The Connecticut Business & Industry Association has released its legislative scorecard which grades state legislators on how they voted on issues affecting the business community.

One of the CBIA’s primary functions is its annual legislative scorecard and its determination of how friendly legislators are to the business community. The organization used 10 bills in assigning legislators their scores.

“While these bills reflect just a fraction of all legislation addressed during the session, they were chosen as the framework for CBIA's 2022 legislative voting records based on their potential impact—positive or negative—on job growth and the state’s post-pandemic recovery,” the CBIA wrote about the scorecard.

The CBIA was particularly interested in a striking workers bill that would have allowed workers to collect unemployment benefits. Despite the CBIA’s opposition, the bill passed in committee and in the state Senate, but was not called for a vote in the state House. The organization was also opposed to an employer gag order law that allows employees to leave workplace meetings if religious or political matters are being discussed, but that bill was passed by both chambers and signed by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont.

One of the bills supported by the CBIA and unanimously supported by state government was a manufacturing jobs bill that “helps address Connecticut’s critical shortage of skilled manufacturing workers by extending the apprenticeship training tax credit to smaller manufacturers,” according to the group.

From around the region, state Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, state Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, state Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, state Rep. Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton and state Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, were all given 100% grades for their records on matters related to the business community.

State Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Lyme, and Doug Dubitsky, R-Chaplin, received 83% grades. State Rep. Joe de la Cruz, D-Groton, and state Rep. Emmett Riley, D-Norwich, received 75% grades. State Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, received a 67% grade. State Rep. Christine Conley, D-Groton, state Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville and state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague all received 50% grades. State Rep. Anthony Nolan received a 43% grade.

Osten, who scored well on the League of Conservation Voters scorecard, said, “I don’t put much stock into either group’s scorecard.”

“I vote for my constituents, not for any of the groups,” she said. “Both of them count committee votes on bills that may not come to fruition or is maybe a work in progress kind of bill that could significantly change … None of the bills they looked at take into account the work that’s done in the appropriations committee.”

Osten said the CBIA’s scorecard did not include her economic policy achievements.

“I worked with Democrats and Republicans in the underlying budget to help pay down the debt we have on the unemployment trust fund. That to me is important. That’s real value to workers,” she said.

France also said his constituents come first, but, “If that means that the CBIA and I are one hundred percent aligned this year, then I am happy we have consensus between Connecticut's business advocates and the people that I represent.”

“The COVID recession is the worst since the Great Depression as it relates to GDP and our businesses are still facing economic headwinds from Washington,” France added. “Now is not the time to be raising taxes and sicking the IRS on families and businesses.”

s.spinella@theday.com