The Center for Public Integrity

West Virginia stands to gain at least 21 points in our States of Disclosure project, following passage of an ethics bill yesterday in the House of Delegates that appears likely to become law.

New York Governor David Paterson is expected to announce a sweeping ethics reform package Wednesday, which is already being hailed as “the most ambitious ever suggested by a sitting governor in New York.” The proposals would create an independent commission to enforce ethics and campaign finance laws, and impose term limits for statewide officials, while revamping the state’s campaign finance system.

Since the Center began keeping track of state financial disclosure laws in 1999, three states have stood out somewhat notoriously for, well, doing nothing. Idaho, Michigan, and Vermont have consistently finished tied for last — and have received a grade of F — because they have no laws whatsoever requiring any sort of financial disclosure for legislators. Might that change? The answer is different in each of the states. Here’s an update on the state of play.

Earlier this week the District of Columbia Council unanimously approved emergency legislation to establish the city’s first “Code of Official Conduct.” Chairman Vincent C. Gray proposed the measure to set “unusually high standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality” and ultimately prevent conflicts of interest. Council member — and former mayor — Marion Barry, who recently came under fire for allegedly awarding a city contract to his girlfriend, thanked Gray for introducing the measure even though “all of us have followed [the rules] anyway.”

There’s been movement on the ethics front in at least five states since the Center released its States of Disclosure rankings back in late June. Most legislatures aren’t in session, but there are nevertheless new developments regarding ethics legislation and financial disclosure rules in New Jersey, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Mississippi.

The New York state Senate voted against transparency last night when it failed to pass a plan that would reform the state’s ethics laws.

Citing his state’s poor showing in the Center’s States of Disclosure ranking, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox yesterday proposed an ethics reform package that would require state officials to annually disclose personal financial information. The Center has repeatedly called attention to the fact that Michigan is one of only three states that fails to disclose outside financial interests.

Since the release of our States of Disclosure report last month, we’ve been monitoring discussions in state capitols about the need for tougher disclosure requirements — particularly among some states that came in at the bottom of our list, like West Virginia and Idaho.