The Show Me State needs to show a lot more accountability, according to a recent study.

Missouri earned a D- grade for its government accountability and transparency laws in a report conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity.The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization that focuses on investigative journalism. Global Integrity is a nonprofit that tracks government corruption. Both organizations are nonpartisan and are funded by donors.

The study looked at laws, and enforcement of laws, in all 50 states pertaining to public access to information, electoral oversight and pension fund management, among other areas of public concern.

Missouri isn't the only state to earn an unflattering grade. Only three states — Alaska, California and Connecticut — earned grades higher than a D+. Missouri scored 26th among the states. Alaska, the state ranked No. 1, earned a C.

"It looks like a D- isn't as bad as it seems, but 26th overall still isn't good enough," said Rep. Kevin Austin, R-Springfield, who reviewed the state's score at the News-Leader's request.

The Show Me State earned failing grades in six of 13 categories that were studied, including public access to information, political financing, electoral oversight, legislative accountability, state civil service management and state pension fund management. It earned a C in executive accountability, a C- in lobbying disclosure and a B- in internal auditing.

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the fact Missouri has no limits on campaign contributions or lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and no restrictions preventing lawmakers from leaving office and immediately becoming lobbyists, all of which the study highlights.

The study also pointed to several other areas where the state's accountability laws appear to be weak or lacking altogether.

For example, it found there is no requirement for state employees to report wrongdoing if they see it at work.

"No state law requires state employees to report fraud or abuse they witness in the government, and there is no defined mechanism for whistleblowers to report such incidents," the report said.

Austin said this particular finding really jumped out at him. "One of the things we've always harped about, or at least I've always harped about is we need to be a more efficient state government. Certainly part of that efficiency is the elimination of fraud and wrongdoing. That really did stick with me," Austin said.

The study also found state lawmakers often don't recuse themselves from acting on bills that would benefit them indirectly.

While state law requires lawmakers recuse themselves from acting on legislation "'specifically designed' to provide monetary benefit to the legislator," lawmakers often don't refrain from acting on legislation that would indirectly benefit them, the study says. Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, is mentioned in the study as an example.

"Senator Mike Kehoe sponsored legislation widely believed to specifically hinder carmaker Tesla's sales in Missouri. Senator Kehoe was a longtime car dealership owner who, upon selling his dealerships, kept a position with the dealerships as a consultant," the study said.

It's true that lawmakers can benefit from bills that impact the fields they work in, said Rep. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield.

But hamstringing those lawmakers can have a serious drawback, Hough said. The problem, he said, is lawmakers who work in a field like law or medicine are often the legislators who have the best insight into how a bill would improve or harm their industries.

Hough said that while rules can't be expected to prevent all unethical behavior, voters still have the power to oust lawmakers who don't live up to their standards.

"At some point they (voters) have a say in who represents them," he said.

The study also found a dearth of ethics rules for "decision-makers at state-run pension funds." Like lawmakers, these decision makers are not barred by state law from taking gifts and are not required to take a "cooling off" period before accepting a job in the private sector, the study found.

Hough said lawmakers should probably also consider cooling off periods for some of the sate's more powerful employees. Hough did not specify those employees.

The study also found some post-employment rules lack teeth.

"Because there are no statutory limits on the type of private sector employment many state employees may accept after leaving their positions, there have been no documented cases of state employees accepting employment in violation of state laws. Anecdotally, noncompliance with agency and department policies on employment after leaving a state position is more common but not well enforced," according to the study.

After reading the study, Austin said Missouri could improve government transparency by making sure state websites are user-friendly so the general public isn't stymied when trying to look up public information.

30 bills

In the wake of a pair of high-profile scandals — two state legislators resigned earlier this year, one after admitting to an improper relationship with an intern and the other amid accusations he sexually harassed an intern — lawmakers say ethics reform will be a top priority during next year's legislative session.

Austin, who was tabbed in September by House Republicans to be the assistant majority floor leader, expects there will be some 30 ethics reform bills filed next month when lawmakers begin pre-filing for the upcoming legislative session. The five-month session begins in January.

Republican leadership will "cull" the best measures from the various reform bills and package them together in a bill that lawmakers "can get behind," Austin said.

He expects most of the bills will be aimed at curbing lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and require a cooling-off period before legislators can become lobbyists. Austin said he is supportive of both those proposals.

This summer, Austin received some negative attention when it was reported his legislative aide, Scott Pearson, received $2,018 worth of lobbyists’ gifts in 2015 — almost double the $1,262 Austin received in gifts. Pearson has since resigned.

Hough said lobbyist gifts don't sway lawmakers to any significant degree. However, he'd support capping or prohibiting lobbyist gifts in order to improve the legislature's reputation.

Kevin Garner, communications director for Progress Missouri, a liberal advocacy group that has pushed hard for ethics reform, disagreed with the notion that the gifts don't influence lawmakers. When lobbyists buy lawmakers dinners or other gifts, it affords them access to those lawmakers, Garner said.

"It's still access that corporate lobbyists have that average Missourians don't," Garner said.

Initiative petitions

Some critics say they are skeptical the General Assembly will pass meaningful ethics reforms. State lawmakers have talked about ethics reform in the past but have not passed meaningful legislation, they said.

"The proof is in the pudding," said Bradley Ketcher, a St. Louis attorney and former chief of staff for former Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan. Ketcher noted Republicans have control of both chambers and said if they want to get an ethics reform package passed they should be able to do so.

"If the controlling party wanted to pass campaign finance and ethics reform, they could do it with the snap of their fingers, but so far that's not been the case," Ketcher said.

Initiative petitions are another way to get reforms put into law. To that end, Ketcher has filed several initiative petitions seeking to cap campaign contributions and prohibit lobbyist gifts. Ketcher said other groups will likely submit their own initiative petitions aimed at campaign finance and ethics reform.

Initiative petitions are valuable in part because they take issues directly to voters, Ketcher said. They can also, in some instances, pressure the legislature to pass reforms, he said.

Why did Missouri earn a D-?

Some of the study's rationale for the poorest scores

Public Access to Information: F

 There is no state agency charged with overseeing government adherence to Sunshine laws, according to the study. The study says, "While the state attorney general performs some complaint-receiving and oversight activities, the statutes do not specify any particular government body responsible for monitoring adherence to the Sunshine Law or investigating alleged violations."

Political financing: F

There are no individual or corporate limits on donations to political candidates or political action committees.

Electoral oversight: F

 There is not an agency mandated to monitor state elections that can independently initiate investigations and sanction offenders. The study found, "While the current Secretary of State did establish an Elections Integrity Unit in November 2013 to assist with the investigation of alleged elections offenses, and that unit has the ability to initiate investigations independently in practice, it is not capable of sanctioning offenders."

Legislative oversight: F

There are no limits on the gifts lobbyists can give to legislators.

State Civil Service Management: F

 State civil servants are not always hired and evaluated according to professional criteria. According to the study, "A minority of state employment positions require the Missouri Merit System process for hiring. The agencies making use of the system include the departments of Corrections, Health and Senior Services, Mental Health, Natural Resources, Social Services, and the Office of Administration. However, even within these agencies there are non-director positions that are regularly filled by political appointment."

State Pension Fund Management: F

Information on state pension funds is not made available in "open data" format, according to the study. It found, "Exactly what information is available online varies across the range of pension systems in the state; some have significantly less in terms of documentation or data available online than others."

Where the state scored (relatively) well

Executive Accountability: C

There are rules prohibiting nepotism and cronyism among members of the executive branch.

Lobbying disclosure: C-

Citizens can access lobbying disclosure documents, including registration, expenses and compensation reports, within a reasonable time period and at no cost.

Internal Auditing: B-

Statute gives the state auditor the authority to audit all state agencies, the treasury and political subdivisions.