The report was made by the Center for Effective Lawmaking.
The Center for Effective Lawmaking, a research institute at the University of Virginia that works with Vanderbilt University, recently released a report on the most and least effective lawmakers in Pennsylvania.
The report comes when a divided state legislature is running three months behind on delivering a budget for the Commonwealth.
“The thing that was striking us about Pennsylvania, relative to other states, was the degree to which the minority party was cut out of the (legislative) process, prior to Democrats gaining control of the state House. We do see gridlock in a number of states, but the degree to which it was so partisan in Pennsylvania – and may or may not be moving forward – was striking to us,” said Craig Volden, University of Virginia Professor of Public Policy and Politics and co-author of the report, in a recent interview.
Volden cited a “steady decline” in the amount of minority party bills being passed prior to Democrats gaining control of the state House.
Researchers issuing the report used a combination of 15 different metrics to create a Legislative Effectiveness Score. They identified legislation as either substantive, commemorative, or substantive and significant. Bills that address policy priorities and receive media attention received the highest ratings.
The report said Democratic bills in the state House dropped from nearly two dozen becoming law in 2015 to only one making it to the governor’s desk in 2021-22.
During last year’s session, House Democrats saw more than 100 bills become law after gaining a slim majority in the chamber.
“Are (legislators) recognizing that they have to cooperate, and is the nature of lawmaking different in terms of the numbers? It looks like it is,” said Volden in the recent interview.
For the 2023-24 legislative session, Democratic Representatives Jordan Harris, Joseph Ciresi, and Ed Neilson received high effectiveness ratings. In the Republican Party, Representatives Thomas Mehaffie, Brett Miller, and Ryan Mackenzie received high scores.
On the state Senate side, the Republican majority saw Senators Lisa Baker, Scott Martin, and Doug Mastriano with high effectiveness ratings. Senators Tim Kearney, Vincent Hughes, and Lisa Boscola of the Democratic Party earned high ratings as well.
On the low side of effectiveness scores, House Democratic leaders Joanna McClinton and Matt Bradford were named in the report. State Senate Republican leaders Joe Pittman and Kim Ward also received some of the lowest effectiveness scores.
“I tend to not read much into that. They’re effective in other ways, in terms of their leadership roles, as opposed to their own legislation that they’re putting forward,” said Volden in the interview.
