Rating the Governors

Tweet

Assuming he is reelected, Perdue's second term could, like Janet Napolitano's (see above), turn on the immigration question. A new law that he championed allows the state to strip companies of government contracts and tax credits in the event they are found to employ undocumented workers. It's the toughest measure of its kind in the country and is disliked by many members of the state's Hispanic population--which is growing at the third-fastest rate of any Hispanic state population in the country--not to mention by employers, some of whom think it targets them unfairly.

Hawaii

Linda Lingle

Republican, age 53

Elected: 2002
Rating:

Scenic it may be, but Hawaii is also the most expensive state to do business in, and not just because it's located far from the mainland. In addition to predictably high gas taxes and utility costs, residents pay 5.67 percent of their total income in sales and excise taxes (the second highest amount in the U.S.), and workers' compensation premiums are, at $3.73 per every $100 in wages paid, the fourth highest in the country. "Our state historically had a poor business reputation," admits Lingle, a former mayor of Maui, who has made providing relief to small businesses a priority.

In the face of a combative Democratic-led legislature, however, few of Lingle's proposals have become law. Most notably, the legislature rebuffed her bid to cut taxes by $285 million--despite a $574 million budget surplus for 2005. She has thus been compelled to advance her agenda through a series of administrative orders. After fruitlessly pushing to reform the workers' comp system, for example, she focused on streamlining the workers' comp hearing process at the agency level. Similarly, she launched an initiative to get state agencies to run new regulations past a review board when the rules affect small businesses, an existing requirement that officials had previously ignored.

Illinois

Rod Blagojevich

Democrat, age 49

Elected: 2002
Rating:

Blagojevich has been a leader in terms of health care, extending access to all Illinois children and an increasing number of working adults each year. He did this while keeping a campaign promise to eliminate the state's $5 billion deficit without raising income or sales taxes. Instead, he laid off nearly 13,000 state workers and bought renegotiated loans to pay off pension debt. To foster entrepreneurship, Blagojevich set up 18 centers that provide resources ranging from seed capital to business plan advice. Allegations of patronage and the mishandling of government contracts mar an otherwise impressive record.

Kansas

Kathleen Sebelius

Democrat, age 58

Elected: 2002
Rating:

During her 2004 State of the State address, Sebelius said, "State government can't create jobs, but it must create a climate in which businesses can flourish." Ask business owners in Kansas and they'll say she has done just that. Riding a wave of popularity that stems from 22 straight months of job growth, Sebelius will probably waltz to a second term.

By all accounts, she's an expert manager. After inheriting a $1.1 billion deficit, Sebelius balanced subsequent budgets without raising taxes. Most famously, she analyzed the pool of government cars and sold 700 deemed extraneous.

She followed that up in 2004 by putting together legislation that outlined strategies to pump new life into the economy. In practice, this has meant creating statewide entrepreneurship centers, establishing a $500 million, 10-year initiative to foster technology transfer at state universities, instituting an angel investment tax credit, and promoting ethanol and bioscience initiatives.

More recently, Sebelius worked with the legislature to eliminate property taxes on machinery and equipment purchased after July 1, 2006, and to raise the exemption for "low-cost" items from $400 to $1,500. "This law was a direct result of the governor reaching out to small businesses for guidance and asking them what is most important to them," says Hal Hudson, state director of the Kansas chapter of the NFIB.

 PREV  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  NEXT 

Read more:

Mike Hofman

Mike Hofman was previously editor of Inc.com and a deputy editor at Inc. magazine, which he joined in 1996. The site was nominated for a National Magazine Award for Digital Media in 2010, and was named the best business website by Folio Magazine. In 2006, Hofman was part of a team of writers nominated for a Webby Award for best business blog. He lives in New York City.

Sign-up for our Small Business Success Newsletter

Email Address: