Michael Rotellini
Mrotell1@uwyo.edu
Wyoming received an F in a report released Monday by the Center for Public Integrity grading every state in the U.S. for government transparency.
Not only did Wyoming receive an F, but it was ranked 49th out of 50 for government transparency and accountability.
Transparency is one of the key cornerstones in any democracy Grant Rogers, a political science and economic major on campus and ASUW senator, said.
“I think governmental transparency is paramount because tax payers, and students for that matter, ought to be able to see where their money is being spent,” Rogers said. “Transparency plays a huge role in our culture from an international level all the way to a local level. Democracies are meant to be made legitimate only by the consent of their people, and those people need transparency to make rational, informed decisions.”
The Center for Public Integrity is a non-profit organization that utilizes investigative type journalism to help reveal and show light on corruption and other mistrusts of the public.
In the report from the Center for Public Integrity it grades each state on a multitude of factors including public access to information, accountability from the executive, legislature and judicial branches of state government, ethics enforcement agencies and other criteria.
Wyoming generally ranked 40 or worse for 10 of the 13 criteria being judged; however, Wyoming ranked third in the U.S for state budget processes.
Wyoming ranked lowest in the report in public access to information (50th), lobbying disclosure (48th), political financing (48th) and ethics enforcement agencies (48th.)
The states that scored the best were Connecticut, California and Alaska while Delaware, Wyoming and Michigan were the states that scored the worst.
There are aspects of this study that do not quite represent the state fairly Emily Kath, a
senior political science major and Vice President of ASUW, said.
“The ranking system below does not account for this level of personal interaction that occurs within Wyoming state government, and I think this factor in itself makes us one of the most transparent states in the nation,” Kath said. “Not many other states can brag the same level of personal interaction that occurs between state representatives and their constituents, and personally, I would much rather be able to contact my representatives personally than have to go through a designated channel of access to information through a computerized system and otherwise.”
It was noted in the report that even the top ranked states in the report were given C ratings overall by the Center for Public Integrity.
Transparency represents two important aspects when looking at it at the state level, Jim King, UW professor of political science, said.
“One thing to note is that “transparency” typically focuses on two elements: potential conflicts of interest for governmental officials and availability of information on the Internet. Wyoming’s level of reporting is generally lower than in other states, although the current reporting requirements are more stringent than in the past,” King said. “The second element – availability on the Internet – is an area where Wyoming has lagged behind other states, since public officials’ reports are not immediately accessible.”
There are also statues in place that have senators and representatives abstain if there is a conflict of interest unless there are specific exemption for it, King said.
Overall the report ranks and grade each state to show a need for government transparency and an increase of it on the wide array of state legislatures in the United States and how they rate within the thirteen categories.
The actual report can be found at Public Integrity’s website.
