NFIB Florida releases 2021-2022 legislative scorecard

by | Jul 8, 2022



  • NFIB Florida released its voting scorecard on Friday for the 2021-2022 Legislative Session
  • The report examined 10 votes across both chambers of the legislature on issues important to small businesses
  • The business group tabulated a score for each member of the state legislature, with six lawmakers earning a 100 percent NFIB Voting Record
  • Another 16 members of the Senate and 67 members of the House earned a 90 percent NFIB Voting Record

The Florida arm of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) on Friday released its legislative scorecard, grading Florida lawmakers on their votes during the 2021-2022 Legislative Session.

NFIB, which advocates on behalf of small and independent business owners, examined 10 votes across both chambers of the legislature on issues important to small businesses including lawsuit abuse, tax relief, and regulatory reforms. Some of the key legislative issues tracked by NFIB included legislation (SB 72) to provide COVID-19 liability protections to small businesses and a bill (SB 2D) hammered out during special session that seeks to rein in skyrocketing property insurance rates.

The scorecard showed six state legislators — two in the Senate and four in the House — achieved a 100 percent NFIB Voting Record. Lawmakers that earned a perfect score include Sen. Jason Brodeur (SD 9), Sen. Ileana Garcia (SD 37), Rep. Jason Fischer (HD 16), Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (HD 35), Rep. Spencer Roach (HD 79), and Rep. Jayer Williamson (HD 3).

NFIB also highlighted that another 16 members of the Senate and 67 members of the House earned a 90 percent NFIB Voting Record.

“Florida remains very friendly toward its small businesses, in big part because so many of our legislators own or have owned a small business,” said NFIB State Executive Director Bill Herrle. “They truly understand the challenges our members are dealing with, issues like supply chain disruptions, worker shortages, and soaring inflation.”

NFIB tracks key legislative issues identified by its small business members every session and then tabulates a score for each member of the state legislature. Herrle noted that while the NFIB Voting Record does not reflect a lawmaker’s profile or all elements considered when casting a vote, it does provide an important evaluation of a legislator’s attitude toward small businesses based on floor votes.

“You won’t find a more effective way to measure legislators’ performance than by examining their voting record,” Herrle continued.

Herrle added more lawmakers would have earned a 100 percent voting record if they had opposed a measure (SB 1382) that would have introduced changes to Florida’s tax laws and made tax audits more painful for small businesses. NFIB openly opposed the measure, which was later vetoed by Governor Ron DeSantis.

“Our members truly appreciate all of the legislators who supported small businesses in this year’s session of the Florida Legislature, but I especially want to thank Rep. Blaise Ingoglia,” Herrle said. “Representative Ingoglia chaired the House Commerce Committee and showed exceptional leadership by rallying other legislators to small business’s defense when the House debated the bad tax audit bill.”

To view the full voting scorecard, click here.

0 Comments

 

What is the most glaring political issue facing Floridians ahead of Legislative Session?
×
%d bloggers like this: