“As a result of Jindal’s initiative, Louisiana has rocketed to the top of the Center’s rankings, with 94.5 points, earning the top slot among all 50 states.”

Huey Long may be spinning in his grave but the people of Louisiana will benefit. 

The report did however state that it was not yet possible to verify enforcement and there are legitimate issues here.  But this is not Jindal’s fault (emphasis mine):

“And the new laws included a provision — not part of Jindal’s original proposals on the campaign trail — that stripped the board of its enforcement powers and transferred authority to a newly-created panel of administrative judges, causing the board’s members to resign in protest last June. ”

Perhaps this can be repaired in future sessions of the legislature.  But this is a great step.

BTW, my home state Virginia flunked. 

“Virginia, for example, placed 8th in 1999, but has fallen to 31st place, mostly because other states made improvements while Virginia’s ethics laws remained essentially unchanged. Virginia state legislators must fill out a statement of economic interest annually and must disclose outside employment or investment information. But the state lacks the necessary oversight to ensure that the forms are filled out correctly. While other states have made efforts to ensure accuracy, often with the creation of an independent commission, Virginia’s legislators are mostly left to police themselves.”

Maybe future Governor McDonnell can take a page from the Governor Jindal book!