Massachusetts Legislature's website gets "F" grade for information

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - An analysis by a nonpartisan nonprofit that focuses on making government transparent and accountable is giving very low marks to the Massachusetts Legislature for how they make information available.

The Sunlight Foundation gave "F" grades to the websites of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island State Legislatures, along with the legislatures of Alabama, Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska.

Other New England states fared better in the rankings, including Connecticut and New Hampshire, which received "A" grades. Vermont received a grade of "B," while Maine's legislature received the second-lowest grade of "D".

The foundation rated legislative websites on such factors as completeness of the information on bills, votes and events; how quickly the information was updated; how easily the sites are to navigate; if the information was easily viewed with common software; and if information was preserved for future viewing.

Joining Connecticut and New Hampshire at the top of the Sunlight Foundation's rankings were the legislative websites for Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington.