Sacramento Is a Scary Place for Taxpayers and Not Just on Halloween

HJTA releases 2013 Legislative Report Card – Record-tying number of legislators (79) flunk; only 25 score an “A”

By: Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Sacramento, CA – HJTA has released its 2013 Legislative Report Card. HJTA’s scorecard is intended as a tool to help struggling California taxpayers hold legislators of both parties accountable. Of the 120 members of the Legislature, 79 received a grade of “F” while only 25 earned an “A” grade. Twenty bills were used and represent the priorities of HJTA’s 200,000 members.

“Our report card is designed to help Californians gauge how their state representatives are actually performing on taxpayer-related issues including tax increases and direct attacks on Proposition 13,” said HJTA President Jon Coupal. “Regrettably, the grades show that Sacramento continues to be very hostile to taxpayers.”

Nine lawmakers received a perfect score:

– State Senator Joel Anderson (second consecutive perfect score)

– State Senator Ted Gaines (second consecutive perfect score)

– State Senator Steve Knight (second consecutive perfect score)

– State Senator Jim Nielsen

– State Senator Mark Wyland

– Assemblyman Brian Dahle

– Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (third consecutive perfect score)

– Assemblywoman Beth Gaines (second consecutive perfect score)

– Assemblyman Brian Jones

To review the Report Card in its entirety and to see how individual representatives scored, visit HJTA.org and look under “Hot Topics” at the bottom of the home page. Or simply click here.

For more information about our methodology and scoring system go HJTA.org or e-mail Legislative Director David Wolfe at david@hjta.org.

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Editor’s Note: Orange County’s Democratic members of the State Assembly did not fare too well in the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association’s annual Legislative Scorecard. Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton) got an “F,” while Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) ended up with an “F” as well.