By KEVIN BRINEGAR

It’s important to recognize our elected officials for their many positive actions to move our state forward and to raise public awareness when they choose a different path. After all, they are representing each of us.  

That’s why each year the Indiana Chamber releases its Legislative Vote Analysis report on the recent voting history of members of Indiana’s General Assembly. 

The 2008 edition rates all 150 legislators on how supportive or unsupportive they were of issues important to businesses and their employees. All legislators are informed of the Chamber’s position and reasoning on these key bills prior to casting a vote.

Each legislator receives a score based on how often his or her votes align with the Chamber’s pro-jobs, pro-economic growth agenda.

This year, we included votes on property tax, immigration and health care mandates, among many others 

In total, 45 separate votes — 20 for House members and 25 for senators — were factored to reach a legislator’s overall voting record. 

Based on that score, this report makes it very clear which legislators were supportive of pro-business and pro-job-growth issues — and which were not. 

Overall, the 2008 vote scores are down dramatically from last year. That’s due to the many anti-business bills that the Indiana Chamber and its allies had to work to defeat.

We encourage all Hoosiers to take the time to review this report online and locate the scores of your legislators.

Thank the ones who voted to move Indiana forward and encourage those who were not supportive of business and economic growth to think twice about how their decisions impact the companies, employees and communities they represent.

An electronic copy of the 2008 Legislative Vote Analysis report is available at indianachamber.com.

Kevin Brinegar is president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Indianapolis.