ATLANTA – State Representative Bruce Williamson (R-Monroe) has earned an ‘A’ grade from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce for his strong support of the state’s business community during the 2011 legislative session. The Chamber released its first true legislative scorecard for the 2011-2012 General Assembly, which includes midterm grades for state House and Senate members based upon their votes on legislation deemed important to economic growth and job creation.
“In order to grow Georgia jobs we have to support Georgia business. My goal is to help Georgia become the most business friendly state in the union,” said Representative Williamson.
“Ensuring Georgia maintains a business-friendly environment that encourages job creation and economic growth should be the top priority for our legislature,” said Georgia Chamber President and CEO Chris Clark. “We are certainly thankful to have a strong ally at the Capitol in Representative Williamson to partner with to protect Georgia’s long-term economic future. The Georgia Chamber looks forward to continuing our work with him to make Georgia the most business-friendly state in the nation.”
During the 2011 legislative session, Chamber members identified eleven bills to include in the report. Prior to votes being taken, the organization communicated its position to the Governor’s Office and the General Assembly as well as the fact that the bills were eligible to be designated as “scorecard issues.” Legislators were graded on votes pertaining to health care, education, business and industry, legal, compliance, economic development, and the environment.
This is the first year the Chamber has included letter grades in this report. Legislators were assigned midterm grades of A, B, C, or U based on eleven Chamber bills on the scorecard in the House and ten bills in the Senate. To receive a grade, the legislator must have been present to vote for 50% of the total scorecard votes. If the legislator was not present for 50% of the votes, they received an ‘N/A’ grade. For some legislators, subjective factors, including but not limited to bill sponsorship, speaking for or against bills and committee votes were taken into account.
Overall, 65 legislators received grades of ‘A’ or higher, 17 state senators and 48 state representatives.
Each legislator’s grade reflects a midterm assessment of their support of business community priorities. A final grade will be given to each elected official following the 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly.
Representative Bruce Williamson represents the citizens of District 111, which includes portions of Walton County. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2010, and currently serves on the Banks and Banking, Governmental Affairs, and Budget & Fiscal Affairs Oversight committees.
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