Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) released its 2022 Champions for Business award recipients, awarding six Florida lawmakers the honor for their efforts to advance key legislation for their beliefs in the success of Florida’s business community.

The six winners –Sen. Wilton Simpson, Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, Sen. Ben Albritton, Sen. Jim Boyd, Rep. Jay Trumbull, and Rep. Andrew Learned— all advanced meaningful legislation during the past Legislative Special Session. The recognized actions include Albritton’s efforts to provide additional accountability for environmental spending in a way that ensures all legal users have access to water resources while providing significant environmental enhancements, Boyd and Trumbell’s work to provide solutions to Florida’s property insurance crisis, and Learned’s advocation of consumer data privacy legislation.

AIF also commended Passidomo for her efforts in collaboration with the group on the proposed data privacy legislation and for allowing the business community to offer suggestions and feedback, as well as Simpson for his leadership in supporting sound environmental policy and standing firmly behind the position of the business community on data privacy.

“A true ‘Champion for Business’ is a legislator who takes risks for his or her belief in the free-enterprise system, defies the status quo when it is harmful to our state’s competitive climate, and faces down the opponents to the growing prosperity of Florida’s citizens,” said AIF President & CEO Brewster Bevis regarding the award. “Each of the six legislators honored this year are the epitome of a champion for business, and we thank them for their unwavering support of the business community in Florida.”

AIF also released its annual Voting Records, serving as a legislative scorecard for the business community that tabulates the voting conduct of each member of the Florida Legislature during the 2022 Regular Legislative Session and Special Sessions. The Voting Records report on the votes made by every legislator on bills that were advocated, promoted, or opposed by AIF.

Republicans tended to score higher in the report as a result of business-friendly legislature. Senators Travis Hutson and Keith Perry scored highest in the Senate, aligning with AIF 97 percent of the time. In the House, Rep. Michael Grant scored best, aligning with AIF 92 percent of the time. The highest-ranking Democrat on either side of the bicameral chambers is Rep. Kristen Arrington, scoring a 90 percent,  trailed closely by Learned at 89 percent.

“AIF goes to great lengths to ensure that legislators are aware of our positions on issues of great importance to the business community, from the session priorities that we release prior to every session to ongoing briefs we share with lawmakers on important issues throughout the session as bills and amendments move through the process” said Brewster Bevis. “ AIF also helps its member companies detect which bills and amendments are filed and by whom and who is taking part in behind-the-scenes efforts and debates on behalf of the business community. These intangible forms of support through non-voting actions are also of vital importance and merit recognition.”