Christine Drazan on Budget & Economy

Can't just be responsive to business during election season

Kotek: I'd give us a B, and we need to be an A. We want very large investments that we want to bring into the state. But we have to be more proactive. We have to say we are open for business.

Drazen: Outside groups have put us between a D and an F. We have to be responsive to stakeholders. We have to be partners with business, and it can't just be during an election season. When these issues come up in the legislative process routinely, businesses come and they testify in front of committees, and they say this isn't commercially viable. They say this is going to make us less competitive. They say we can't afford to do this, and then they say, let us help you do it better. And they're ignored. And we get legislation routinely, our bespoke sales tax, the commercial activities tax. It is absolutely an aggressive approach that's irrational when it comes to how we are taxing businesses in our state.

Identify and prosecute waste, fraud and abuse in government