Texas earned the low grade of D-plus for integrity and ethics accountability in state government, tying with six other states for 27th place, according to a study released this morning by a group of public watchdog agencies.

Texas scored 68 percent, along with Arkansas, Arizona, West Virginia, Montana and Alaska in the study that reviewed the laws and practices related to transparency, accountability and anti-corruption mechanisms in all 50 states.

The study was conducted by the Center for Public Integrity, Public Radio International and Global Integrity, and used local reporters compare laws and practices in individual states against 330 “corruption risk indicators.”

New Jersey scored the highest with 87 — a B-plus.

“This study shows it’s time to unshackle Texas’ ethics watchdog and give it some teeth,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen Texas, a watchdog group. “It shows there’s a big problem.”

In a statement, the groups responsible for the study said that states where corruption has been a problem tend to pass more robust accountability laws. But Smith said that over time, “the reforms that come from corruption get tend to get watered down.”

Four states besides New Jersey that received a B were Connecticut, Washington, California and Nebraska. Mississippi and Iowa receives a C-plus, and six states receives a C — Tennessee, Kansas, Rhode Island, Illinois, Massachusetts and Hawaii.

Eight states flunked: Georgia, South Dakota, Wyoming, Virginia, Maine, South Carolina, Michigan and North Dakota.

In individual categories, Texas received an A in internal accounting, a B-minus in state pension management and procurement, a C-plus in ethics enforcement, a C in judicial accountability and the state budget process, a D-plus in legislative accountability, a D-minus in political financing and a failing grade in public access to information, executive accountability, state civil service management. state insurance commissions and redistricting.

The report notes that Texas tied with Kentucky for fifth place for the highest enforcement gap, the difference between what state ethics laws intend and actual practice. The greater that gap, according to the report, the greater the potential problems with ethics enforcement.

Smith said the Texas Ethics Commission “has been handcuffed since it started” after a legislative ethics and influence-peddling scandal during the early 1990s. “Instead of policing the politicians, the watchdog is protecting them,” he said.

Texas Ethics Commission could not immediately be reached for comment.