CHARLESTON — Americans for Prosperity-West Virginia released its 2020 Annual Scorecard where it ranked state lawmakers on how they voted during the legislative session.
The group also thanked lawmakers who took what it calls principled policy positions.
The purpose of the scorecard is to let citizens know how their local lawmakers voted on certain issues during the session. AFP-WV focused on policy areas such as fiscal responsibility, criminal justice reform, health care and free speech.
AFP-WV State Director Jason Huffman said the goal is to make West Virginia a better place to live, work and raise a family.
"Government and elected officials need be transparent and accountable to the people," Huffman said in a statement. "Our annual scorecard and digital efforts allow every West Virginian to pay attention to what’s happening in Charleston, so they can hold lawmakers accountable for their actions, helping accomplish lasting policy changes now and in the future."
Huffman said West Virginians deserve better than "politics as usual."
"That’s why AFP is proud to empower every West Virginian to take on the status quo," Huffman said. "We’re working closely with principled lawmakers to unite folks around proven policy solutions that address our state’s biggest issues. Our scorecard marks the progress we’ve made together and helps inform where we can improve next legislative session."
Huffman said the scorecard was a comprehensive digest of some of the most important legislation from the most recently completed legislative session.
"We really want to have folks to get an eye on that to have more transparency in our government," Huffman said. "Not so long ago there were no votes that were really tallied in either chamber. Citizens had no idea how their lawmakers voted. We've come a long way from that. There have been legislative rules put in place to let us see how our lawmakers voted."
Huffman said AFP-WV's goal with the scorecard is to increase transparency and really put the lawmakers' votes out for people to understand how the process works, where their lawmakers stood on very critical issues and to help guide the legislative agenda moving forward.
"We want to make West Virginia a better place to live, work and raise a family in," Huffman said. "Part of that is breaking down barriers that stand in the way of individuals really reaching their full potential."
Every year, AFP-WV releases an updated version of its Path to Prosperity Legislative Agenda that lays out which policies the organization wants to see that year.
AFP works with legislative leaders of both parties to enact reforms that are outlined in the Path to Prosperity.
