Politics

Apodaca at the top in business votes

By Bill Moss, Published: December 15, 2015

State Sen. Tom Apodaca was among the top members of the North Carolina Legislature in business-friendly votes, the North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation said in a news release.

The Free Enterprise Foundation on Tuesday released its 2015 Legislative Business Ratings, an analysis conducted following each odd-year long session of the General Assembly.

Apodaca joined 20 other senators scoring a 100 percent on the objective evaluation and was among six senators who scored the highest, 95 percent, on the overall business rating. Rep. Chris Whitmire was among 40 House members to receive a 100 percent rating on the objective evaluation.

The report used a confidential survey following the 2015 session of more than 400 business leaders and government affairs professionals from business interests across North Carolina.

Respondents were asked to provide an objective evaluation consisting of legislation voted on during the 2015 Session that "presented a clear philosophical division on key issues of interest and concern to the business community." They were also asked to offer a subjective evaluation based on a candid assessment of each legislator (those they knew well enough to assess) "as to the percentage of the time that legislator was supportive on issues important to the overall business climate of North Carolina." The objective ratings based on voting records were factored in with the subjective rating to form an overall LBR for each legislator.