With election season fast approaching, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry released its annual legislative scorecard today, giving 24 lawmakers an “all-star” ranking.
“Legislators had to navigate an especially anti-business environment at the Capitol over the past four years, with tough battles, unique challenges and votes requiring particular courage on behalf of free enterprise,” says LABI President and CEO Stephen Waguespack in a statement.
“All-stars” include those scoring 90% or higher on legislation important to LABI and the state’s employers during the past four-year term. Four Baton Rouge area lawmakers, all House Republicans, earned this designation this year: Reps. Tony Bacala, Paula Davis, Barry Ivey and Rick Edmonds.
Several others earned “Honorable Mention” recognition, including state Sen. Bodi White, R-Central; Rep. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge; Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs; Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Albany; and Rep. Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales.
Despite some LABI wins this past session—including an infrastructure package that repurposes settlement funds from the Deepwater Horizon incident and a statewide ridesharing bill passed after years of defeat—the organization dealt with several legislative failures in 2019, including a package of bills to enact legal reforms to begin to lower high auto insurance rates.
“This is an extremely important election year for Louisiana,” says Waguespack. “All of our statewide elected officials are on the ballot and, due to legislative term limits, there will be a huge change in the Legislature next year.”