SAN FRANCISCO — California's legislators are harming the high-tech industry with anti-business voting, and Silicon Valley lawmakers are among the worst offenders, according to a new Pacific Research Institute (PRI) report Punishing Innovation: A Report on California Legislators' Anti-Tech Voting.

Just when California's technology industry was reeling in the aftermath of the dotcom bust, state legislators saddled it with increased regulatory burdens and billions of dollars of new costs. The report examines the 10 most damaging bills for the technology industry that were introduced in the 2001-2002 legislative session.

Based on the analysis of these bills and public voting records, California legislators are rated on their level of tech-friendliness. One of the most surprising findings of the study was that Silicon Valley legislators have a worse record than legislators overall.

"You'd think that Silicon Valley representatives would be more careful when considering bills affecting small businesses and start-ups, but instead the opposite happened," said Sonia Arrison, co-author and director of technology studies at PRI. "Part of the reason may be explained by following the money."

Technology companies contributed just under $700,000 to political parties in 2000, compared to the $1.6 million contributed by the unions. And while unions, lawyers, and tribal governments all make the top 10 list of campaign contributors overall, the tech industry did not.

To download a copy of Punishing Innovation: A Report on California Legislators' Anti-Tech Voting, click here.

Sonia Arrison is director of Technology Studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute. She can be reached at (415) 955-6107 or by email at sarrison@pacificresearch.org.