Risk for Corruption High in South Central States, Report Says

Although none of the 50 U.S. state governments were found to be exemplary, three out of four South Central states received lackluster rankings in a report evaluating state governments on integrity and the ability to prevent corruption among state officials and employees.

Among insurance departments in the South Central states, only one — Louisiana — received a decent grade. The Louisiana Department of Insurance received a ranking of B+, 89 percent, on the “State Integrity Investigation Corruption Risk Report Card,” conducted and recently released by a partnership between the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International.

Of the remaining South Central states, the Texas Department of Insurance (F, 58 percent) came in dead last, with the Arkansas Insurance Department (D-, 60 percent) and the Oklahoma Insurance Department (D-, 61 percent) trailing close behind.

State insurance regulatory commissions were judged on a series of questions. The table (on right) shows the results for insurance departments in the South Central states:

The report also judged states as a whole, along with breaking down the rankings to include assessments of the most important individual state agencies.

Texas received an overall grade of D+, 68 percent, with a rank of 27 among 50 states. “Money flows freely in Texas politics, where contributions to most candidates are unlimited and lobbyists are powerful,” the report explained.

Of all the states, New Jersey fared the best in terms of overall performance, with a grade of B+, 87 percent. Georgia came in last on the integrity scale, with a grade of F, 49 percent. Georgia’s insurance department received a failing grade of F, 32 percent. New Jersey’s insurance commission received a grade of B+, 88 percent.

The State Integrity Investigation Corruption Risk Report Card can be found online at www.stateintegrity.org.