ABSTRACT
The American states have taken a number of measures to strengthen ethics and integrity in governance, although there is considerable variation among them. Some states do a great deal; others do very little. New York passed the first major ethics law in 1954. Other states have moved more slowly in launching ethics reform initiatives, with many doing so in the 1970s on the heels of the Watergate scandal. This chapter opens with a wide lens view of ethics management in the American states by focusing attention on the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of government, and it closes with an in-depth look at three states-Florida, Illinois, and New York.
