When it comes to votes cast this past legislative session on 16 bills concerning education reform, workforce development, civil justice reform and employee relations, no one did a worse job of supporting business interests than Baton Rouge Democrat Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith. So says LABI, which on Wednesday released its 2012 Legislative Voting Record, a measure of how each member of the Louisiana Legislature voted on 16 bills of particular interest to the association of business and industry leaders. Smith’s LABI score in the report is 13%. Conversely, Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego, and Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Shreveport, are the highest rated legislators—and the only ones receiving a 100% score. The legislators scores reflect their support of LABI initiatives, the association acknowledges. “Our voting record illustrates how legislators voted on business and industry priorities developed by LABI’s membership, issue council and executive leadership,” says LABI President Dan Juneau. “We will always hold lawmakers accountable for their positions on key issues that affect Louisiana’s business climate.” Members of the public can see all the legislators’ scores online here. LABI members, meanwhile, can login into the new LABI website, launched Tuesday, where they’ll be able to see all the scores, as well as more detailed info on each legislator, including their votes, district demographics and campaign finance reports.
Editor’s note: This story has been changed since its original publication. An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Senate President John Alario as the only legislator who received a 100% score. Sen. Barrow Peacock also did. Daily Report regrets the error.
