Tag Archives: consensus

Analysis of voting patterns in the 2018 Utah Legislature

The Utah Legislature concluded its 45-day General Session last Thursday at midnight. Once again, I’ve scraped the voting records to produce this statistical summary. Update (3/14/2018): The Utah Legislature’s website initially showed HB457 as having passed. Their records were corrected … Continue reading

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Who voted “nay” the most in the 2017 Legislature?

The House had its lowest failure rate in half a decade. As I posted earlier, the Utah Legislature is almost a bipartisan lovefest. Legislators just don’t like voting “nay.” In general, if something gets to the floor, it’s going to … Continue reading

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Utah lawmakers loved to agree in the 2017 Legislature

Most bills that make it to a vote pass comfortably with bipartisan support. The partisan rancor that pervades national politics seldom reaches the Utah Legislature. Simply put, Republicans control such an overwhelming supermajority of seats that they have no need to fear … Continue reading

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Naysayers in the 2016 Utah Legislature

Even more so than Representatives, Senators really don’t like voting “nay.” Utah legislators don’t like voting no. Well, most of them don’t. Only 3% (House) and 1% (Senate) of floor votes held in 2016 failed, and that was consistent with past … Continue reading

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The closest votes of the 2016 Legislature

Two of the session’s closest Senate votes came 45 minutes apart, voting on the same bill, within an hour of adjournment, with opposite results. The Utah Legislature loves consensus. Bills seldom pass on party-line votes. Instead, votes routinely pass with both … Continue reading

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Unanimity remained the rule in the 2016 Utah Legislature

Utah’s Republicans and Democrats vote together more often than they vote against each other. Last fall, House Minority Leader directed a scathing op-ed at his Republican counterparts. Near the end of the 2016 session, Utah’s legislators approved changes to the (traditionally bipartisan) … Continue reading

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Recap: The 2015 Utah Legislature

Last Thursday, the Utah Legislature concluded its seven-week annual lawmaking session. The state’s major newspapers have already published several excellent recaps of the major policy changes coming out of the session. So now I’ll give my annual recap of the session’s trends … Continue reading

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The naysayers: Which Utah legislators vote “no” the most?

I’ve heard Rep. Dan McCay called Dan McNay. It seems his claim to that nickname is secure. The Utah Legislature governs by consensus. In the Legislature’s 2015 General Session, the typical floor vote saw 92% (House) or 95% (Senate) of legislators voting … Continue reading

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The closest votes in the 2015 Utah Legislature

The Legislature governs by consensus. Most bills pass overwhelmingly, with Democrats and Republicans voting together. But close votes do happen. Because 84% of Utah’s legislators are Republicans, the closest votes arise when Republicans are divided among themselves. Among other matters, this year’s … Continue reading

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Recap: The 2014 Utah Legislature

I’ve just posted several items about the recently concluded legislative session. Here’s a quick overview: The 2014 Legislature: Slow out of the gate, frantic in the stretch. Legislators considered 786 bills, but a procedural change caused a major crunch in … Continue reading

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