The grade will likely raise some eyebrows in Lafayette as the mild-mannered and well-liked moderate Republican is generally considered a business-friendly legislator.
State Sen. Mike Michot, R-Lafayette, was one of only three Acadiana-delegation lawmakers to earn an F on the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce's annual Legislative Scorecard released Monday. Michot's numerical grade, a 60, was the lowest among the six area senators. The grade will likely raise some eyebrows in Lafayette as the mild-mannered and well-liked moderate Republican is generally considered a business-friendly legislator and is the owner of a Lafayette business, Premier Medical Equipment. GLCC also gave its lowest mark to state Reps. Mickey Guillory, D-Eunice, and John Guinn, R-Jennings; both received a 64.
The chamber awarded a grade of 100-A to three state representatives: Taylor Barras, D-New Iberia, Simone Champagne, R-Jeanerette, and Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette. No state senators earned an A on the scorecard. Sen. Elbert Guillory, D-Opelousas, fared the best with an 80, which by the grading scale of the Lafayette Parish School System is a high C.
The chamber bases its scorecard on solons' votes for or against legislation it considers crucial to the Acadiana business community, among them school reform measures, identification requirements for non-resident contractors and the Alternative Fuel Revolving Loan Fund.
In a press release announcing the scorecard, the chamber says: Many of the issues that impact the business community are decided in the halls of government. Therefore, it is critical that the Chamber advocate for its members in the governmental arena and play an active role in building an environment conducive to economic growth. The business advocacy process involves the Chamber taking positions on legislation, communicating those positions to elected officials and then holding those officials accountable.
One component of the public policy program is a scorecard which tracks the voting record of individual legislators on specific, pre-announced pieces of legislation. The scorecard is a valuable tool for evaluating legislators' performance on business-centric issues and is a guide to acknowledging votes favorable to the Chamber. Likewise, it is a process by which we can voice concern over votes considered anti-business.
By early afternoon Monday the chamber had not yet posted the scorecard to its website, but will presumably do so soon.