North Carolina League of Conservation Voters issues 'scorecard' on state legislators

Last year’s session of the North Carolina General Assembly was the worst on record when it comes to environmental legislation, the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters contends.

The organization has tallied a scorecard on the votes of state legislators since 1999.

The league — which focuses on protecting, preserving and improving the state’s natural environment — says the latest scores reflect how effective the new legislative leadership has been in rolling back environmental regulations. (Joel Olsen, founder and managing director of O2 Energies, and attorney Charlotte Everett Bowman are recently appointed local members of the league.)

The average score for House members is 43 out of 100 for the 2011 session, a drop from an average score of 67 during the 2009-10 legislative session. The league gave state senators an average score of 27, down from 69 in 2009-10.

The full score card with voting details from individuals N.C. legislators can be downloaded by clicking here. And links to past scorecards can be found here.

“With North Carolina consistently ranking at the top of lists for best places to live and do business in the country, the legislators failed to realize the impact their decisions will have on our quality of life for the long term," Dan Crawford, the league's director of governmental relations, said in today's announcement.

Mecklenburg County's top scores for votes that protected the environment went to Reps. Martha Alexander (92) and Tricia Cotham (91), both Democrats. The lowest in the House, with scores of 17, went to Reps. Bill Brawley and Ruth Samuelson. Samuelson's previous score was 75.

In the Senate, Dan Clodfelter and Charlie Dannelly, both Democrats, were each given a score of 50. State Sen. Bob Rucho, a Republican, received a score of 17.

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