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Representative Walt Brooks
Utah legislator profile

Years served in the Utah legislature

First session in legislature: 2017
Most recent year of service for which data are available: 2024
Total sessions served in Utah House as of 2024: 8
Total sessions served in Utah Senate as of 2024: 0

How to read the statistical profile

I present a variety of statistics about Rep. Walt Brooks's service in the Utah legislature. I highlight differences from chamber averages using little green and red arrows. The number of arrows is statistically determined. More arrows indicate a larger difference compared to the chamber average, in relation to how much diversity there is among legislators on this metric. If all legislators introduce exactly 5 bills, then a legislator who introduces 10 is very different; if legislators vary wildly in how many bills they introduce (but the average is still 5), then a legislator who introduces 10 bills may be less different from average. The standard deviation measures this diversity.

Rep. Brooks's statistical profile

20172018201920202021202220232024
Service summary. Service prior to 2007 (if any) is not shown here. My database goes back only to 2007.
  Chamber HouseHouseHouseHouseHouseHouseHouseHouse
  District H75H75H75H75H75H75H75H75
  Party RRRRRRRR
Leadership NoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNone
Years in chamber 12345678
Years comparison LowerLowerLowerLower====HigherHigher
 
20172018201920202021202220232024
Bills sponsored (learn more) Bills written and promoted by the legislator in his/her own chamber.
Introduced by Brooks 235876811
Chamber average 6.77.17.37.36.67.18.18.5
Difference -4.7-4.1-2.3+0.7+0.4-1.1-0.1+2.5
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLower========Higher
 
20172018201920202021202220232024
Bill passage rate (learn more). What percent of Rep. Brooks's sponsored bills pass and are officially "enrolled"? (I ignore whether the governor signed or vetoted the bill.)
Bills introduced 235876811
Bills passed 12447347
Passage rate 50%67%80%50%100%50%50%64%
Chamber average 61%53%63%58%60%58%56%56%
Difference -11.4+14+17-7.6+40-8.2-6.3+7.7
Comparison LowerHigherHigher==HigherHigher======
 
20172018201920202021202220232024
Bills floor sponsored. A "floor sponsor" is like a secondary sponsor of a bill. After a bill passes the sponsor's chamber, its sponsor needs to find a "floor sponsor" in the other chamber to usher it through the other chamber.
Total floor sponsored 01223355
Chamber average 3.63.43.43.13.13.03.53.3
Difference -3.6-2.4-1.4-1.1-0.1+0.0+1.5+1.7
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLower====HigherHigher
 
20172018201920202021202220232024
Missed votes (learn more). Usually missed votes occur because of competing obligations within the legislature, not because the legislator has left the capitol.
Missed votes 924341542241241
Total votes held 727734752698666711803845
Absentee rate 1.2%3.3%4.5%2.1%6.3%3.4%1.5%4.9%
Chamber average 5.2%8.0%6.4%7.1%6.1%5.7%6.4%6.8%
Difference -4.0-4.7-1.9-5.0+0.2-2.3-4.9-1.9
Comparison LowerLower==Lower==LowerLower==
 
20172018201920202021202220232024
"Nay" votes (learn more). Most floor votes pass by overwhelming majorities, since unpopular bills get weeded out long before they reach the floor. As a result, "nay" votes are rare.
"Nay" votes 3834435446555929
Total votes held 727734752698666711803845
"Nay" rate 5.2%4.6%5.7%7.7%6.9%7.7%7.3%3.4%
Chamber average 7.1%6.5%6.5%7.0%7.7%6.5%7.1%5.7%
Difference -1.9-1.9-0.8+0.7-0.8+1.2+0.2-2.3
Comparison LowerLower======Higher==Lower
 
20172018201920202021202220232024
Winning side rate (learn more). What percentage of the time (excluding near-unanimous votes) is the legislator on the winning side of a floor vote?
Winning side rate 68%68%73%68%64%66%75%79%
Chamber average 67%66%68%67%66%67%69%68%
Difference +1.2+2.1+4.2+0.9-1.6-1.1+5.8+12
Comparison ============HigherHigher
 
20172018201920202021202220232024
Ideology score (NOMINATE method) (learn more). Using W-NOMINATE algorithm developed by Congressional scholars, I calculate each legislator's relative ideology after each General Session. I describe the method here. Scores have no intrinsic meaning. They are only relative: A legislator with a higher score is to the right ideologically of a legislator with a lower scale. Scores may be compared only within a single chamber and a single year. In most years, a conservative Republican will have a score above 0; a score close to 100 is extreme.
Contact me for scores. They get misinterpreted often enough that I now provide them only to political scientists.
 
20172018201920202021202220232024
Party support score (overall) (learn more). How consistently does Rep. Brooks support his/her party? That is, what percentage of the time does the legislator vote with the majority of the other members of his/her party? Scores are usually easily above 90%.
Score (overall) 96%96%96%96%94%96%96%98%
Chamber average 95%94%95%95%94%95%96%96%
Difference +0.6+2.3+0.7+0.7+0.9+0.3-0.1+1.9
Comparison ==============HigherHigher
 
20172018201920202021202220232024
Party support score (party-line only) (learn more). This is the same as the "raw" party support score, but we look only at party-line votes when calculating this. A "party-line" vote occurs when the majority of Democrats votes against the majority of Republicans. Although party-line votes are rare, looking at the legislator's party support score in this setting can be revealing.
Score (party-line only) 90%94%90%94%89%96%90%96%
Chamber average 87%83%85%83%85%84%88%87%
Difference +3.2+11+5.5+10+4.3+12+2.6+8.6
Comparison HigherHigherHigherHigher==HigherHigher==Higher

Votes on Rep. Brooks's bills

Many votes have been held on bills sponsored by Rep. Brooks. In the interest of space, I display only the most and least divisive votes held on Rep. Brooks's bills.

Rep. Brooks's most divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Rep. Brooks that had the closest vote margin (as a percent of the total votes cast). When there are ties, I list the most recent bills first.

Year Sponsor Bill Ayes Nays Margin
(as % of total votes)
Type of vote
2022 Brooks HB0060S06 38 29 13% House/ circled
2022 Brooks HB0060S06 29 41 17% House/ substitute adoption failed from # 2 to # 3
2023 Brooks HB0094S02 44 30 19% House/ passed 3rd reading
2023 Brooks HB0094S02 43 23 30% House/ concurs with Senate amendment
2019 Brooks HB0149S01 17 9 31% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2022 Brooks HB0060S06 51 23 38% House/ passed 3rd reading
2021 Brooks HB0060S03 51 20 44% House/ concurs with Senate amendment
2021 Brooks HB0060S03 54 19 48% House/ passed 3rd reading
2023 Brooks HB0094S02 18 6 50% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2024 Brooks HB0249 19 6 52% Senate/ passed 3rd reading

Rep. Brooks's least divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Rep. Brooks that had the widest vote margin (as a percent of the total votes cast). When there are ties, I display the most recent bills first.

Year Sponsor Bill Ayes Nays Margin
(as % of total votes)
Type of vote
2024 Brooks HB0567 25 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
2024 Brooks HB0567 69 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Brooks HB0467 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
2024 Brooks HB0467 73 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Brooks HB0389S01 68 0 100% House/ concurs with Senate amendment
2024 Brooks HB0389S01 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
2024 Brooks HB0389S01 67 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Brooks HB0383 22 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Brooks HB0383 28 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2024 Brooks HB0383 72 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading