Montana’s D+ Grade In Governmental Accountability

Recently, iwatchnews.org put out a "State Integrity" scale and measured state governments.  The scale was based on each state's transparency, scandals, accountability, ethics, and dirty politics.  Montana got a D+.  Here's a visual on how all the states did.

A D+ to me, when I was in high school, was about average on my report card.  Although I thought it was OK, my parents where not impressed, understandably.  With a D+ average, I would be put in the bottom quarter of the entire class.  But Montana's D+ grade in "State Integrity" puts it right in the middle.  Number 27 out of 50 states.  Seriously, there are 23 states that got a worse score than Montana's D+!  Scary.

Why is our score so low?  According to iwatchnews.org, part of it has to do with our policy that any legislator in Montana can be courted by any company or individual and not report who the person/company is or who paid for the dinner or trip or anything else received. People and companies only have to report as a lobbyist if the they spend $2,400 or more during a legislative session

Find specifics on how other states did at iwatchnews.org