There are a number of excellent groups providing ratings on State legislators. Empower Texans provide a great Fiscal Responsibility Index (both for the State House and the State Senate). Heritage Alliance also does one, as does the Young Conservatives of Texas. However, all of these are based solely on the actual voting records of the legislators and, as we ALL learned this last session, often voting does not have as much impact- nor tells the legislators true role as well- as the members’ performance in committee. A legislator might have a solid conservative voting record; but does that tell the real picture if- as a Committee Chair- he prevents a large amount of conservative-promoting legislation through? Or waters down good bills; or speeds up bad bills?
In our first ever attempt to address this performance aspect of our legislators, we are posting a ‘Committee Performance Values’; these values need to be viewed as an addendum to the voting performance indicators already out there. Each committee receives a ranking of importance and a general committee performance determination. These values are factored in with the member’s role on the committee (Chair, Vice-Chair, serving by seniority, serving by Speaker appointment) to come up with the member’s points (or negative points) for their involvement. These are added up for all the committee’s served for the total value by member.
Some will argue that membership to the committees should not be penalized (or credited) because of the level of control that the Committee Chairs hold. However, the membership of a committee COULD apply pressure on the chair if they so choose- and had motivation to do so. Hopefully, having the committee’s performance reflecting on them will encourage the committee members to take a more active role in the committee scheduling itself, especially members that serve due to seniority.
UPDATE: Included some missing legislators and what No Impact means: No Impact indicates that their committee scores are neutral or that they are assigned to lesser committees not involved in the more important legislation (either due to freshman status or because of ‘sins against the Powers That Be’). In ‘No Impact’ cases, their voting records can be used straightup.
UPDATE2: Some folks on the other side of the aisle are trying to make a big deal out of Coleman finishing well in this (NOTHING like taking something out of context, by cutting and stitching together pieces from an article, leaving out key explanations. Yellowsheet Journalism at its finest). Once again:
This evaluation is an ADDENDUM to add to their VOTING PERFORMANCES;
As such, blending the scores of the two indicators we use, brings Coleman up to a total grade of…38% JUST above absolutely appalling.
One CANNOT undo a horrible voting record very much with a good committee performance; but one CAN damage a good voting record with an horrible Committee Performance.
The proper blending of the committee performance, along with the ratings from EmpowerTexans and Eagle Forum used for this blend are now posted for those with poor reading comprehension and math skills.
| TX House Committee Impact & 82nd Session Performance | ||
| COMMITTEE | IMPACT | PERFORMANCE |
| Agriculture & Livestock | Minor | Neutral |
| Appropriations | Critical | Weak |
| Border & Intergovernmental Affairs | Modest | Poor |
| Business & Industry | Modest | Neutral |
| Calendars | Critical | Poor |
| Corrections | Modest | Weak |
| County Affairs | Modest | Good |
| Criminal Jurisprudence | Modest | Weak |
| Culture, Recreation &Tourism | Minor | Weak |
| Defense & Veterans’ Affairs | Minor | Good |
| Economic & Small Business Development | Modest | Neutral |
| Elections | Modest | Neutral |
| Energy Resouces | Modest | Neutral |
| Environmental Regulation | Modest | Weak |
| General Investigating & Ethics | Modest | Terrible |
| Government Efficiency & Reform | Minor | Neutral |
| Higher Education | Modest | Weak |
| Homeland Security & Public Safety | Modest | Weak |
| House Administration | No Value | Neutral |
| Human Services | Modest | Neutral |
| Insurance | Modest | Fair |
| Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence | Modest | Neutral |
| Land & Resource Management | Minor | Neutral |
| Licensing & Administrative Procedures | Minor | Neutral |
| Local & Consent Calendars | Minor | Weak |
| Natural Resources | Minor | Neutral |
| Pensions, Investments & Financial Services | Modest | Neutral |
| Public Education | Important | Fair |
| Public Health | Modest | Neutral |
| Redistrictin | Important | Poor |
| Rules & Resolutions | Minor | Neutral |
| Select Comm on Oversight & HHS Eligibility | Minor | Neutral |
| Select Comm on State Sovereignty | Modest | Good |
| Select Comm on Voter ID & Voter Fraud | Modest | Good |
| Select Committee on Election Contest | Minor | Weak |
| State Affairs | Important | Terrible |
| Technology | Minor | Weak |
| Transportation | Important | Weak |
| Urban Affairs | Modest | Neutral |
| Ways & Means | Important | Weak |
EmpTx – EmpowerTexan Fiscal Responsibility Index (numeric conversion)
EglF – Eagle Forum
CPE – NTTP Committee Performance Evaluation
Blended = (EmpT + EglF + CPE) / 2
| Legislator | Party | EmpTx | EglF | CPE | Blended |
| Paxton, Ken | R | 98 | 96 | 4 | 99 |
| King, Phillip | R | 98 | 96 | 0 | 97 |
| Laubenberg, Jodie | R | 98 | 96 | 0 | 97 |
| Flynn, Dan | R | 98 | 96 | -2 | 96 |
| Cain, Erwin | R | 98 | 96 | -2 | 96 |
| White, James | R | 98 | 92 | 2 | 96 |
| Landtroop, Jim | R | 98 | 92 | 2 | 96 |
| Zedler, Bill | R | 98 | 96 | -2 | 96 |
| Parker, Tan | R | 98 | 96 | -2 | 96 |
| Perry, Charles | R | 98 | 92 | 0 | 95 |
| Taylor, Van | R | 95 | 92 | 2 | 94.5 |
| Christian, Wayne | R | 98 | 100 | -14 | 92 |
| Hughes, Bryan | R | 98 | 85 | 0 | 91.5 |
| Simpson, David | R | 98 | 87 | -4 | 90.5 |
| Berman, Leo | R | 88 | 88 | 4 | 90 |
| Burkett, Cindy | R | 88 | 88 | -2 | 87 |
| Isaac, Jason | R | 98 | 54 | 0 | 76 |
| Anderson, Rodney | R | 98 | 44 | 0 | 71 |
| Creighton, Brandon | R | 98 | 44 | -3 | 69.5 |
| Weber, Randy | R | 98 | 48 | -9 | 68.5 |
| Taylor, Larry | R | 88 | 40 | 8 | 68 |
| Sheets, Kenneth | R | 98 | 36 | 2 | 68 |
| Anderson, Charles | R | 88 | 48 | 0 | 68 |
| Legler, Ken | R | 95 | 44 | -4 | 67.5 |
| Sheffield, Ralph | R | 88 | 40 | 6 | 67 |
| Workman, Paul | R | 95 | 40 | -2 | 66.5 |
| Hancock, Kelly | R | 88 | 48 | -3 | 66.5 |
| Harper-Brown, Linda | R | 95 | 43 | -7 | 65.5 |
| Miller, Sid | R | 98 | 40 | -8 | 65 |
| Lavender, George | R | 85 | 48 | -3 | 65 |
| Carter, Stefani | R | 95 | 36 | -2 | 64.5 |
| Howard, Charlie | R | 85 | 44 | 0 | 64.5 |
| Garza, John | R | 88 | 40 | 0 | 64 |
| Orr, Rob | R | 88 | 40 | -1 | 63.5 |
| Aliseda, Jose | R | 88 | 40 | -2 | 63 |
| Bonnen, Dennis | R | 95 | 43 | -12 | 63 |
| Frullo, John | R | 88 | 46 | -9 | 62.5 |
| Schwertner, Charles | R | 85 | 44 | -4 | 62.5 |
| Driver, Joe | R | 78 | 48 | -2 | 62 |
| Beck, Marva | R | 85 | 40 | -2 | 61.5 |
| Huberty, Dan | R | 85 | 44 | -6 | 61.5 |
| Fletcher, Allen | R | 88 | 44 | -9 | 61.5 |
| Kolkhorst, Lois | R | 88 | 44 | -9 | 61.5 |
| Lewis, Tyron | R | 78 | 48 | -3 | 61.5 |
| Morrison, Geanie | R | 88 | 42 | -8 | 61 |
| Price, Four | R | 75 | 48 | -2 | 60.5 |
| Riddle, Debbie | R | 88 | 44 | -12 | 60 |
| Craddick, Tom | R | 88 | 40 | -9 | 59.5 |
| Murphy, Jim | R | 88 | 36 | -6 | 59 |
| Jackson, Jim | R | 78 | 36 | 4 | 59 |
| Kleinschmidt, Tim | R | 78 | 40 | 0 | 59 |
| Button, Angie | R | 85 | 40 | -7 | 59 |
| Bohac, Dwayne | R | 85 | 33 | -1 | 58.5 |
| Gooden, Lance | R | 68 | 44 | 4 | 58 |
| Smith, Todd | R | 78 | 32 | 5 | 57.5 |
| Elkins, Gary | R | 95 | 36 | -16 | 57.5 |
| Scott, Connie | R | 78 | 36 | 1 | 57.5 |
| Nash, Barbara | R | 75 | 36 | 4 | 57.5 |
| Davis, Sarah | R | 78 | 36 | 0 | 57 |
| Hamilton, Mike | R | 78 | 32 | 4 | 57 |
| Eissler, Rob | R | 68 | 36 | 8 | 56 |
| Madden, Jerry | R | 85 | 44 | -17 | 56 |
| Phillips, Larry | R | 98 | 39 | -25 | 56 |
| Miller, Doug | R | 78 | 36 | -4 | 55 |
| Chisum, Warren | R | 78 | 42 | -10 | 55 |
| Torres, Raul | R | 75 | 36 | -2 | 54.5 |
| Kuempel, John | R | 75 | 33 | -2 | 53 |
| Shelton, Mark | R | 75 | 32 | -1 | 53 |
| Smithee, John | R | 75 | 36 | -8 | 51.5 |
| Aycock, Jimmie | R | 78 | 32 | -7 | 51.5 |
| Zerwas, John | R | 78 | 36 | -12 | 51 |
| Larson, Lyle | R | 68 | 36 | -3 | 50.5 |
| Smith, Wayne | R | 68 | 40 | -7 | 50.5 |
| Gonzales, Larry | R | 65 | 36 | 0 | 50.5 |
| King, Susan | R | 75 | 29 | -4 | 50 |
| Crownover, Myra | R | 75 | 33 | -8 | 50 |
| Hardcastle, Rick | R | 65 | 36 | -4 | 48.5 |
| Lyne, Lanham | R | 68 | 36 | -8 | 48 |
| Hartnett, Will | R | 68 | 33 | -6 | 47.5 |
| Brown, Fred | R | 65 | 32 | -4 | 46.5 |
| Truitt, Vicki | R | 75 | 26 | -8 | 46.5 |
| Geren, Charlie | R | 78 | 37 | -23 | 46 |
| Darby, Drew | R | 75 | 28 | -12 | 45.5 |
| Keffer, James | R | 68 | 37 | -14 | 45.5 |
| Patrick, Diane | R | 65 | 32 | -6 | 45.5 |
| Pena, Aaron | R | 78 | 24 | -11 | 45.5 |
| Harless, Patricia | R | 75 | 24 | -11 | 44 |
| Davis, John | R | 55 | 32 | 0 | 43.5 |
| Branch, Dan | R | 78 | 30 | -22 | 43 |
| Woolley, Beverly | R | 68 | 30 | -12 | 43 |
| Margo, Dee | R | 55 | 32 | -4 | 41.5 |
| Pitts, Jim | R | 65 | 36 | -18 | 41.5 |
| Pickett, Joseph | D | 55 | 29 | -2 | 41 |
| Solomons, Burt | R | 95 | 33 | -47 | 40.5 |
| Otto, John | R | 78 | 28 | -26 | 40 |
| Coleman, Garnet | D | 55 | 12 | 12 | 39.5 |
| Quintanilla, Chente | D | 55 | 24 | 0 | 39.5 |
| Raymond, Richard | D | 55 | 20 | 0 | 37.5 |
| Munoz, Sergio | D | 55 | 20 | -1 | 37 |
| Marquez, Marisa | D | 55 | 8 | 9 | 36 |
| Lozano, Jose | D | 55 | 16 | 0 | 35.5 |
| Deshotel, Joe | D | 55 | 17 | -1 | 35.5 |
| Guillen, Ryan | D | 55 | 16 | 0 | 35.5 |
| King, Tracy | D | 55 | 24 | -9 | 35 |
| Veasey, Marc | D | 55 | 8 | 6 | 34.5 |
| Dutton, Harold | D | 55 | 8 | 6 | 34.5 |
| Martinez, Armando | D | 55 | 20 | -7 | 34 |
| Strama, Mark | D | 55 | 9 | 3 | 33.5 |
| Eiland, Craig | D | 55 | 17 | -5 | 33.5 |
| Anchia, Rafael | D | 55 | 12 | 0 | 33.5 |
| Vo, Hubert | D | 55 | 8 | 2 | 32.5 |
| Walle, Armando | D | 55 | 8 | 2 | 32.5 |
| Hopson, Chuck | R | 65 | 29 | -30 | 32 |
| Lucio III, Eddie | D | 55 | 17 | -8 | 32 |
| Thompson, Senfronia | D | 55 | 12 | -3 | 32 |
| Hilderban, Harvey | R | 78 | 36 | -50 | 32 |
| Allen, Alma | D | 55 | 8 | 0 | 31.5 |
| Miles, Borris | D | 55 | 8 | 0 | 31.5 |
| Ritter, Allan | R | 55 | 28 | -20 | 31.5 |
| Martinez Fischer, Trey | D | 55 | 8 | 0 | 31.5 |
| Hernandez-Luna, Ana | D | 55 | 8 | 0 | 31.5 |
| Naishtat, Elliot | D | 55 | 8 | 0 | 31.5 |
| Johnson, Eric | D | 55 | 12 | -6 | 30.5 |
| Mallory Caraway, Barbara | D | 55 | 8 | -2 | 30.5 |
| Reynolds, Ron | D | 55 | 8 | -2 | 30.5 |
| Gonzalez, Naomi | D | 55 | 12 | -6 | 30.5 |
| Hunter, Todd | R | 78 | 40 | -59 | 29.5 |
| Farrar, Jessica | D | 55 | 8 | -4 | 29.5 |
| Burnam, Lon | D | 55 | 8 | -6 | 28.5 |
| Castro, Joaquin | D | 55 | 8 | -6 | 28.5 |
| Alvarado, Carol | D | 55 | 8 | -6 | 28.5 |
| Howard, Donna | D | 55 | 4 | -3 | 28 |
| McClendon, Ruth | D | 55 | 12 | -11 | 28 |
| Cook, Byron | R | 68 | 40 | -53 | 27.5 |
| Dukes, Dawnna | D | 55 | 9 | -9 | 27.5 |
| Davis, Yvonne | D | 55 | 8 | -8 | 27.5 |
| Giddings, Helen | D | 55 | 8 | -9 | 27 |
| Menendez, Jose | D | 55 | 21 | -27 | 24.5 |
| Oliveira, Rene | D | 55 | 12 | -18 | 24.5 |
| Rodriguez, Eddie | D | 55 | 8 | -16 | 23.5 |
| Gonzales, Veronica | D | 55 | 8 | -20 | 21.5 |
| Alonzo, Robert | D | 55 | 0 | -14 | 20.5 |
| Gallego, Pete | D | 55 | 16 | -34 | 18.5 |
| Turner, Sylvester | D | 55 | 8 | -30 | 16.5 |
| Villarreal, Michael | D | 55 | 8 | -32 | 15.5 |
| Gutierrez, Rolando | D | 0 | 8 | 4 | 6 |
| Farias, Joe | D | 0 | 8 | -3 | 2.5 |
| Straus, Joe | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Where’s Jodie Laubenberg?
This list is not yet complete; we’ll try to update it tonight.
Brandon Creighton was Chairman of the Select Committee on State Sovereignty and he did not allow the Constitutional Convention bill commonly known as the Con Con to get out of committee and on to the floor of the House. Sen Shapiro gave a news release giving her full support to urge the House to pass the Con Con & delivered it to all the Texas House Reps. There was a large delegation from Collin County that testified to this committee in Austin (until 2:30 AM) & I worked with Conservatives across the state in keeping the pressure on the committee & not allow it out of committee. Dewhurst, Ogden, Shapiro, who was a co-sponsor, led the Senate to pass the Con Con as a fast track bill which was one of the first to be delivered to the House. This was a bitter and hard fought battle but we did get through to Brandon Creighton and as chairman, he did not allow it out of committee. Nor did he allow any of the other 5 variations of Con Con bills out of his committee either. Hands off our Constitution was the battle cry. If a Constitutional Convention were to be held today, all our freedoms secured by the documents in the Constitution & the Bill of Rights would be laid open to the worst hatchet job attack of our freedoms & ALL OUR FREEDOMS would be subject to possible amendments decided by the Con Con. Although Rep Brandon Creighton was the author of the House version of the Con Con bill & he was put under pressure to pass it out of committee by Straus & Dewhurst, he did not allow it. His office was flooded with calls, e-mails & visits for months during the session. It was quite plain to see that the people by far spoke loud & clear, HANDS OFF OUR CONSTITUTION. Chairman Creighton listened.
Thank you for that input, Cindy. One of the features we built into the system was for individual adjustments for specific activity related to the conservative cause. There are some minor additions and modifications that need to be made. Updates will be forthcoming.
[...] Here is an interesting review of Texas State Legislature Committee Performances for the 82nd Legislature: http://northtexasteaparty.org/texas-legislative-committee-performance-evaluation/ [...]
[...] know that a group representing themselves as a "tea party" has jumped the shark when they rate Houston Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-147) as the most influential or best state legislator in terms of "committee performance". [...]
[...] and faith based curriculum GET YOUR FREE PASS TODAY. CLICK HERE NOW Selected excerpt FROM: http://northtexasteaparty.org/texas-leg-comm-perf-eval/#comment-5719 Sponsor- Bible Island at BibleIslands.com is your home for Kids Bible Stories told through the [...]
Are you going to rate the Texas Senators?
For Texas State House, we will do the local onces; not the U.S. Sernate
How does a “politician” rate a -0- all the way across ??
( ie “snake in the grass” joe straus ) :0
As Speaker, Joe never votes, but the score is appropriate; one big Zero.
[...] Texas Legislative Committee Performance Evaluation [...]