DES MOINES -- Iowa gets low marks because of inadequate disclosure of the governor's outside financial interests, according to a report released today by the Washington, D.C.-based Center of Public Integrity.

Iowa is one of 21 states that get an F in the report titled "States of Disclosure."

"Filings by many governors show they have money and personal influence beyond the power they derive from public office," said the report's author, Leah Rush.

Iowa requires a basic financial disclosure by the governor and candidates for governor. But the state doesn't require disclosure of the governor's income from all sources, and it doesn't require disclosure from the governor's spouse.

Also, there is no process for the governor or the governor's spouse to list current and former business relationships.

Brad Anderson, spokesman for Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, said the governor is an advocate for the public's right to know.

"Governor Culver is a strong proponent of open records and public disclosure, whether that be campaign finance report or personal financial reports of public officials," Anderson said.

Culver has, at times, gone beyond the minimum requirements of the law to provide public information, such as when his office released the names of donors for the inauguration in January. Since then, the Legislature passed, and Culver signed, a law that makes inauguration donations public record.

The Center for Public Integrity lists several cases of potential conflicts of interest that arose from the financial dealings of governors, none of them in Iowa.

In Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich disclosed this year that he received a gift of more than $500 from Amrish and Anita Mahajan. Anita Mahajan is under indictment on charges she billed the state $2 million for drug tests that were never done.

In Georgia, a newspaper found that Gov. Sonny Perdue failed to disclose some of his land holdings, including a tract next to his house whose value was affected when the state decided not to buy adjacent land for conservation.

Washington was the only state that got an A grade in the report. Eight states got a B and 20 got a C or a D.

All of Iowa's neighbors got low grades. Wisconsin and Missouri both got a D, and Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota all got an F.

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonpartisan research group that focuses on ethics issues.

Contact Dan Gearino at (515) 243-0138 or dan.gearino@lee.net.