Drew Wilson
The Florida Chamber of Commerce is releasing its report on how lawmakers voted on a range of bills impacting Florida businesses.
The 2023 How They Voted report is a comprehensive review of what passed this Legislative Session, what didn’t, and what remains unfinished business. The votes tracked in the report informed the Florida Chamber’s concurrently released 2023 Legislative Report Card, which issues a letter grade to all 159 legislators in the state House and Senate.
“Florida welcomes $4.48 million per hour, and a unified business community is how we will keep Florida’s economy growing and competitive,” said Florida Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Mark Wilson. “I want to thank Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, Speaker Paul Renner and the pro-jobs legislators who continued to put Florida’s business climate first by prioritizing the growth of private sector jobs and diversifying our economy.”
Graded items included the torts package, the “live local” affordable housing bill, the universal school choice bill and several other pieces of legislation that the Chamber placed on its 2023 Session priority list, “Where We Stand.”
After tabulating 5,819 votes cast during the 2023 Legislative Session, the Florida Chamber’s Legislative Report Card shows an average grade of 82% among all lawmakers, with Senators earning slightly better scores than their House counterparts, 85%-82%.
While many lawmakers earned passing grades, only a handful broke the curve and earned a Distinguished Advocate Award from the Chamber.
The list: Passidomo and Sens. Jim Boyd, Alexis Calatayud, Nick DiCeglie, Travis Hutson, Corey Simon, Linda Stewart, Jay Trumbull and Clay Yarborough as well as Renner and Reps. Alex Andrade, Dean Black, Robbie Brackett, Demi Busatta Cabrera, Wyman Duggan, Tom Fabricio, Griff Griffitts, Tom Leek, Stan McClain, Lauren Melo, Dana Trabulsy and Kaylee Tuck.
Rep. Tommy Gregory was the Chamber’s No. 1 overall, earning the 2023 Most Valuable Legislator award “for his leadership in rebalancing Florida’s civil justice system and strengthening Florida’s competitiveness through historic lawsuit abuse reform.”
2 comments
It's Complicated
June 12, 2023 at 10:49 am
There were days in the not-too-distant past when a few Democrats made B’s and C’s on this report card, largely because they were concerned about the needs of employers and were themselves small business owners. Now, employers are viewed as villains by many Democrats. Sad state of affairs.
Holly Bennett
June 15, 2023 at 10:03 pm
We used to come to Florida twice a year, from CA.
We have been all over the state.
But, we will not travel nor spend any more money in a state that has no respect for human rights. Your governor and his supporters foment hate, bigotry, and lies. What a shame. Shame on the constituents of Florida who embrace this despicable behavior.
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