Where are the pro-business legislators?

Maybe it's a matter of the banking city versus the state capital.

A recent ranking of the most business-friendly state legislators gave noticeably higher marks to Charlotte-area lawmakers than to those from the Triangle.

Lawmakers from the Charlotte area took the top spot for being most business friendly in the House and Senate, according to the rankings assembled by the N.C. Free Enterprise Foundation, a research group that primarily serves businesses.

Triangle-area legislators held the bottom three rankings in the Senate and two of the last three rankings in the House.

"Charlotte's kind of the Mecca for business: the banking industry, Duke [Energy] and other corporate headquarters," said Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat who ranked first in the Senate. "Those of us who live there have closer ties to the business community. ... The Raleigh-area folks represent more state employees, people who are tied to government."

Rep. Thom Tillis, a Mecklenburg County Republican who topped the House list, said legislators in the region look past party labels when it comes to aiding businesses.

"We tend to form consensus around business issues," Tillis said.

Sen. Floyd McKissick, a Durham Democrat who ended up second from last in the Senate rankings, said the geographic division has a lot to do with the politics of the region. Republicans, often viewed nationally as more sensitive to business needs, are better organized and have more voting strength in the Charlotte area, he said.

"I consider myself open and friendly to good public policy that will grow the economy and provide jobs for our residents," McKissick said. "If you randomly select isolated bills, you can come up with any kind of ranking you choose."

Rep. Jennifer Weiss, a Cary Democrat who was third from last in the House rankings, suggested looking at the makeup of the Free Enterprise Foundation's board and staff when dissecting the rankings.

Two of the group's board members are former Republican House members Art Pope and Chuck Neely, both of Raleigh. Former state Court of Appeals Judge Jack Cozort, a Democrat, is also on the board. The group's director is John Rustin, who previously helped run the Family Policy Council, which advocates against gay marriage and abortion rights.

The rankings were based partly on about a dozen votes and on the views of "business leaders and government affairs professionals" who interact with legislators, Rustin said.

"It helps to provide a broader based perspective that we believe is a more accurate representation that reflects, not only the legislators' actions, but their attitudes toward business-related issues," Rustin said.

Connie Wilson, a lobbyist for the tourism industry and former Charlotte legislator, said using floor votes to rate legislators on business issues is difficult because changes that concern business leaders are either resolved in a committee or get wrapped inside broader legislation.

"A lot of what makes somebody helpful to business doesn't involve a vote," Wilson said.