Legislative Reports 2010

Pachyderm Coalition Republican Legislator Rankings

Legislative Actions as of 4/30/10

Last Updated 5/9/10

Narrative:

The regular session is over and these are the final ratings for the session.

Some adjustments were made to the weights, but they reflected more careful reading of some bills that were amended.

While the Group or score that a legislator is assigned is interesting, the Rank is possibly even more interesting since it says how well a legislator did compared to his/her peers.

This was a difficult session due to the state government budget problems. There was some grasping for private money and funds set aside in special funds that resulted in more bills Republicans voted Yes on being given negative weights. There were also more bills tracked than we have previously tracked – over 200. Overall, the effect was lower Republican grades in general and less variation compared to previous years. The rankings are, as always, the best indicator of how well Republican legislators in the Senate and House compare to their peers – senators to senators and representatives to representatives. Comparing the grades of senators to representatives is not as reliable because each body casts different sets of votes. Comparing rankings between senators and representatives is more reasonable as long as you take into account that there are 35 representatives and 18 senators. That means, for example, that senators with ranks of 9 or 10 are comparable to representatives with ranks of 16-20. Also, a senator with a rank of 18 is comparable to a representative with a rank of 35.

Even though we clearly state that grades are based on a scale of (-100) to (+100), there have been some people who consider our score a percentage of voting in accord with our grades. A percentage grade that most people intuitively think about where 0% is the worst and 100% is the best can be calculated from the Pachyderm grade by adding 100 and dividing by 2. This converts the (-100) to (+100)scale we use to a 0 – 100 scale more commonly used by many people. For your convenience, I created tables showing this percentage after the standard grading information.

Grades can range from +100% (supports Republican principles) to -100% (opposes Republican principles)

Ratings will be updated on a weekly basis.

Please refer to our FAQs section located after the strike all bills. It responds to some of the questions we have been getting regarding the grades assigned.

Rank for legislators with the same Grade is determined by bill sponsorship and votes cast. For example, a legislator with 3 committee votes would get a better rank than one with 2 committee votes if they have the same Grade.

Legislators are assigned to a Group based on their latest rating.

Over 90 is a Reagan Republican.

Over 75 is a Pro-Freedom Republican.

Over 50 is a Republican.

Over 25 is a Big Government Republican.

Over 0 is a Bipartisan Republican.

Zero or less is a RINO (Republican In Name Only).

All grades shown are cumulative grades as of the date indicated.

Senators

Rank	Legislator	Leg Dist	Latest Grade	Group
1	Russell Pearce	18	82.7	Pro-Freedom Republican
2	Jack W. Harper	4	76.2	Pro-Freedom Republican
3	Thayer Verschoor	22	71.6	Republican
4	Sylvia Allen	5	71.4	Republican
5	Chuck Gray	19	68.3	Republican
6	Ron Gould	3	66.0	Republican
7	Robert "Bob" Burns	9	64.2	Republican
8	Steve Pierce	1	63.7	Republican
9	Linda Gray	10	62.2	Republican
10	Al Melvin	26	58.9	Republican
11	Frank Antenori	30	58.1	Republican
12	Ed Bunch	7	54.4	Republican
13	John Nelson	12	52.9	Republican
14	Barbara Leff	11	51.3	Republican
15	Jay Tibshraeny	21	50.9	Republican
16	David Braswell	6	49.2	Big Government Republican
17	John Huppenthal	20	48.1	Big Government Republican
18	Carolyn S. Allen	8	14.7	Bipartisan Republican

Notes:

1) Senators who left office during the calendar year who were rated on at least one floor vote:

Legislator	Leg Dist	Latest Grade	Group	Reason Left Office
Jonathan Paton	30	71.7	Republican	Resigned to run for Congress in CD-8.
Jim Waring	7	61.5	Republican	Resigned to run for Congress in CD-3.

Pamela Gorman from LD6 also resigned to run for Congress in CD-3. However, she resigned before any floor votes on bills we are following were cast.

2) Senators who were appointed during this calendar year:

David Braswell, Ed Bunch, and Frank Antenori

3) There are no vacant Republican seats.

Representatives

Rank	Legislator	Leg Dist	Latest Grade	Group
1	Carl Seel	6	93.1	Reagan Republican
2	Judy M. Burges	4	90.9	Reagan Republican
3	Steve B. Montenegro	12	86.9	Pro-Freedom Republican
4	Debbie Lesko	9	83.7	Pro-Freedom Republican
5	Laurin Hendrix	22	81.2	Pro-Freedom Republican
6	John Kavanagh	8	75.2	Pro-Freedom Republican
7	David Gowan	30	74.1	Republican
8	Jerry Weiers	12	68.6	Republican
9	Jim Weiers	10	67.8	Republican
10	Rick Murphy	9	66.3	Republican
11	Adam Driggs	11	63.0	Republican
12	Andy Biggs	22	61.4	Republican
13	Steven B. Yarbrough	21	60.3	Republican
14	Kirk Adams	19	59.9	Republican
15	Nancy K. Barto	7	59.4	Republican
16	David W. Stevens	25	57.0	Republican
17	Amanda A. Reeve	6	56.8	Republican
18	Warde V. Nichols	21	54.3	Republican
19	Andrew M. Tobin	1	53.1	Republican
20	Ray Barnes	7	52.1	Republican
21	Ted Vogt	30	52.0	Republican
22	John McComish	20	51.6	Republican
23	Michele Reagan	8	48.6	Big Government Republican
24	Cecil P. Ash	18	48.1	Big Government Republican
25	Steve Court	18	47.0	Big Government Republican
26	Nancy McLain	3	46.0	Big Government Republican
27	Doris Goodale	3	45.4	Big Government Republican
28	Frank Pratt	23	44.0	Big Government Republican
29	Vic Williams	26	43.8	Big Government Republican
30	Russell L. Jones	24	42.9	Big Government Republican
31	Doug Quelland	10	41.4	Big Government Republican
32	Rich Crandall	19	40.2	Big Government Republican
33	Bill Konopnicki	5	37.6	Big Government Republican
34	Tom Boone	4	33.2	Big Government Republican
35	Lucy Mason	1	31.5	Big Government Republican

Notes:

1) Representatives who left office during the calendar year who were rated on at least one floor vote:

Legislator	Leg Dist	Latest Grade	Group	Reason Left Office
Sam Crump	6	98.5	Reagan Republican	Resigned to run for Congress in CD-3.
Frank Antenori	30	86.9	Pro-Freedom Republican	Resigned when appointed as a state senator.

2) Representatives who were appointed during this calendar year:

Amanda Reeve, Ted Vogt

3) There are no vacant Republican seats.

Average Grades for each Party in each Body of the Legislature

If people tell you, “Political parties don’t mean anything,” show them this table!

Average Grades		Party
Average Grades		Republican	Democrat
Body	House	60	-16
Body	Senate	62	-5

Conversion of Pachyderm Grades to Percentages

Since Pachyderm Coalition Grades are calculated using a (-100 ) to (+100) scale, the grades look lower than a percentage score based on a 0-100 percent scale. Converting from a Pachyderm Grade to a percentage is done by adding 100 to the grade and then dividing by 2. The rankings are not affected by this conversion. The table below has those percentages calculated for you.

body	Rank	member_name	ld	Percentage
S	1	Russell Pearce	18	91.3
S	2	Jack W. Harper	4	88.1
S	3	Thayer Verschoor	22	85.8
S	4	Sylvia Allen	5	85.7
S	5	Chuck Gray	19	84.2
S	6	Ron Gould	3	83.0
S	7	Robert "Bob" Burns	9	82.1
S	8	Steve Pierce	1	81.9
S	9	Linda Gray	10	81.1
S	10	Al Melvin	26	79.4
S	11	Frank Antenori	30	79.0
S	12	Ed Bunch	7	77.2
S	13	John Nelson	12	76.5
S	14	Barbara Leff	11	75.6
S	15	Jay Tibshraeny	21	75.4
S	16	David Braswell	6	74.6
S	17	John Huppenthal	20	74.0
S	18	Carolyn S. Allen	8	57.3
H	1	Carl Seel	6	96.6
H	2	Judy M. Burges	4	95.4
H	3	Steve B. Montenegro	12	93.4
H	4	Debbie Lesko	9	91.9
H	5	Laurin Hendrix	22	90.6
H	6	John Kavanagh	8	87.6
H	7	David Gowan	30	87.0
H	8	Jerry Weiers	12	84.3
H	9	Jim Weiers	10	83.9
H	10	Rick Murphy	9	83.1
H	11	Adam Driggs	11	81.5
H	12	Andy Biggs	22	80.7
H	13	Steven B. Yarbrough	21	80.2
H	14	Kirk Adams	19	80.0
H	15	Nancy K. Barto	7	79.7
H	16	David W. Stevens	25	78.5
H	17	Amanda A. Reeve	6	78.4
H	18	Warde V. Nichols	21	77.2
H	19	Andrew M. Tobin	1	76.6
H	20	Ray Barnes	7	76.1
H	21	Ted Vogt	30	76.0
H	22	John McComish	20	75.8
H	23	Michele Reagan	8	74.3
H	24	Cecil P. Ash	18	74.1
H	25	Steve Court	18	73.5
H	26	Nancy McLain	3	73.0
H	27	Doris Goodale	3	72.7
H	28	Frank Pratt	23	72.0
H	29	Vic Williams	26	71.9
H	30	Russell L. Jones	24	71.5
H	31	Doug Quelland	10	70.7
H	32	Rich Crandall	19	70.1
H	33	Bill Konopnicki	5	68.8
H	34	Tom Boone	4	66.6
H	35	Lucy Mason	1	65.8

Bills used in Evaluation

Summary of criteria used to weight bills:

1) Supports US Constitution
2) Supports Republican Party Platform
3) Supports individual / private sector empowerment over government empowerment
4) Supports national security (including illegal alien issues)
5) Reduces government spending
6) Reduces tax rates in general
7) Will have a significant impact

Legis-lature	Bill number	Short title	weight	Sponsor weight	description	explanation
492R	HB2001	taxpayer voluntary contribution; fund	1	1		Voluntary tax fund is always a good idea to prove that almost nobody wants to pay more taxes than required by law.
492R	HB2015	justification; defensive display; firearm.	2	2		Minor enhancement to defensive display of weapons - see also SB1021
492R	HB2016	firearms; concealed carry; requirements	6	6		AZCDL Supports. Non-AZ resident can get AZ CC permit
492R	HB2017	schools; gun safety programs; instructors	3	3
492R	HB2034	fuel dispenser stickers; tax information	2	2
492R	HB2037	secretary of state; business services	-3	-1		Some good items, but increases regulations and has ridiculous training requirements for notaries.
492R	HB2039	vendors; government contracts; personal information	3	3		Prohibits government vendors from selling personal information obtained in performance of their contracts. Should be part of the contract in the first place anyway.
492R	HB2040	colleges; transfer articulation; direct equivalency	-1	-1		Laudable goal of making it easier for Community College credits to transfer to state universities. But micro management will not work well. The best solution is to fund college with higher education vouchers to make colleges more responsive to student needs and increase competition among public and private colleges.
492R	HB2041	peace officers; firearms; school grounds	3	3		Clarifies that school districts, etc, are considered political subdivisions for CC by police
492R	HB2042	unlawful roadside solicitation of employment	6	6
492R	HB2044	vicious animal assault; classification	3	3
492R	HB2051	corporation commission; contractors; regulation	6	6
492R	HB2058	mobile home parks; landlord maintenance	2	2		Deregulates some aspects of Trailer Park maintenance
492R	HB2061	teacher performance pay; special assessment	-10	-10	Allows extra taxes to support pay raises without voter approval.
492R	HB2063	solar energy; permit fees	2	2
492R	HB2065	ASRS; long-term disability appeals	1	1
492R	HB2066	ASRS; plan design	-1	-1		Change to Arizona State Retirement System. The only change needed right now is to convert it from defined benefit to defined contribution.
492R	HB2067	PSPRS; omnibus amendments	2	2
492R	HB2068	EORP; omnibus amendments	-1	-1		Better solution is defined contribution plans for retirements and competitively determined premiums paid to private insurance companies.
492R	HB2069	county election law amendments	3	3
492R	HB2070	school tax credit; fees; limitation	4	4
492R	HB2076	smoking in vehicle with minors	-9	-9		Makes it illegal to smoke with minors in car. What is next, not allowing people to smoke in their own homes?
492R	HB2079