Conflicted Interests: Stories from the states

Introduction

The Center for Public Integrity and The Associated Press analyzed financial disclosure reports from 6,933 state legislators nationwide and unearthed numerous examples of lawmakers who have introduced and supported legislation that directly or indirectly helps their own businesses, their employers or even their own personal finances.

The project also includes a unique resource for the public by putting all those disclosure reports online in a searchable library so anyone can learn more about their legislators’ personal financial interests.

The project has the potential to lead to far more stories. Listed below is the latest collection of state-specific stories by the AP and other news outlets that have localized the findings of the project for their readers:

Alaska:

Alaska lawmaker takes fight over conflicts to the voters (AP)

Arizona:

Lawmakers can’t vote to benefit themselves — until they can (AP)

Florida:

Inspect State Legislators’ Financial Disclosure Forms (Lkldnow)

Georgia:

Report: Lax rules in U.S., Georgia lead to legislator conflicts (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Hawaii:

Hawaii lawmakers used to hearing about potential conflicts (AP)

Idaho:

Idaho lawmakers kill bill requiring personal financial disclosures (The Center for Public Integrity)

Illinois:

Study: Illinois, like most states, has few protections against legislative conflicts of interest (Illinois News Network)

Maryland:

An easier, stealthier way to search for conflicts of interest among Md. legislators (The Washington Post)

Michigan:

Michigan is 1 of 2 states where lawmakers’ finances unknown (AP)

Michigan lawmakers voted on bills even after admitting conflicts of interest (The Center for Public Integrity)

Michigan lawmakers go public with their finances in effort to boost state integrity (The Center for Public Integrity)

Nevada:

Nevada waived legislator conflict rule for Raiders vote (AP)

New Hampshire:

Analysis points to 2 conflicts of interest in New Hampshire (AP)

New Mexico:

New Mexico Legislature under scrutiny for self-enrichment (AP)

New York:

Search for your legislator’s potential financial conflicts (Times Union)

North Carolina:

North Carolina lawmaker expertise means conflict judgment calls (AP)

Ohio:

Find lawmaker ethics filings for Ohio and other states (database) (The Plain Dealer)

Rhode Island:

RI restores oversight of lawmakers who might have conflicts (AP)

Utah:

Utah lawmakers co-sponsored bill benefiting their employer (AP)

READ THE PROJECT:

Conflicted Interests: State lawmakers often blur the line between public’s business and their own

Find your state legislators’ financial interests

Q&A: What we learned from digging into state legislators’ disclosure forms

The unexpected jobs your state lawmakers have outside the office

These are the only two states that don’t require lawmakers to disclose finances