21 July 2007

Legislative regular session wrapup and rankings: Senate members and governor

This week is the second part of revealing the 2007 Louisiana Legislature scorecard, ranking each member on an ideology scale. The lowest score of 0 represents extreme liberalism/populism from a legislator, while a score of 100 shows the most conservative/reformer sentiment.

Important votes where there was an ideological issue at stake and where there was some minimal lack of consensus in the vote were chosen, each for members of the House, the Senate, and for the governor. This year’s choices particularly were challenging since there was less division than usual especially in the Senate because of the tremendous budgetary surplus. This week’s edition reviews the Senate and Governor Kathleen Blanco; listed here are the key votes assessed and their weighings, given to the relative importance of the vote compared to others in the session (unless noted, vote is for final passage prior to any conference):

  • HB 25 (5 percent) – broadens the women’s “right to know” provisions in pre-natal counseling to include information that the fetus may feel pain if aborted. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • HB 407 (5 percent) – continues adding an extra fee onto drivers’ licenses for litter reduction. Voting “no” is conservative/reform.
  • HB 436 (5 percent) – reforms the indigent defense system to make it more efficient and cost-effective. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • SB 195 (5 percent) – attempts to privatize the state-owned insurer. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • SCR 76 (20 percent) – votes to approve a large amount of spending on the rebuilding of the Medical Center of Louisiana New Orleans. Voting “no” is conservative/reform.
  • HCR 10 second vote (20 percent) – vote to exceed the state’s constitutional spending cap. Voting “no” is conservative/reform.
  • SB 22 (10 percent) – would have relaxed the almost-impossible recall petition standards for elected officials. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • SB 40 (10 percent) – would have relaxed ethics standards relative to casting votes. Voting “no” is conservative/reform.
  • SB 320 (10 percent) – would have relaxed ballot security standards for elections. Voting “no” is conservative/reform.
  • SB 365 – (10 percent) – would have changed capital budgeting procedures to bring more transparency and efficiency to the outlay process. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.

    (As always, if a senator asked for leave, as did occur on several occasions, the score was adjusted for that. If leave was not asked for, it was counted as a vote not for the conservative/reform side.)

    And thus the ranking is:
    Quinn 100 Republican
    Cassidy 95 Republican
    Michot 88 Republican
    Lentini 84 Republican
    Malone 75 Republican
    Romero, C 70 Republican
    Schedler 68 Republican
    Barham 65 Republican
    Hollis 65 Republican
    Kostelka 60 Republican
    Amedee 56 Democrat
    Ullo 55 Democrat
    Adley 50 Democrat
    Mount 50 Democrat
    Chaisson 45 Democrat
    McPherson 45 Democrat
    Nevers 45 Democrat
    Cain 40 Republican
    Cheek 40 Republican
    Ellington 40 Democrat
    Smith, M 40 Democrat
    Theunissen 40 Republican
    Dupre 35 Democrat
    Gautreaux, N 35 Democrat
    Jones 35 Democrat
    Murray 35 Democrat
    Shepherd 33 Democrat
    Boasso 31 Democrat
    Cravins 31 Democrat
    Duplessis 31 Democrat
    Fontenot 30 Republican
    Gautreaux, B 30 Democrat
    Broome 25 Democrat
    Fields 25 Democrat
    Jackson, L 25 Democrat
    Marionneaux 20 Democrat
    Heitmeier 15 Democrat
    Bajoie 6 Democrat
    Hines 5 Democrat

    It’s difficult to make comparisons because of the different kinds of instruments and weighings used, but with that in mind, the Senate actually turned up a little less liberal/populist than the House, with an average score around 44. As in the House, a big difference emerged between Republicans and Democrats, with the typical Republican scoring a 70 and the typical Democrat a 23. Sen. Julie Quinn got the only ultimate conservative/reformer score of 100, while Pres. Don Hines nearly did the opposite, recording a score of 5. The highest Democrat score was a 56, exceeding only four Republicans.

    And, finally, on to Gov. Blanco. She was graded on HB 25 (10 percent), HB 407 (15 percent), HB 436 (10 percent), SB 195 (10 percent), and four other bills:
  • HB 273 (15 percent) – weakens campaign finance laws by allowing candidates not to report their own contributions to their candidacies
  • HB 960 (10 percent) – abolishes the Insurance Rating Commission
  • SB 1 (15 percent) – makes cosmetic changes to indigent health care by the state
  • SB 341 (15 percent) – allows non-taxpayers to receive state tax dollars just for filing

    A perfect conservative/reform score would be for her to sign HB 25, HB 436, HB 960, and SB 195, while vetoing HB 273, HB 407, SB 1, and SB 341. She signed all of them except SB 195 giving her a score of 30, not much above the Democrat average for the House and the Senate, although again different indicators were used making comparisons inexact.
  • 14 July 2007

    Legislative regular session wrapup and rankings: House members

    This week is the first part of revealing the 2007 Louisiana Legislature scorecard, ranking each member on an ideology scale. The lowest score of 0 represents extreme liberalism/populism from a legislator, while a score of 100 shows the most conservative/reformer sentiment.

    Important votes where there was an ideological issue at stake and where there was some minimal lack of consensus in the vote were chosen, each for members of the House, the Senate, and for the governor. This year’s choices particularly were challenging since there was less division than usual especially in the Senate because of the tremendous budgetary surplus. This week’s edition reviews the House; listed here are the key votes assessed and their weighings, given to the relative importance of the vote compared to others in the session (unless noted, vote is for final passage prior to any conference):

  • HB 25 (5 percent) – broadens the women’s “right to know” provisions in pre-natal counseling to include information that the fetus may feel pain if aborted. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • HB 407 (5 percent) – continues adding an extra fee onto drivers’ licenses for litter reduction. Voting “no” is conservative/reform.
  • HB 436 (5 percent) – reforms the indigent defense system to make it more efficient and cost-effective. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • SB 195 (5 percent) – attempts to privatize the state-owned insurer. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • SCR 76 (10 percent) – votes to approve a large amount of spending on the rebuilding of the Medical Center of Louisiana New Orleans. Voting “no” is conservative/reform.
  • HCR 10 second vote (15 percent) – vote to exceed the state’s constitutional spending cap. Voting “no” is conservative/reform.
  • HB 1 vote A11 (15 percent) – would have allowed state spending to use only 23 percent of the surplus. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • HB 1 vote A10B (15 percent) – would have stripped the bill of funding any vacant positions in state government. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • HB 1 vote A8C (15 percent) – would have stripped the bill of funding for salary increases for vacant positions in state government. Voting “yes” is conservative/reform.
  • HB 3 second vote for passage (10 percent) – to enable debt selling which conservatives/reformers had resisted in order to force compromise on less spending in HB 1. Voting “no” is conservative/reform.

    (As always, if a representative asked for leave the score was adjusted for that. If leave was not asked for, it was counted as a vote not for the conservative/reform side. Also, only original votes, not those changed, were used. However, no House member asked for leave or changed these votes.)

  • And so the ranking is:

    Bowler 100 Republican
    Scalise 100 Republican
    Schneider 100 Republican
    Smiley 100 Republican
    Alexander 95 Republican
    Crowe 95 Republican
    Geymann 95 Republican
    Greene 95 Republican
    Lancaster 95 Republican
    Strain 95 Republican
    Trahan 90 Republican
    Tucker 90 Republican
    Walsworth 90 Republican
    Katz 85 Republican
    Lorusso 85 Republican
    Martiny 85 Republican
    Beard 80 Republican
    Kleckley 80 Republican
    Morris 80 Republican
    Powell, M 80 Republican
    Waddell 80 Republican
    Winston 80 Republican
    Burns 75 Republican
    Crane 75 Republican
    Johns 75 Republican
    Morrish 75 Republican
    Toomy 75 Republican
    Dove 70 Republican
    LaBruzzo 70 Republican
    Robideaux 70 Independent
    Wooton 70 Republican
    Erdey 65 Republican
    Smith, JH 65 Republican
    Pitre 60 Republican
    Hutter 55 Republican
    Powell, T 55 Republican
    Lambert 50 Republican
    Ansardi 45 Democrat
    McVea 45 Republican
    Montgomery 45 Republican
    Romero, R 45 Democrat
    Frith 40 Democrat
    Hebert 40 Democrat
    Kennard 35 Republican
    Arnold 30 Democrat
    Daniel 30 Republican
    Downs 30 Republican
    Faucheux 30 Democrat
    Triche 30 Democrat
    White 30 Republican
    Richmond 25 Democrat
    Alario 15 Democrat
    Anders 15 Democrat
    Badon 15 Democrat
    Baldone 15 Democrat
    Barrow 15 Democrat
    Baudoin 15 Democrat
    Carter, R 15 Democrat
    Chandler 15 Democrat
    Dartez 15 Democrat
    Doerge 15 Democrat
    Dorsey 15 Democrat
    Durand 15 Democrat
    Fannin 15 Democrat
    Farrar 15 Democrat
    Guillory, EL 15 Democrat
    Guillory, EJ 15 Democrat
    Guillory, M 15 Democrat
    Heaton 15 Republican
    Hill 15 Democrat
    Kenney 15 Democrat
    LaFleur 15 Democrat
    McDonald 15 Democrat
    Pinac 15 Democrat
    Ritchie 15 Democrat
    Salter 15 Democrat
    Smith. JD 15 Democrat
    St. Germain 15 Democrat
    Thompson 15 Democrat
    Townsend 15 Democrat
    Williams 15 Democrat
    Baylor 10 Democrat
    Bruce 10 Democrat
    Burrell 10 Democrat
    Cazayoux 10 Democrat
    Curtis 10 Democrat
    Damico 10 Democrat
    Gallot 10 Democrat
    Harris 10 Democrat
    Hunter 10 Democrat
    Jefferson-Bullock 10 Democrat
    LaFonta 10 Democrat
    Marchand 10 Democrat
    Morrell 10 Democrat
    Odinet 10 Democrat
    Pierre 10 Democrat
    Smith, G 10 Democrat
    Walker 10 Democrat
    Carter, K 5 Democrat
    DeWitt 5 Democrat
    Gray 5 Democrat
    Honey 5 Democrat
    Jackson, M 5 Democrat
    Quezaire 5 Democrat
    Smith, JR 5 Democrat

  • The House average overall was a shade under 40, while Republicans averaged about 73, and the Democrats’ mean was around 15. It’s worth noting that among the two switchers from Democrat to Republican from last regular session to this, Alex Heaton was the lowest-scoring Republican at the Democrat average, while Billy Montgomery’s 45 tied him for fourth-lowest Republican and would have tied for highest among Democrats.

    Next week’s edition takes a look at senators' and the governor’s scores.

    01 July 2007

    Legislative regular session through Jun. 30

    You can unclench your hands around your wallets, the Legislature is out of session. In a couple of weeks’ time I’ll report on the veto decisions and then give the rankings.

    THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 25 was concurred with by the House and sent to the governor; HB 113 was concurred with by the House and sent to the governor; HB 248 passed the Senate was sent to the governor; HB 365 was passed by the House and sent to the governor; HB 436 with minor amendments was passed by the Senate, was concurred with by the House, and sent to the governor; HB 614 with major amendments was passed by the Senate, concurred with by the House, and sent to the governor; HB 678 with major amendments was passed Senate, rejected by the House, went to conference, and was concurred with by the House and Senate; HB 730 was rejected by the House, went to conference, and was rejected by the House; HB 960 was rejected by the House, went to conference, was concurred with by the House and Senate, and sent to the governor; SB 98 was rejected by the Senate, went to conference, and was concurred with by the Senate and the House; SB 161 with minor amendments passed the House, was concurred with by the Senate, and sent to the governor; SB 195 was rejected by the Senate, went to conference, was concurred with by the Senate and House, and sent to the governor.

    THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 273 was signed by the governor; HB 407 was signed by the governor; HB 962 with minor amendments was passed by the Senate, rejected by the House, went to conference, was concurred with by the House and Senate, and sent to the governor; HB 974 with minor amendments was passed by the Senate, rejected by the House, went to conference, was concurred with by the House and Senate, and sent to the governor; SB 1 was concurred with by House and sent to the governor.

    SCORECARD:
    Total House introductions: 975; total Senate introductions: 365.

    Total House good bills: 33; total Senate good bills: 14.

    Total House bad bills: 13; total Senate bad bills: 8.

    Total House good bills heard in committee: 31; total Senate good bills heard in committee: 14.

    Total House bad bills heard in committee: 11; total Senate bad bills heard in committee: 8.

    Total House good bills passing committee: 15; total Senate good bills passing committee: 9.

    Total House bad bills passing committee: 8; total Senate bad bills passing committee: 5.

    Total House good bills passing the House: 14; total Senate good bills passing the Senate: 8.

    Total House bad bills passing the House: 4; total Senate bad bills passing the Senate: 2.

    Total House good bills passing Senate committee: 12; total Senate good bills passing House committee: 5.

    Total House bad bills passing Senate committee: 2; total Senate bad bills passing House committee: 2

    Total House good bills passing Senate: 10; total Senate good bills passing House: 3.

    Total House bad bills passing Senate: 4; total Senate bad bills passing House: 1.

    Total House good bills sent to governor: 9; total Senate good bills sent to governor: 3.

    Total House bad bills sent to governor: 4; total Senate bad bills sent to governor: 1.

    Total House bills signed by the governor: 2; total Senate bad bills signed by the governor: 0.