State integrity news for Delaware, from the Wilmington News-Journal:

The measure that Gov. Jack Markell calls “terrific” and plans to sign in the coming days would require lobbyists to publicly disclose every contact with a lawmaker or state official about pending bills or ones that get introduced within five days of such contact.

While the information will be put on a website that residents can readily access, it’s only one of many steps that reform advocates insist Delaware needs to bring true accountability to lobbyists, their corporate bosses and the government officials they woo.

Read the rest of the story at the Wilmington News-Journal.

State integrity news for Delaware, from the News Journal:

Legislation aimed at exposing lobbyists’ actions in the General Assembly is headed to the governor for his signature. Senate Bill 185, which was spearheaded by Gov. Jack Markell, requires lobbyists to file electronic reports within five days of engaging a lawmaker on a specific piece of legislation.

Delaware’s 392 registered lobbyists represent 1,004 clients on everything from payday lending issues to environmental regulations and public employeebenefits.

Read the rest of the story at the News Journal.

State integrity news for Delaware, from the Wilmington News-Journal:

A package of bills that would reform Delaware's campaign finance and lobbying laws advanced Wednesday in the House and Senate. Two pieces of legislation designed to reveal more information about the groups behind campaign advertisements were approved by the House Administration Committee, and the Senate passed a bill to connect lobbyists to the pieces of legislation they talk about with government officials.

All three bills are endorsed by Gov. Jack Markell's administration and sponsored by Democratic leaders in the General Assembly.

Read the rest of the story at the Wilmington News-Journal.

State integrity news for Delaware, from the Wilmington News Journal:

It is widely recognized that elections are special when it comes to transparency – and that no one has a right to spend substantial sums to influence electoral outcomes in the dark. Voters are entitled to follow the money and – if they choose – base their decisions at the ballot box on what that money means to them.

I might not care that “The Delaware Gardeners Association PAC” is funded entirely by out-of-state real estate development companies; you might.

Read the rest of the story at the Wilmington News Journal.

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Delaware is the latest state to take action on improving its Corruption Risk Report Card grade. With a C- overall grade, Delaware ranked 22nd out of 50 states in the State Integrity Investigation. The overall score was hurt badly by the lack of effective laws and practices governing lobbying activity: Delaware's 43 percent 'F' grade on the lobbying disclosure category was fourth-worst in the nation.

On Wednesday, state legislators introduced a bill to strengthen state laws on lobbyist reporting, according to State Integrity Investigation partner station WHYY.

State Integrity news for Delaware from SII partner WHYY:

To encourage a more open government in the First State, Gov. Jack Markell, D-Del, along with Sen. President Pro Tempore Tony DeLuca, D-Varlano, House Speaker Bob Gilligan, D-Sherwood, and other legislators came together on Wednesday to introduce a new bill.

The bill comes after a recent survey focused on accountability and corruptibility in numerous states. Delaware earned a "C" grade and ranked near the middle, coming in the 20th slot of 50 states.

Read and hear more from WHYY.

Integrity news for New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania from SII partner WHYY:

After spending months looking into how state governments fare fighting public corruption through transparency and accountability, the State Integrity Investigation found that Delaware fared much worse that Tony Soprano and the Garden State.

Read more from WHYY - Philadelphia.

From Eric Walter at SII partner WHYY:

A haiku, inspired by reports coming today from the State Integrity Investigation:

Anyone surprised
by corruption in the state
is far too trusting

New Jersey should be excited that the state was found to have among the nation's toughest ethics and anti-corruption laws. But to rank the best in the nation for transparency and accountability, all it needed was a B+. No state could be called an overachiever, but New Jersey's upset has us feeling poetic.

Read more from WHYY - Philadelphia.

State integrity news for New Jersey from SII partner WNYC:

New Jersey has done the best job of any state in the nation in enacting anti-corruption laws designed to insure both transparency and public accountability, according to a study done by the Center for Public Integrity, Public Radio International and Global Integrity.

The State Integrity Investigation reviewed 330 "Corruption Risk Indicators" across 14 categories of state government including campaign finance, ethics enforcement, as well as how the executive, legislative and judicial branches measure up when it comes to public accountability and transparency.

Read more from WNYC - New York.

State Integrity News for New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware from SII partner WHYY:

An intensive study of all 50 states' vulnerability to corruption has found New Jersey top in the nation at stemming the tide of political sleaze. Pennsylvania and Delaware made the top half among state rankings, but only a handful of states rated a B or better in the survey. Fully half earned a D or F.

Hear the story from WHYY - Philadelphia.