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Senator Daniel R. Liljenquist
Utah legislator profile

Years served in the Utah legislature

First session in legislature: 2009
Most recent year of service for which data are available: 2011
Total sessions served in Utah House as of 2011: 0
Total sessions served in Utah Senate as of 2011: 3

How to read the statistical profile

I present a variety of statistics about Sen. Daniel R. Liljenquist'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.

Sen. Liljenquist's statistical profile

200920102011
Service summary. Service prior to 2007 (if any) is not shown here. My database goes back only to 2007.
  Chamber SenateSenateSenate
  District S23S23S23
  Party RRR
Leadership NoneNoneNone
Years in chamber 123
Years comparison LowerLowerLower
 
200920102011
Bills sponsored (learn more) Bills written and promoted by the legislator in his/her own chamber.
Introduced by Liljenquist 81412
Chamber average 9.08.911
Difference -1.0+5.1+1.4
Comparison ==HigherHigher==
 
200920102011
Bill passage rate (learn more). What percent of Sen. Liljenquist's sponsored bills pass and are officially "enrolled"? (I ignore whether the governor signed or vetoted the bill.)
Bills introduced 81412
Bills passed 61110
Passage rate 75%79%83%
Chamber average 63%69%70%
Difference +12+10+13
Comparison HigherHigherHigher
 
200920102011
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 161513
Chamber average 111111
Difference +4.9+4.0+1.6
Comparison HigherHigher==
 
200920102011
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 77203227
Total votes held 807786940
Absentee rate 9.5%26%24%
Chamber average 11%12%14%
Difference -1.6+14+9.6
Comparison ==HigherHigherHigher
 
200920102011
"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 51514
Total votes held 807786940
"Nay" rate 0.6%1.9%1.5%
Chamber average 4.1%4.6%3.4%
Difference -3.5-2.7-1.9
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
200920102011
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 94%90%88%
Chamber average 70%70%72%
Difference +25+20+16
Comparison HigherHigherHigherHigherHigher
 
200920102011
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.
 
200920102011
Party support score (overall) (learn more). How consistently does Sen. Liljenquist 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) 99%98%99%
Chamber average 97%97%98%
Difference +1.7+1.0+1.1
Comparison HigherHigherHigherHigherHigher
 
200920102011
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) 89%86%100%
Chamber average 89%89%91%
Difference -0.8-2.5+8.8
Comparison ==LowerHigherHigher

Votes on Sen. Liljenquist's bills

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

Sen. Liljenquist's most divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Liljenquist 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
2010 Liljenquist SB0063S03 46 26 28% House/ passed 3rd reading
2010 Liljenquist SB0063S03 19 9 36% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2010 Liljenquist SB0063S03 18 8 38% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2010 Liljenquist SB0063S03 20 8 43% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2010 Liljenquist SB0043S03 20 8 43% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2010 Liljenquist SB0043S03 20 8 43% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2010 Liljenquist SB0043S03 20 8 43% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2010 Liljenquist SB0043S03 55 20 47% House/ passed 3rd reading
2010 Liljenquist SB0094 20 6 54% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2011 Liljenquist SB0009 55 16 55% House/ passed 3rd reading

Sen. Liljenquist's least divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Liljenquist 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
2011 Liljenquist SJR008 70 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2011 Liljenquist SJR008 23 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
2011 Liljenquist SB0308S01 70 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2011 Liljenquist SB0308S01 23 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2011 Liljenquist SB0308S01 24 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2011 Liljenquist SB0272 28 0 100% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2011 Liljenquist SB0272 72 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2011 Liljenquist SB0272 25 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2011 Liljenquist SB0272 24 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2011 Liljenquist SB0180S02 29 0 100% Senate/ concurs with House amendment