Most Utahns give the 2015 Legislature a passing grade.
Our latest UtahPolicy.com survey finds 64% say lawmakers earned either a "B" or "C" grade for their work during the session that ended in March. Just 5% thought legislators were worthy of an "A" grade while 12% gave them a failing mark.
No surprise here. Republican voters were mostly pleased with the GOP-dominated legislature. 49% gave them a "B" grade while another 8% put them at the top of the class with an "A."
3/4 of Democrats said lawmakers earned a "C" grade or below. A quarter gave the 2015 legislature a failing grade.
Independent voters tended toward the lower-end of the grading scale, with a majority giving lawmakers a "C" grade or below for their efforts.
Even though lawmakers did not get anything done on Medicaid expansion, very few gave lawmakers an "incomplete" for the session. Just 7% overall picked an "incomplete" grade while 5% of Republicans, 9% of Democrats and 9% of independents agreed.
Despite lawmakers raising gasoline and property taxes, conservative voters tended to give the legislature high marks for their work this year.
57% of self-described "very conservative" voters gave a final grade of an "A" or "B," while 58% of those who are "somewhat conservative" picked one of the top two grades. 63% of political moderates gave a "B" or a "C," as did 51% of those who are "somewhat liberal." 66% of the "very liberal" gave lawmakers a "D" or an "F."
The survey was conducted for UtahPolicy.com by Dan Jones and Associates from March 30 to April 7, 2015. 601 registered Utah voters were contacted via telephone and online methods. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.0%.
