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In May of 2005, federal and state law enforcement agencies descended on Capitol Hill and arrested four indicted state lawmakers for taking money from a fake FBI front company. One of those arrested was Sen. Ward Crutchfield, a Chattanooga Democratic, who was recently sentenced to two years' probation. Last June, ex-state Sen. Jerry Cooper was acquitted on bank fraud charges in a U.S. District Court. During the trial, an FBI agent testified that Cooper had transferred more than $95,000 from a campaign account into personal accounts with 24 checks dated between December 1999, and November 2001. The State Registry of Election Finance has since imposed a record $120,000 civil penalty against Cooper. Cooper most recently announced his retirement from the legislature and his plans to appeal the fine. (In 2007 Cooper also pleaded "no contest" to drunken driving charges.)

What do these two men share in common? Both were named among the five worst lawmakers for Tennessee's economic engine in the August 2004 edition of BusinessTN magazine. How on target where those selections? As one example, Crutchfield was criticized in the article for his "uninspired approach to governing" and for creating the impression that "for him at least, nothing is sacred."

As we clearly stated the first and only other time we did this list in 2004, Tennessee is blessed with a pro-business legislature. Generally speaking, lawmakers keep taxes low and regulation minimal, at least by national standards. But that's not to say there aren't elected leaders whose actions undermine that status. This month, BusinessTN looks at the current crop of 132 state lawmakers—a fairly different group from the one we surveyed almost four years ago—to label those who best protect, along with those who most harm, Tennessee's reputation for having a business-friendly environment. (Point of clarification: we in no way mean to infer that those selected worst lawmakers this year are in any way involved in anything criminal in nature.)

As litmus for determining the selections, BusinessTN sticks to legislative stances clearly identified as good or bad for business. For the most part, we steer clear of gauging lawmakers on so-called intramural issues pitting one sector of the business community against another, a hallmark of most business legislation. Nor do we base all our decisions on issues businesspeople debate with equal fervor as being beneficial or detrimental to the economy. Lastly, BusinessTN heavily weights a lawmaker's actual ability to have a positive or negative effect on the state's business climate. Lesser legislators can use the media, their own blogs, or outside organizations to gain exposure for themselves and the bills they sponsor, but this seldom results in passage of their bills.

For many years, the Nashville Banner printed an annual ranking of Tennessee's best and worst lawmakers, a list compiled through ballots distributed to lawmakers, lobbyists, reporters and others on Capitol Hill. Though in a more selective manner, BusinessTN also turned to people who know the Hill best to get their confidential impressions and testimonies. Combined with our own view of the Hill, these are the lawmakers deemed assets and liabilities from a business perspective.

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