As part of our 2013 report on Achieving Ethics Standards and Accountability in Government we compiled a chart that compares all 50 states and how they handle ethics issues. Here's a key to help interpret the results:
Variable |
Description |
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| Campaign | Whether or not political campaigns have to disclose donation and/or expenditure reports | ||||||||||
| Citation | Whether or not the law has laws pertaining to Whistleblowers. | ||||||||||
| Committee | Whether or not a state has an independant non-partisan committee to deal with ethics violations | ||||||||||
| Comp | Whether or not commission members recieve compensation | ||||||||||
| CompAd | Whether or not there are laws in place prohibiting businesses from trying to gain a competitive advantage over another company vying for a state contract using unethical means | ||||||||||
| Confidential | Whether or not there is confidentiality for complaints filed with an ethics authority | ||||||||||
| Contingency | Lobbyists entering into contingency agreements based upon the outcomes of information | ||||||||||
| Contract | Whether or not a state has a prohibition on legislators negotiating for state contracts | ||||||||||
| Cover | Who the citations cover in the law. | ||||||||||
| Criminality | The level of criminality that violations of ethics laws are processed at | ||||||||||
| Disclosure | Whether or not financial disclosure is required for public officials (definition under PubOff variable) | ||||||||||
| DualEmp | Whether or not there is a law preventing Legislators or state officials from other employment that may cause a conflict of interest | ||||||||||
| DualOff | Laws regarding whether or not a state legislator or official can hold a second office or position within the state or local government | ||||||||||
| EthicsTra | Ethics Committee holds regular trainings for public officials and state employees on code of ethics issues | ||||||||||
| EthScore | National ethics ranking by statehouse journalists on a scale of 1 to 7 (NY Times) | ||||||||||
| FamDis | Required disclosure of family members employed by the state by candidates for state employment | ||||||||||
| Fine | Maximum fine that can be levied for an ethics violation | ||||||||||
| FormerCO | Length of time memebers of a board or commission cannot be employed by an entity they oversaw | ||||||||||
| FormerSE | Length of time after leaving public service employees can not work for a businesses with government contracts they helped to negotiate | ||||||||||
| FutEmp | "Gifting" law that explicitly prohibits the promise of future employment | ||||||||||
| Honoraria | Whether or not a state prohibits public officials from accepting honoraria for speaking engagements | ||||||||||
| Gifts | Cash value limit of gifts that can be accepted by public officials or government employees by a single person or entity in a single calendar year | ||||||||||
| Information | If there are ethics laws in place preventing disclosure of confidential information for financial gain by public officals or state employees | ||||||||||
| LobbyDis | Minimum dollar value of an expenditure lobbyists are required to disclose on an activity report submited to Ethics Committee or other governing body | ||||||||||
| LobbyID | Lobbyists are required to identify themselves by wearing name tags etc. | ||||||||||
| Negotiate | Whether or not there are laws prohibiting public officials or government employees from having personal or financial interests in a state contract they are involved in negotiating for | ||||||||||
| Nepotism | Determines if there are laws prohibiting favoritism towards family members | ||||||||||
| NumGuilt | Number of officials found guilty of ethics violations per million residents per year from 1998 to 2008 (NY Times) | ||||||||||
| Prison | Maximum prison sentance that can be issued for an ethics violation | ||||||||||
| Protection | Whether or not there are protections from reprocussions in place for people who report ethics violations | ||||||||||
| PublicFunds | Wether or not state agencies are prohibited from hiring and retaining lobbyists with public funds | ||||||||||
| PubOfficial | Who is covered under the definitition of public official | ||||||||||
| Recusal | Legislators or public officials are required to recuse themselves of a debate, vote, or decision involving a personal, financial, or business related conflict of interest | ||||||||||
| Registration | Lobbyists and interest groups are required to register with the Ethics Committee | ||||||||||
| RepOth | Laws regarding legislators representing other entities before state agencies | ||||||||||
| RevDoor | Length of time after leaving public service that legislators are not allowed to be employed as lobbyists | ||||||||||
| Sactions | Largest economic sanction that can be levied by a committee. $1 represents either an unspecified maximum or other sanction. $0 represents no sanctioning power. | ||||||||||
| Size | Number of officials appointed to an ethics committee or commission | ||||||||||
| StateEmp | Wether or not state employees are bound by the same or similar laws as members of the legislature | ||||||||||
| Subpoena | Whether or not the Ethics Committee has the power to subpoena witnesses | ||||||||||
| Terms | Length of committee member terms | ||||||||||
| Vote | If a legislator is required to disclose any possible conflict of interest prior to a vote on a given piece of legislation | ||||||||||
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