RALEIGH — Richmond County’s delegates in the General Assembly are among the 112 legislators recently named “Jobs Champions” by the N.C. Chamber of Commerce.
Both Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Moore, and Rep. Ben Moss, R-Richmond, scored 80% or better on the state Chamber’s “How They Voted” report for the latest legislative session.
“Despite lingering uncertainty, it’s been a productive session for the NC Chamber and for North Carolina’s job creators,” Chamber President and CEO Gary J. Salamido said in the report. “We’ve protected key assessment tools to guide the progress of our future workforce and given businesses the certainty to operate more effectively in an increasingly digital environment. “We’ve secured landmark energy legislation that will grow our economy and ensured that pro-jobs priorities like franchise tax reform advanced in the state budget. And through the persistent efforts of the NC Chamber’s Destination 2030 Coalition, we’ve laid the groundwork for bipartisan action to modernize North Carolina’s transportation infrastructure in upcoming sessions.”
The Chamber ranked the legislators based on 15 pro-business bills — 12 of which were signed into law — and one “anti-business” bill.
From the report:
“Legislators who supported the Chamber’s position on a given vote receive one ‘pro-business’ point in their favor, as do any primary sponsors of pro-business bills scored in the report. Legislators who voted against the Chamber’s position receive one ‘anti-business’ point. ‘Pro-business’ points are then divided by total points to calculate each legislator’s session score.”
McInnis was one of the 27 senators to score 100%.
“North Carolina’s economy is booming because of Republican pro-jobs policies like tax cuts and responsible spending,” McInnis said in a press release issued Monday. “It’s an honor to be recognized by the N.C. Chamber for supporting these successful policies.”
McInnis also scored 16 pro-job points.
McInnis, a Richmond County native, earlier this year switched his residency to Moore County when new district maps were released.
He currently represents District 25, which comprises Richmond, Moore, Scotland and Anson counties. McInnis has filed to run in the new District 21, which comprises Moore County and most of Cumberland County.
However, the N.C. Supreme Court halted all filing last week due to legal challenges against the new maps.
McInnis was also named as a “Transportation Champion,” along with Sen. Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell and Rep. Brenden Jones, R-Columbus. Sawyer and McInnis are co-chairs of the Senate Transportation Committee, along with Sen. Danny Earl Britt Jr., R-Robeson.
“These legislators worked hard to advance solutions to modernize North Carolina’s outdated transportation revenue streams, a core priority of the NC Chamber and the job creators on our Destination 2030 Coalition,” the report reads. “Most notably, a stakeholder process led by Sen. Sawyer, the NC TEN Commission, engaged many of the players in our transportation network economy, delivering a menu of revenue modernization options for leaders to consider in upcoming sessions.”
One of the bills judged was co-sponsored by Sen. Dave Craven, R-Randolph. Under the latest district maps, Richmond County would fall in Craven’s district.
Craven also scored 100% and 15 pro-job points.
Sen. Jim Burgin, R-Harnett, scored the highest with 20 pro-job points.
Scoring the lowest in the Senate are Sens. Natalie Murdock and Wiley Nickel, Democrats from Durham and Wake counties, respectively, with 64% and five anti-job points. Other senators — all Democrats — receiving five anti-job points were Mujtaba Mohammed of Mecklenburg and Gladys Robinson of Guilford.
In the House, Moss scored 13 pro-business points and 93% for his first year in the legislature.
The aforementioned maps double-bunk Moss with Rep. Jamie Boles, R-Moore, who was rated at 94% with 15 pro-business points.
Both Moss and Boles were given one anti-business point.
Reps. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin, Ray Pickett, R-Watauga, and Julia Howard, R-Davie, were the only state representatives to score 100%.
Although he only scored 95%, Rep. Dean Arp, a Union County Republican, was the only representative to receive 20 pro-job points.
State Rep. Mary Belk, D-Mecklenburg scored the lowest in the House at 59%, followed by Reps. Vernetta Alston, D-Durham, Susan Fisher, D-Buncombe, Abe Jones, D-Wake, and Marcia Morey, D-Durham, at 61%.
All five also received seven anti-job points, the most in the General Assembly.
Of the 36 “Jobs Champions” in the Senate, 28 are Republicans and eight are Democrats. There are 76 in the House — 66 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
McInnis was recently ranked eighth in the NC FreeEnterprise Foundation’s 2021 Legislative Business Ratings.
