or gifts worth more than $75.
Craig reference the state's history of "pay-to-play" politics, from illegal campaign contributions to unreported gifts.
"In 2005, then-Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican, was convicted and fined $4,000 for accepting gifts from Statehouse lobbyists and a constituent trying to invest Bureau of Workers’ Compensation money. Thomas Noe, who invested state money in rare coins, later served federal prison time for bundling and concealing contributions to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. The scandal was nicknamed Coingate," Craig reports.
"Two Ohio congressmen served prison time, while a third was labeled one of the nation's least ethical members of Congress in 2011 for accepting free legal help from Turkish lawyers. U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, once cited for failing to disclose lobbying gifts that included tickets to a Cincinnati Bengals football game, even became a target for skits on 'Saturday Night Live.'"
Craig closed with a quote from longtime Columbus Dispatch Statehouse reporter Lee Leonard's book, "A Columnist's View of Capitol Square:" "When one political party rules the roost, the checks and balances go soft. Those aligned with the majority begin to push the envelope because they can."
Ginley's report reaches a similar conclusion: “The government belongs to the people,” said Common Cause’s Hobert Flynn. “They should have full access to the process and how decisions are made.”
"It’s a noble goal, to be sure," she said. "But as the State Integrity Investigation reveals, it is one that’s rarely met."
For the full report, go to: www.iwatchnews.org/2012/03/19/8423/grading-nation-how-accountable-your-….
About the Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity was founded in 1989 by Charles Lewis. It is one of the country's oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organizations. Its mission: to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty by powerful public and private institutions in order to cause them to operate with honesty, integrity, accountability and to put the public interest first.[[In-content Ad]]
The Buckeye State received a D grade from the Center for Public Integrity when it comes to transparency, accountability and anti-corruption efforts in government.
The center gave eight state governments an “F” grade: Georgia, Maine, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.
Not one state received an A grade.
New Jersey had the highest grade, while the state of Georgia received the lowest.
Ohio scored a 66 and ranked 34th of he 50 states.
In a comprehensive story by Caitlin Ginley at www.iwatchnews.org, the center reports, "The tales are sadly familiar to even the most casual observer of state politics.
• "In Georgia, more than 650 government employees accepted gifts from vendors doing business with the state in 2007 and 2008, clearly violating state ethics law."
• "A North Carolina legislator sponsored and voted on a bill to loosen regulations on billboard construction, even though he co-owned five billboards in the state. When the ethics commission reviewed the case, it found no conflict; after all, the panel reasoned, the legislation would benefit all billboard owners in the state — not just the lawmaker who pushed for the bill."
• "Tennessee established its ethics commission six years ago, but has yet to issue a single ethics penalty. It’s almost impossible to know whether the oversight is effectively working, because complaints are not made available to the public."
• "A West Virginia governor borrowed a car from his local dealership to take it for a 'test drive.' He kept the car for four years, during which the dealership won millions in state contracts."
"The stories go on and on," Ginley reports. "Open records laws with hundreds of exemptions. Crucial budgeting decisions made behind closed doors by a handful of power brokers. 'Citizen' lawmakers voting on bills that would benefit them directly. Scores of legislators turning into lobbyists seemingly overnight. Disclosure laws without much disclosure. Ethics panels that haven’t met in years.
"State officials make lofty promises when it comes to ethics in government. They tout the transparency of legislative processes, accessibility of records, and the openness of public meetings. But these efforts often fall short of providing any real transparency or legitimate hope of rooting out corruption."
Just last week, Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost reported that only 60 percent of Ohio cities responded promptly to a recent request for public records. Yost reported the results in recognition of Sunshine Week.
“The good news is, six out of 10 cities responded to our request within the reasonable time we specified,” Auditor Yost said. “Many of them did it in only one or two days, several even the same day.
“The bad news is, far too many cities failed timely response. A very few failed to respond at all, despite three additional requests.”
The Auditor of State’s office made a request for payroll records of all 247 cities in Ohio in October, as part of an effort to evaluate the format of electronic records and the ease of use and access to payroll records, which typically represent the majority of spending by local governments.
“Those reporters made their requests as members of the public, in order to test the system,” Yost said. “Within the reasonable time, we were only 10 points better than 2004, and we asked as the Auditor of State. If my office gets only 60 percent, what is the response rate for a lone citizen?”
In 2004, more than 90 people from newspapers, radio stations, two Ohio universities and the Associated Press conducted a statewide “sunshine audit” in all 88 Ohio counties, concluding that only about 50 percent of all requests were complied with.
In reporting on the state of Ohio's overall dismal score, Jon Craig writes at www.stateintegrity.org/ohio_story_subpage:
"Investigations of state departments regulating insurance and workers compensation investments garnered fewer headlines, but they resulted in jail time for state employees and lobbyists and federal prison time for others seeking favorable treatment or election outcomes. Other political scandals and voting irregularities could be added to the list.
"Ohio's citizens – a population now estimated at 11.5 million — have no shortage of ethics laws to help protect them, including financial disclosure requirements and whistleblower safeguards," Craig reports. "But Ohio has a history of state officials violating them – most notably the campaign finance law and a requirement to disclose meals, lodging or gifts worth more than $75.
Craig reference the state's history of "pay-to-play" politics, from illegal campaign contributions to unreported gifts.
"In 2005, then-Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican, was convicted and fined $4,000 for accepting gifts from Statehouse lobbyists and a constituent trying to invest Bureau of Workers’ Compensation money. Thomas Noe, who invested state money in rare coins, later served federal prison time for bundling and concealing contributions to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. The scandal was nicknamed Coingate," Craig reports.
"Two Ohio congressmen served prison time, while a third was labeled one of the nation's least ethical members of Congress in 2011 for accepting free legal help from Turkish lawyers. U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, once cited for failing to disclose lobbying gifts that included tickets to a Cincinnati Bengals football game, even became a target for skits on 'Saturday Night Live.'"
Craig closed with a quote from longtime Columbus Dispatch Statehouse reporter Lee Leonard's book, "A Columnist's View of Capitol Square:" "When one political party rules the roost, the checks and balances go soft. Those aligned with the majority begin to push the envelope because they can."
Ginley's report reaches a similar conclusion: “The government belongs to the people,” said Common Cause’s Hobert Flynn. “They should have full access to the process and how decisions are made.”
"It’s a noble goal, to be sure," she said. "But as the State Integrity Investigation reveals, it is one that’s rarely met."
For the full report, go to: www.iwatchnews.org/2012/03/19/8423/grading-nation-how-accountable-your-….
About the Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity was founded in 1989 by Charles Lewis. It is one of the country's oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organizations. Its mission: to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty by powerful public and private institutions in order to cause them to operate with honesty, integrity, accountability and to put the public interest first.[[In-content Ad]]