When every state in the country gets a C or lower in an test of accountability and transparency, a red flag should go up.

States received largely disappointing scores in the State Integrity Investigation conducted by the Center for Public Integrity.

USA Today published a report card for the 50 states on guidelines of legislative accountability and public access to information. Kentucky received a C in legislative accountability and an F in public access to information.

“The 2015 grades are based on 245 questions that ask about key indicators of transparency and accountability, looking not only at what the laws say, but also how well they’re enforced or implemented,” according to USA Today.

In both categories no state received an A, showing that every state has room for improvement. Alaska was the only state to receive a B in legislative accountability, while no states received a B in public access.

The Center for Public Integrity ranked Kentucky 8th overall for State Integrity, with a letter grade of D+.

In Ethics Enforcement Agencies, Kentucky received 36th. In some cases journalists were more successful at investigating corruption and discovering ethically questionable behavior than the ethics agencies, such as the case of Former Democratic Rep. W Keith Hall who was convicted of bribery in 2015.

“Hall is perhaps the most vivid illustration of Kentucky’s mixed record on ethics enforcement,” said Ryan Alessi, a freelance journalist in Kentucky, of the Kentucky State Integrity results. “Hall owned several businesses, including a coal mine. He failed to list one company he owned on his financial disclosure, but that omission was spotted by a journalist, not by the ethics commission.”

In addition, members of the ethics entities do not audit legislative financial disclosure forms. These factors, with many others, resulted in an overall score of 52 for the Bluegrass state.

“Kentucky’s strict separation of powers can be one of its strengths, allowing each branch of government to serve as a check on the others’ actions.” Alessi said. “But it also has meant that each branch primarily is responsible for policing the ethics of its employees, and no one else’s.”

The Bluegrass came in 4th in Political Financing. Limits on individual donations, and lobbyist donations, to candidates and to political parties contributed to this ranking.

While no state is perfect, Kentucky should reach for the transparency of Alaska, California and Connecticut, the only states with C scores.

Striving to make a C alone should be an indicator of how poorly legislatures are held accountable. This is a chance for Kentucky to set itself apart from the secrecy that hinders the relationship of a legislature and its citizens.