The 2014 Utah legislature was dominated by Republicans, who held supermajorities in both the House and Senate. This resulted in Republican-sponsored bills passing at much higher rates than Democrat-sponsored bills. The legislature was also unusually productive, passing over 500 bills, with the Senate passing bills at a higher rate per member than the House. The large number of new House members did not seem to negatively impact productivity.

1. THE POLITICAL DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE
2014 UTAH LEGISLATURE AND ITS EFFECT
ON THE LEGISLATION IT PASSES
Presented to the Utah Manufacturers Association
J. Michael Bailey
January 13, 2014
parsonsbehle.com4823-6769-4103

2. 2
61
24
14
5
2014 House and Senate Composition
Republicans Republicans DemocratsDemocrats
House Senate

3. 3
 Large Number of Freshmen in the House
– 20 of 75 in the House were new
– 11 more beginning their second term
 Could have been chaotic
 Mood was workmanlike
 Media didn’t find much to report on but they
should have
2013 Legislative Session

4. 4
It was a Record Setting Session
303 House
bills passed
221 Senate
bills passed
1 bill (HB 76)
was vetoed
 748 bills were introduced
 524 bills passed

5. 5
782 764 748
504 478
524
Comparing Bill Passage Over Time
Bills
Introduced
Bills
Introduced
Bills
Passed
(64%)
Bills
Passed
(62%)
2011 2012 2013
Bills
Introduced
Bills
Passed
(70%)

6. 6
 Senate has fewer members (29, compared to
75) but passed many more bills per member
– Just over 4 bills per Representative
– Compared to 7.6 bills per Senator
 House worked slowly in final days
Squabbling between Senate & House

7. 7
2013 Bill Passage By The Numbers
Republican -
sponsored
bills that
passed
(492 or 94%)
Democrat -
sponsored
bills that
passed
(32 or 6%)
2012:
87% Republican
13% Democrat

8. 8
 Most Prolific Legislators
– Republican
• Senator Todd Weiler (19 out of 33 for 58%)
• Only his second session
• Unseated many-time champion – Senator Curt Bramble
– Democrat (Tie)
• Senator Luz Robles (5 out of 16 for 31%)
• Senator Karen Mayne (5 out of 15 for 33%)
2013 Bill Passage By The Numbers

9. 9
73%
of the bills
introduced
passed
38%
of the bills
introduced
passed
Effectiveness of Legislators by Party
Republicans Democrats

10. 10
 Mike Bailey
direct: (801) 536-6777
cell: (801) 201-0115
email: mbailey@parsonsbehle.com
Thank you