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TU: Florida earns a D- on integrity, accountability on Sunshine Law appraisal
Times-Union
Lack of transparency in specific instances, like the abrupt resignation of the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the dearth of information about Gov. Rick Scott’s blind trust, are what earned the state a grade of D- in the Center for Public Integrity’s 2015 State Integrity Investigation.
No state was graded higher than a C in this study of how governments stack up on accountability and openness to citizens. Alaska earned the highest score, 76.2 points. The lowest score went to Michigan, which earned a 50.4 and is among 11 states with failing grades.
Florida tied for 30th among the states this year.
Florida State College at Jacksonville political science professor Marcella Washington reviewed the study and said what she found most interesting was the commentary about the state’s Ethics Commission. She said the panel is structured in a way that encourages instability and makes its oversight mission more difficult.
“The bottom line for me is have a Commission on Ethics — that is very important — but give the commission some teeth in terms of its tenure and its accountability,” Washington said.
So far, there hasn’t been much reaction from state officials to the study. Senate President Andy Gardiner’s office said only that it is under review. Jeri Bustamante, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Scott, provided via email a general comment in reaction to the findings: “Governor Scott holds all agencies to a high standard and expects them to run with accountability and integrity.”
The most substantive comments came from House Speaker Steve Crisafulli.
“I believe it is important to hold public officials to high ethical standards so Floridians can trust their elected officials serve with citizens’ best interest in mind,” he said via email. “I am hopeful the Legislature will pass legislation sponsored by Representative [Ritch] Workman and Senator [Don] Gaetz.”
He is referring to an anti-public corruption bill that Workman’s committee will consider on Tuesday, which mirrors a proposal Gaetz has already filed. The measures would make government contractors and anyone whose work is related to a government entity subject to the same anti-bribery and anti-fraud rules as government employees. The legislation would also eliminate a provision in state law that requires prosecutors to prove defendants had corrupt thoughts or intent in order to bring about corruption charges.
Georgia landed in the 24th spot although its 61.3 score was just a half-point higher than Florida’s 62.8. But that is a big jump from three years ago, when the State Integrity Investigation ranking was done for the first time, landing Georgia in last place.
Since then, Georgia legislators have approved a $75 cap on gifts they receive from lobbyists. That alone helped raise the state’s score, the Center for Public Integrity said. But the study points out that the new law doesn’t require state employees to register as lobbyists, so representatives from state agencies and universities are still able to provide expensive freebies to lawmakers.
“The law permits that,” University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock told the Center for Public Integrity. “You can’t get tickets to the [Atlanta] Falcons, but [the University of Georgia] can say here are tickets to the president’s box” at the university’s stadium.
Florida also enacted ethics reforms in 2013, but the study said the changes in campaign finance, lobbyist regulations and strengthening the Ethics Commission didn’t have much impact on the state’s score. Instead, the report noted perceived shortcomings that still exist, such as political committees that allow unlimited contributions to candidates and no required auditing of financial disclosure forms submitted by elected and government officials.
Each state received a score and then a grade based on 245 questions that gauge their accountability laws and how strongly they are enforced. There are 13 categories, and Florida received its lowest marks in the areas of elections oversight (ranked 46th out of the 50 states), state budget processes (49th) and management of civil service employees (50th).
Georgia received its lowest scores in political financial (38th) and lobbyist disclosures (46th).
The Center for Public Integrity first graded states in 2012, and Florida scored a C-. The two scores can’t be directly compared because the methodology and categories included in the study have changed.
If the center waits a few more years and does a third round of scoring, Florida might see a jump in its ranking if House Speaker-designate Richard Corcoran gets his way. During his September acceptance speech, Corcoran outlined a series of ethics reforms he said he would champion during his term that begins next year.
“We have to begin by cleaning up our own house; we have to close the revolving door between lobbyists and legislators,” he said. “We have to increase that distance by those who want to influence the laws and those of us who make them.”
Among Corcoran’s proposals: a constitutional amendment that would ban former state officials from lobbying for six years instead of the current two, requiring lobbyists to disclose specific laws or budget items they attempt to influence, banning elected officials from taking jobs in local or state governments while they are in office and for six years after they leave, and barring legislators from taking a job with any company that receives state funding directly or indirectly.
Tia Mitchell: (850) 933-1321