ICYMI: ACU Foundation Announces Ratings for the 2016 meeting of the Florida Legislature

WASHINGTON DC – The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACU) released it’s 2016 ratings of the Florida Legislature.  In our sixth year of rating the Sunshine State, ACU found that Republican legislators tended to vote more conservatively compared to last year, with the overall Republican average increasing by 15.5 points– from 70 out of 100 in 2015, to 85.5 out of 100 in 2016.

“The 2016 session of the Florida legislature continued to make strides in implementing conservative principles,” said ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp.  “They strengthened laws preventing taxpayer funding for organizations that perform abortions, such as Planned Parenthood, passed a comprehensive education reform bill that strengthens school choice, and reduced taxes on manufacturing and aviation fuel– although it provided less tax relief than that proposed by the Governor.  Unfortunately, the Senate failed to take up House-passed bills to increase energy production and ease restrictions on the carrying of firearms.”

A detailed scorecard has been produced for all 50 state legislative bodies across the full spectrum of conservative issues, with scores for over 8,000 individual legislators.  ACU is the only organization in the nation to do this.  Like our Congressional ratings that have been published for 45 consecutive years, ACU’s state ratings reflect how elected officials view the role of government in an individual’s life.  Florida legislators with the strongest scores consistently voted with the ideals articulated in the U.S. Constitution.

New in this year’s ratings are references to how legislation impacts families based on the ACU Foundation’s new Family Prosperity Index.  Also highlighted are issues ACU Foundation’s policy centers and Senior Fellows focus on.

To view our Florida ratings guide, visit http://acuratings.conservative.org/state-ratings-2016/ and click on Florida.

ACU researches and selects a wide range of bills that reflect a member’s adherence to conservative principles, whether they be economic, social, cultural, or government integrity.  Legislators who score above 80% in each state receive awards for their commitment to conservative principles.  As President Ronald Reagan stated, “The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is an ally.”

The following Representatives and Senators will receive a 2016 ACU Ratings Award:

Representatives: ADKINS, AHERN, ALBRITTON, ARTILES, AVILA, BAXLEY, BILECA, BOYD, BRODEUR, BROXSON, BURGESS, BURTON, CALDWELL, COMBEE, CORCORAN, B. CORTES, COSTELLO, CRISAFULLI, CUMMINGS, J. DIAZ, M. DIAZ, DRAKE, EAGLE, EISNAUGLE, FANT, FRESEN, GAETZ, GONZALEZ, GRANT, HARRELL, HILL, HUDSON, INGOGLIA, INGRAM, La ROSA, MAGAR, MAYFIELD, McBURNEY, METZ, MORAITIS, NUÑEZ, OLIVA, O’TOOLE, PASSIDOMO, PERRY, PETERS, PIGMAN, PLAKON, PORTER, RABURN, RAULERSON, RAY, RENNER, R. RODRIGUES, ROONEY, SANTIAG, SMITH, SPANO, SPROWLS, STEUBE, STEVENSON, STONE, SULLIVAN, TOBIA, TRUJILLO, TRUMBULL, WOOD, WORKMAN, and YOUNG

Senators: ALTMAN, BEAN, BENACQUISTO, BRADLEY, BRANDES, DEAN, DIAZ de la PORTILLA, EVERS, FLORES, GAETZ, GALVANO, GARDINER, GRIMSLEY, HAYS, HUKILL, HUTSON, LATVALA, LEGG, NEGRON, RICHTER, SIMMONS, SIMPSON, and STARGEL

This announcement can also be found on our website here.

With your help, ACU hopes to present the 2016 awards to those Representatives and Senators who scored above 80% in the near future.  For more information contact Amanda Bunning at (202) 347-9388 or by email at [email protected].

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