The Greater Lafayette Chamberof issued its first ever legislative score card in January and a number of people where not happy with the result. But that doesn't mean the grades handed out, including the failing one for state Sen. Michael J. "Mike" Michot, RLafayette, will be changed.
"The score card is what it is," Chamber President and CEO Rob Guidry said.
On the other hand, he said the way next year's score card is calculated will probably change.
"We will look at the helpful criticism we have received and make modifications where appropriate," Guidry said.
Guidry said the Chamber's Legislative Committee has since met with Michot and believes the issues, for the most part, have been resolved.
"It was a very positive meeting," Guidry said. "He was most helpful to our committee. We praise him for that." Most vocal in his criticism of the Chamber and its score card was Broussard Mayor Charles Langlinais.
He publicly resigned from the Chamber and demanded the return of the money his community pays in dues.
Guidry said while Langlinais was the only one of the Chamber's 2,300 members to actually resign, he was not alone in questioning the process. He said dozens of members called, mostly seeking clarification.
The biggest concern of many, including Langlinais, was the poor score given to Michot.
Guidry said the main reason for Michot's poor showing was that he failed to vote on four of the 12 issues on the Chamber's legislative agenda. Since the grades were released, Guidry said the committee has learned how busy Michot is as head of the Senate Finance and as vice-chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and why some floor votes may have been missed.
Despite the problems with this year's scores, Guidry strongly defended the score card process.
"It holds the legislative delegation accountable for their voting record," Guidry said.
He said the Chamber is already at work on its agenda for the coming year and all members of the local legislative delegation are being informed of the Chamber's issues.
"It is all about continuing to build a relationship with our legislators on the state, national and local level," Guidry said. He also said the issues targeted on the score card represent a consensus of a broad cross section of the issues important to the local business community.
"The issues that impact business' bottom line are decided in the halls of government," Guidry said. "It is incumbent on the Chamber to speak on behalf of business."
He added that coming up with a list of issues to track is a major project. The process starts with the Chamber's Government Affairs Committee, which is made up of about 100 members from various sectors of the local economy.
"They hear testimony from elected officials and nonelected officials," Guidry said.
