Idaho, without disclosure, ranks last again; Wash. first

Idaho is last again. The state’s financial disclosure laws for lawmakers got zero points from a national group that ranks legislatures’ accountability to voters. Idaho, Vermont and Michigan tied for the worst position on the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity’s annual survey of disclosure laws. Washington tied for best position with Louisiana. Senators had tried to remedy the situation, passing a measure in the 2009 Legislature to require elected officials and candidates to publicly disclose some details about their and their spouse’s business interests. But House Speaker Lawerence Denney was miffed at not being more actively included in the drafting of the bill and held it at his desk without a House vote. Louisiana and Washington state ranked highest on the list, which the Center for Public Integrity has compiled for a decade; in all, 20 states flunked.