CFC Releases Its 2014 Scorecard For State Legislators

CFC logo 320 x 194The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) has released its 2014 Scorecard for State Legislators, which rates lawmakers on their votes cast on key consumer rights bills concerning protections for vulnerable elders, truth in advertising, cell phone safety regulation, medical credit arrangements, computer spyware, financial privacy, and defective products.

“This scorecard should help Californians evaluate how their lawmakers voted on consumer protection bills that affect our pocketbooks, our privacy, and our health and safety, but often get little news coverage,” said CFC Executive Director Richard Holober.

Click here to view the scorecard and the description of the legislation used to grade lawmakers.

The Assembly as a whole posted an average pro-consumer score of 74 percent, and the Senate’s overall average score was 73 percent.

The scorecard highlights a split between the two parties when it comes to consumer rights protections. Assembly Democrats scored an average of 92 percent, with Senate Democrats averaging nearly 91 percent. Assembly Republicans took the side of consumers 32 percent of the time and Senate Republicans scored slightly better, siding with consumers an average of nearly 33 percent of the time.

Thirty-two of the 55 Assembly Democrats, and 14 of the 27 Senate Democrats, earned a perfect score of 100 percent on the CFC scorecard. (State Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Inglewood, did not cast any votes in tallies used to compile the scorecard.) No Republican in either house exceeded a 67 percent pro-consumer score.

However, not all Democratic lawmakers received high marks. Nine Assembly Democrats received grades of 78 percent or less, with two receiving grades of 67 percent or less. Two Senate Democrats scored 63 percent or below.

Also included in the scorecard are “lifetime” legislator scores, based on CFC scorecards issued each year. Percentages represent the total number of right and wrong votes cast by a lawmaker during his or her tenure in the Legislature.

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