The Center for Public Integrity's new report gauging the strength of states' anti-corruption laws gave Georgia a near-failing grade for how well the state's laws and regulation root out official corruption.
But that D-minus was enough for 24th in the nation, a significant upgrade since the center’s last 50-state study in 2012.
The ranking puts Georgia sort of in the middle of the states that surround us as well. Alabama (10th), Tennessee (18th) and North Carolina (21st) ranked ahead of Georgia.
Florida and South Carolina came in after Georgia at 34th and 39th. Grades for all the Deep South states ranged from a high of D to a low of D-minus. Not a report card you want to take home to mom and dad.
For instance, Florida jumped in front Georgia’s cohort states when it comes to accessing public information. It was a poor competition, since Florida won with a failing grade. According to the center, that’s how bad it is in the Southeast when you want to get documents from your state.
You can fool around with the center's rankings here. For more on Georgia's reaction to the report, see our full coverage here.
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