SACRAMENTO (November 17, 2011) - Assemblyman Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) announced today that the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has granted him an 'A' grade because of his pro-taxpayer voting record on 22 different bills tracked by the organization this year.

"I am honored to report this 'A' grade from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association," said Nielsen. "This year we waged a strong battle against tax increases and we were very successful. I will continue to represent the hard-working taxpayers in our state by fighting the efforts of liberal politicians to take more money out of their pocketbooks to continue their profligate spending."

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, established in 1978, is dedicated to the protection of Proposition 13 and the advancement of taxpayers' rights, including the right to limited taxation, the right to vote on tax increases and the right of economical, equitable and efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

In order to make this evaluation as fair and as non-partisan as possible, the HJTA has taken a number of steps to ensure that the scorecard is balanced. They adjusted their grade levels downward to ensure a legislator gets a "C" grade if they agree with the taxpayers' positions more than half the time. Despite this, 76 legislators have still received grades of "D" or "F."

"When times are rough such as many Californians are experiencing right now," said Nielsen. "We must not further burden them with higher taxes that will invariably slow our economic recovery. I trust taxpayers to know how best to spend, save and invest their hard earned money."