Northern Virginia Chamber Partnership Releases its 2016 General Assembly Legislative Scorecard
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 2, 2016
Partnership of Loudoun, Reston, Dulles, Mount Vernon Lee Chambers Created Scorecard to Track General Assembly Members’ Votes on Key Business, Economic Priorities
The Northern Virginia Chamber Partnership today released its third annual Virginia General Assembly Legislative Scorecard, a report that details the voting records of the Partnership’s Senate and House of Delegates members on the bills outlined in the Partnership’s 2016 Legislative Agenda.
Comprised of the Loudoun County, Greater Reston, Dulles Regional, and Mount Vernon Lee chambers of commerce, the Northern Virginia Chamber Partnership recently completed its seventh year of working in Richmond to represent the economic and quality of life interests of the businesses and residents in Loudoun, and Fairfax Counties.
“Our members and the communities we represent deserve to know how our state legislators are voting on the issues that will impact the economy and quality of life in Northern Virginia. Many of our legislators earned high marks for their voting records on the Partnership’s priorities, but there are a few legislators we need to continue to educate,” said Loudoun County President & CEO Tony Howard.
The Scorecard reflects votes taken by the House of Delegates and Senate and, in a few cases, by the subcommittees and committees on which a legislator served during the 2016 General Assembly session. Prior to every vote, the Partnership communicated its position on each bill and reminded the legislators that these bills would be included in the Scorecard. In addition, bonus points were awarded if a legislator served as a chief patron for one of the Partnership’s priority bills, and points were deducted if a legislator served as a chief patron for a bill that was inconsistent with the Partnership’s priorities.
“Scorecards are a valuable tool to communicate to our members how their legislators vote on issues important to the business community in a quantifiable way. This year, the members of our four chambers choose, as areas of importance, business taxes and regulation, economic development, workforce development, healthcare, transportation and non-partisan redistricting. We believe this scorecard approach is the most straightforward format of identifying legislator’s support for the Partnership’s initiatives,” said Greater Reston Chamber President & CEO, Mark Ingrao.
“Northern Virginia’s economy continues to evolve away from a dependence on federal dollars and how successfully we accomplish this shift will be greatly enhanced or constrained by the flexibility allowed us by the General Assembly. Consequently, it is more important than ever that business stay attuned to the issues monitored by our Partnership,” said Dulles Regional Chamber President and CEO Eileen Curtis.
The purpose of the Scorecard is to help Northern Virginia’s business leaders recognize those legislators who support the Partnership’s efforts to improve the business climate and quality of life in Northern Virginia and to promote a dialogue with those legislators whose votes don’t align with Partnership priorities.
To view the complete Northern Virginia Chamber Partnership 2016 Scorecard, please click here.
To view the complete Scorecard criteria, please click here.
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The Northern Virginia Chamber Partnership is a collaboration between the Dulles Regional, Greater Reston, Mount Vernon Lee and Loudoun County chambers of commerce. The Partnership provides a strong, unified voice for the northern Virginia business community in Fairfax, the Dulles Corridor, and Loudoun County at the state and regional level, collectively representing more than 2,800 businesses and 100,000 jobs.
For more information about the chambers, please visit their web sites at:
www.RestonChamber.org; Mark Ingrao (Reston) – 703.930.6518
www.LoudounChamber.org; Tony Howard (Loudoun) – 571.209.9020
www.DullesRegionalChamber.org; Eileen Curtis (Dulles) – 571.323.5301
www.mtvernon-leechamber.org; Holly Hicks Dougherty (Mount Vernon Lee) – 703.360.6925