CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce has released its legislative scorecard for 2021, which highlights major issues voted on by the legislature during the year involving job creation and economic development.
The 2021 Legislative Scorecard looks at how the 134 members of the state Legislature voted on economic issues and gives them a grade.
“The Chamber’s annual scorecard has been published each year for nearly a decade," West Virginia Chamber President Steve Roberts said. "This tool helps Chamber members have a clear and objective view of how various legislators vote on the issues that matter to creating a better economy in our state. The transparency this tool brings to the political process in our state is invaluable."
Roberts
The scorecard looks at 20 issues and ranks legislators on their job friendliness. On the scorecard this year, 89 of 134 members of the state Legislature were ranked at 80% or higher.
"The high scores of so many legislators on this year’s scorecard supports what we have been saying – that the 2021 Session of the West Virginia Legislature was one of the most meaningful in recent memory," Roberts said. "From passing the nation’s most comprehensive COVID-19 liability shield to substantial efforts to improve broadband and attract remote workers, many positive pieces of legislation were completed.”
Twenty-one delegates and senators scored 100 percent, while 52 scored above 90 percent and 16 above 80 percent.
Roberts said he hoped everyone would look at the legislative scorecard and see how the legislators have voted.
"We have this set up on our website to be very user-friendly," Roberts said. "Visitors can search for legislators by political party, House or Senate, county or legislative district. We want this to be a feature for our members and the general public to better understand the work of their elected officials."
Brian Dayton, the vice president of policy and advocacy for the Chamber, called the scorecard, which has been released every year for the last decade, a "member-driven process."
"Following each session, a committee of West Virginia Chamber members gathers and discusses which issues should be highlighted on the scorecard," Dayton said. "Additionally, this committee recommends how much 'weight' should be given to each issue. Their work product is then sent to the West Virginia Chamber Board of Directors for final approval."