Sen.Greg Evers (R-Baker) received the 2011 Defender of Liberty Award from the American Conservative Union for his “outstanding support of conservative values and principles throughout 2011." About two-thirds of the members of the Florida Legislature received the award, which was presented Tuesday during a reception at the State Capitol.

“I am sincerely honored and humbled by this wonderful recognition from the ACU,” said Senator Greg Evers. “The ACU is, and has always been, an unwavering watchdog for our conservative values being enforced and upheld by Lawmakers at every level of government, and I appreciate their recognition and their service to our nation.”

Senator Evers received a perfect 100 percent score on the ACU’s first-ever ratings for the Florida State Legislature, which takes into account a Lawmaker’s conservative rhetoric and expressed philosophical views, and his or her actual voting record on a wide variety of issues and proposed legislation, according to a press release.

“I want to thank the good people at the ACU and Chairman Al Cardenas for this great honor,” said Evers. “It is truly an encouraging recognition as I strive to continue to vote for legislation on the most important issues facing our state that will uphold our founding principles of limited government, individual liberties, Second Amendment rights and free markets.”

There were 14 senators and 52 House members that got a 100 percent score on the nearly 20 bills scored by the ACU, and 11 senators and 29 House members who voted with the group at least 80 percent of the time — high enough to rank as a conservative on the organization’s scale — despite Florida’s reputation as a swing state.

Of the 11 senators who fell short of a perfect score, three did so because of opposition to an immigration bill that narrowly passed the Senate but died in the House

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

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