AZ Legislature scores badly on liberty scale
November 5th, 2007, 1:45 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Le Templar
This test on limited government is so tough, not even Russell Pearce could earn an “A”.
On Monday, the Goldwater Institute released its annual report on the Arizona Legislature, focusing on the regular session earlier this year. Institute researchers rated the votes of all 90 lawmakers on 307 bills, judging them by their willingness to support less government regulation and business favoritism, fewer agencies and lower, equitable taxes. Each lawmaker receives a score somewhere between zero and 100, and a letter grade assigned based on a bell curve (you’ll understand why in a second). If you are fan of the institute’s high-minded libertarian approach to issues like I am, then you’ll be rather disappointed at the trends documented here.
Both the Senate and House had an average score that resulted in a “D.” Heck, nearly half of the 60 House lawmakers received an “F,” while 12 of 30 senators also “earned” a failing grade.
The only lawmaker to get an “A” (A- actually) is Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, who still only scored a total of 77 even though he seems to vote “no” on virtually everything. Well-known East Valley conservatives such as Pearce, R-Mesa, and Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, in the House and Karen Johnson, R-Mesa, and Chuck Gray, R-Mesa, in the Senate, all received a “B” or “B-”. It’s not a big surprise that almost every Democrat received a failing grade; some are known to carry that as a badge of honor.The Goldwater Institute sets rather high standards by emphasizing serious reductions in government and expansion of free-markets. For example, the institute gave bad marks to bills that added to professional licensing requirements, even when those professions had asked for the changes. Extension of the state’s job training program and possible consolidation of some school districts also earned lawmakers negative scores.
The harsh scoring is meant to shake up lawmakers who think of themselves as conservatives or libertarian-leaning, but frequently compromise with those who advocate for more government.
This is the fourth year of the Goldwater Institute’s legislative report card. Not only are the “liberty” scores low, they are lower than in previous reports. Chalk that up to Gov. Janet Napolitano’s enduring influence and her resounding re-election victory last year.
