How we grade Utah legislators — and why it matters.
Lawmakers pass hundreds of bills each year. How many of those bills make Utah a better state for everyone?
The Progress Report is a collection of the most important bills (both good and bad) that were considered during the Legislative Session. We grade lawmakers on how they voted, so you can be in the know on how your representatives are doing up at the Utah Capitol.
Share it with your family, friends, and neighbors, and use it to help you get ready to vote! We all deserve elected officials committed to moving Utah forward and putting people over politics.
We look at every bill that lawmakers consider during the Legislative Session and identify the most important ones. Lawmakers receive scores based on their votes:
Sponsor and cosponsor points are added on top of any vote score for the same bill. A lawmaker who sponsors a good bill and votes yes on it earns +3 points for that bill.
The Progress Report includes both bills that passed the Legislature and bills that received some votes but ultimately did not pass. Bills that were introduced but never received any votes were not considered. Lawmakers were only graded on bills they had the opportunity to vote on. Absences and non-votes count as zero points and are included in the total bill count — they don't hurt a lawmaker the same way a bad vote does, but they do lower the overall percentage compared to actively voting in line with our positions.
Letter grades are assigned based on fixed percentage thresholds. A lawmaker who scores 75% or above earns an A, 50–74% earns a B, 25–49% earns a C, 0–24% earns a D, and below 0% earns an F. An A+ is possible when sponsorship bonus points push a lawmaker's percentage above 100%.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Voted in line with Better Utah's position | +1 |
| Absent / Not voting | 0 |
| Voted out of line with Better Utah's position | −1 |
| Co-sponsored a bill in line with our position | +1 additional |
| Co-sponsored a bill out of line with our position | −1 additional |
| Sponsored / Floor Sponsored a bill in line with our position | +2 additional |
| Sponsored / Floor Sponsored a bill out of line with our position | −2 additional |