Differences Between the Parties in Sacramento Revealed in Consumer Federation of California 2007 Scorecard for Legislators

By Richard Holober
Executive Director
Consumer Federation of California

The Consumer Federation of California released today its 2007 Scorecard for State Lawmakers. Legislators were rated by their key votes on consumer rights bills. State Assembly members and Senators were evaluated on a range of issues, including financial privacy, health care reform, cell phone customer rights, food safety, truth in advertising, and consumer product safety standards.

Average scores were 60 percent in the Senate and 61 percent in the Assembly. The scorecard highlighted a deep ideological split between the two parties when it comes to consumer rights protections. Assembly Democrats had an average score of 92 percent, with Senate Democrats averaging 87 percent. Assembly Republicans took the side of consumers only 14 percent of the time, and Senate Republicans scored slightly better with 15 percent. In all, 12 Senate Democrats scored 100 percent and another 28 Democrats in the Assembly earned a perfect score. In contrast, 17 of the 32 Republicans in the Assembly scored 11 percent or less as did seven of the 15 Republicans in the Senate.

Not all Democratic lawmakers received passing grades. An informal caucus of corporate Democrats in the Senate routinely joined their Republican colleagues to kill consumer bills. Corporate Democrats in the Assembly saw their influence decline in 2007. Still, eight Assembly Democrats and five Senate Democrats received grades of 67 percent or below.

The scorecard should help Californians evaluate how their lawmakers voted on consumer protection bills that affect our pocketbooks but get little news coverage.

Lawmakers were graded on legislative proposals that the CFC either sponsored or supported. A number of substantive floor votes and committee votes that decided the fate of some bills were assessed. Scores reflect the percentage of votes cast in favor of consumers. These scores include votes cast and non-votes by members present at the time the vote was cast. This practice, known as “taking a walk” is a ploy some lawmakers use to avoid a recorded vote while actually affecting the outcome of legislation.

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