FLORIDA — You may not agree with his definition, but Craig Volden is concerned with “effective lawmaking.”

“We define someone as ‘effective’ if they can put forward a portfolio of legislative ideas and move those through the lawmaking process into law,” Volden, a professor of public policy and politics at the University of Virginia, said.

Volden and Alan Wiseman, the chair of the Political Science Department at Vanderbilt University, run the Center for Effective Lawmaking.

The center has gone back through decades of Congressional terms, scoring lawmakers on whether they were able to propose legislation that ultimately becomes law. After each congressional term, they release data on which lawmakers were most effective.

Under the Center for Effective Lawmaking’s scoring system, lawmakers are judged on the following categories:

• Number of bills sponsored
• Numbers of bills receiving "action in committee"
• Number of bills receiving "action beyond committee"
• Number of bills passing their chamber of origin
• Number of bills that became law

You can search for your lawmaker’s score here.

The Center also distinguishes between what it considers “commemorative” bills and what it considers “substantive bills.” In short, lawmakers don’t get credit for sponsoring a bill that merely names a post office or mints a coin.  

The Center also gives extra credit for sponsoring a substantive bill that is also deemed “significant.”

Their takeaways:

• It helps to be in the majority. When your party is in the majority, you have an easier time sponsoring bills that become law.
• It helps to be a committee chair or sub-committee chair. When you’re in those leadership roles, you have an easier time sponsoring bills that become law.
• Effective lawmakers work on coalition building, focusing on bipartisan support for their ideas
• Effective lawmakers hire staffers with experience in legislative affairs
• Effective lawmakers focus on a few issues important to them, rather than trying to impact all areas

“Those who are scoring at the very top of our metric do establish some of the same habits time and time again,” Volden told Spectrum Bay News 9. “The most effective lawmakers find a sweet spot between ‘What was my prior career? What I am an expert about? What does my district care about? What is my committee assignment?’”

On the flip side, Volden says there are traits of ineffective lawmakers too, starting with simply having no interest in legislative process.

“They just don’t put forward a single bill,” Volden said. “If you don’t put forward a single bill, you’ll get a zero on our metric and perform really low. That suggests ‘Are you interested in legislative process or are you interested in something else?’”

Volden concedes that passing laws is not the only role for a lawmaker. Members of Congress also have a function in oversight, voting on legislation and serving constituents. But he and Wiseman believe lawmaking is a “major component of their job.”

Note: The Center waits until the end of a Congress before compiling all the data. So the current website shows bills through the end of 2022.

Examples

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was one of the most effective lawmakers in the Senate during the 117^th Congress, according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking. His score of 2.624 was the second-highest among Republican Senators and third overall. Rubio sponsored 193 bills, getting 11 passed through the Senate and seven signed into law. He’s had 17 bills he sponsored signed into law during his time in the Senate.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) was the most effective lawmaker in the Senate during the 117^th Congress, according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking. His score of 6.725 was the highest among all U.S. Senators. He sponsored 99 bills, getting 37 passed through the Senate and 27 signed into law. He also sponsored a bill that became law which the Center for Effective Lawmaking deemed “substantive and significant.”

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was one of the least effective lawmakers in the House during the 117^th Congress, according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking. His score of .009 was the fourth-lowest among Republican Representatives and fifth-lowest overall. Jordan has served in Congress since 2007 but has never had a bill he sponsored become law, pass the House, make it out of committee or make it to committee.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, has been in either the House or the Senate since 1991. His score of .200 was the 89^th-highest among Senators during the 117^th Congress, according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking. In his more than 30 years in the House or Senate, Sanders has only had one bill he sponsored become law.