Integrity Report Gives Virginia An 'F'

Virginia has been ranked the fourth-worst state regarding open government and anti-corruption laws and practices, according to a recent report by the State Integrity Investigation project.

Earning a failing score of 55, Virginia performed better only than Wyoming, South Dakota and Georgia, according to the report. The group behind it includes the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International.

Of the 14 categories graded, Virginia received an 'A' in two: internal auditing and procurement. This state received an 'F' in nine categories: public access to information, executive accountability, judicial accountability, state pension fund management, political financing, legislative accountability, state budget processes, lobbying disclosure and ethics enforcement agencies.

Tucker Martin, a spokesperson for Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch the governor has assigned his top administrators to review the study.

"In some areas it may be that the Center (for Public Integrity) simply believes certain policies are more conducive to ethical government," Tucker told the Times-Dispatch. "However, that is a policy discussion; not a finding of how a state is actually performing under the current policies it has in place."

State Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, questioned the depth of the analysis on his blog, OxRoadSouth.

The study "is an example of the lamest, most superficial analysis. Part of their criteria is the length of our legislative session? Are you serious? Note to CPI:  part-time legislators who have other gainful employment are far less likely to be looking for bribes," Petersen wrote.

Attempts to bring more sunshine to Virginia law enforcement agencies have regularly failed in the state General Assembly.

Unlike many states, for instance, Virginia police departments are allowed to withhold incident reports from the press and the public -- a practice that has long been the case in Arlington.

Further, during and after , police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck refused to release digital copies of the memos that were the primary source of information -- a memo that spelled out the number of arrests, citations and parking violations officers were expected to make, and a later document rescinding that.

While paper copies were made available to the media, Sternbeck would not provide Patch and WAMU with digital copies, saying he didn't want to set a precedent for releasing "internal documents" in such a manner.

Arlington County also does not have its checkbook online. The local government only recently started looking into that practice .

Read more:

Police Quota Controversy Highlights Lack of Transparency in Arlington (on WAMU)