Most So. GA legislators score highly on Chamber list - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

From The Georgia Chamber of Commerce

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce released its 2012 Legislative Scorecard on Monday.  The scorecard reflects an overall grade on how House and Senate members voted during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions on business-friendly measures.

For 2012, the Georgia Chamber identified key pieces of legislation critical to the business community for lawmakers to be scored on in policy areas including education, judiciary, and economic development.  Prior to votes being taken, the Chamber communicated its position to members of the General Assembly as well as the fact that the bills were eligible to be designated as "scorecard issues."

Legislators were assigned final grades of A, B, C, or U based on their support of the scorecard bills from 2012, and House and Senate members in office during the 2011 General Assembly had last year's "midterm" grade combined to result in an overall grade for the two-year term.  To receive a grade in either year, 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.

Here are Chamber scores on South Georgia attendance and voting in the Senate:

Freddie Powell Sims scored an 86
George Hooks scored a 100+
Tim Golden (Valdosta) scored a 100+
Greg Goggins (Douglas area) scored a 100
John Bullock (Thomasville/Cairo) scored a 100

In the House of Representatives:

Amy Carter (Valdosta) 100
Winfred Dukes scored 50 - (He was given a letter grade of U – which means unsatisfactory performance
Carol Fullerton of Albany scored 63 and received a letter grade of U
Gerald Green from the Blakely area scored 100
Bob Hanner of Parrott scored 100
Gene Maddox of Cairo 100
Jay Powell of Camilla scored 75
Ed Rynders from Lee County scored 86
Jason Shaw of Valdosta scored 88
Chuck Sims from the Douglas area scored 83

•  CLICK HERE to see the complete 2012 Georgia Chamber Scorecard.