Louisiana sits atop the Associated Builders and Contractors’ latest ranking of states with the best business environment for construction contractors.
“Building America: The Merit Shop Scorecard,” released on Monday, shows Louisiana moved up one spot from last year’s rankings to take the No. 1 spot this year.
The national trade association says Louisiana has created an environment where merit-shop contractors—who succeed based on free enterprise principles within the free market system—are well-positioned for success.
“Louisiana policymakers have built a free enterprise-based business environment that allows merit shop construction contractors to grow while also protecting taxpayers from inflated costs,” ABC of Louisiana’s Vice President of Governmental Relations John Walters says in a statement.
The association, he adds, commends Louisiana for “banning anti-competitive and restrictive project labor agreement and inflated prevailing-wage mandates while supporting right-to-work and workforce development incentives that reward the industry’s investment in its employees.”
These policies, Walters adds, help promote economic growth.
The scorecard ranks state-specific information significant to the success of the commercial and industrial construction industry. States are graded on their construction job growth rate, commitment to developing a well-trained workforce, career and technical education opportunities and results, and use of public-private partnerships.
Policies regarding project labor agreements, prevailing wage mandates and right-to-work status also are considered.
Louisiana received A’s in all categories except in the area of construction job growth over a five-year period. The state received an average score in that area. Trailing Louisiana in the rankings are Virginia, North Carolina, Arizona, and Georgia.
