Virginia Named Most Pro-Business State in America
– Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States for 2010; Second Straight Year Virginia Tops List –

Virginia Leads "….states that serve as a model for the rest of the country in job retention and creation." 

RICHMOND- Virginia is the "most pro-business state" in America according to the Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States for 2010 rankings released today. This marks the fourth time the Commonwealth has held the top spot, with previous top rankings garnered in 2003, 2007 and 2009. 

In the official release from Pollina, the company notes that the study involves, "…ranking states based on 31 factors controlled by state government, including taxes, human resources, education, right-to-work legislation, energy costs, infrastructure spending, workers compensation laws, economic incentive programs and state economic development efforts." Utah was ranked the second most pro-business state in the study, followed by Wyoming, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Speaking about the ranking, Governor McDonnell said, "Pollina has pointed out what we've known here in Virginia for a long time-that we are the best state in America for business. That's no small feat in such a tough economy.  Pollina clearly recognized the pro-business atmosphere and first-class educational system we have built here in Virginia.  And that work is ongoing. This past General Assembly Session, we were able to secure a robust package of economic development incentives which we're using around the state, country and world to create jobs for Virginians.  In addition, we will continue to take an 'all of the above' approach to our energy future to work towards Virginia becoming the energy capitol of the east coast.  This too will create the high-skill, high paying jobs that Virginians need."

Governor McDonnell continued, "Over the past six months, our team has announced 131 projects in Virginia, creating nearly 8,000 jobs with a capital investment of $1.3 billion.  This is a great start, but it's just a start.  The more announcements we make, the more jobs we create for Virginians.  By keeping taxes and regulation and litigation at a minimum, we are ensuring that major employers, like Northrop Grumman, will continue to invest in the Commonwealth, bringing with them jobs and opportunities for all our citizens.  Just this week we announced that another major Virginian employer, DuPont, would reinvest in a new $20 million facility Chesterfield.  It's a great honor for Virginia to be named the most pro-business state in America. We are going to do all we can to ensure that we stay there in the years ahead."   

The full Pollina rankings and report can be found here: http://www.pollina.com/publications/probiz~1.htm

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