Assessing California’s state legislators’ adherence to Biblical values can be challenging. To aid in this evaluation, the California Family Alliance (CFA), a sister organization of the California Family Council (CFC), has analyzed the voting records of all 120 state senators and assembly members over the past two years. Their findings are detailed in scorecards available online.
“If you have been following CFC online or in the media, read their articles, watched their podcasts, or participated in any of their events, you will already know that California’s Capitol isn’t a friendly place for Biblical values,” said CFC Vice President Greg Burt. “The grades legislators received reflect this reality.”
During the 2022 legislative year, no elected leader from either party received an “A” on their scorecard. There were 10 “B” s, 13 “C” s, 1 “D”, and 96 “F” s. During the 2003 legislative year, grades improved, but only marginally. There were 4 “A” s, 11 “B” s, 8 “C” s, no “D” s, and 97 “F” s. All the Democratic legislators received “F” s for the last two years, while several Republicans also earned failing grades.
The highest-scoring Democrat this year, with 30%, was Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (District-4, Modesto). Four Republicans received an “A” in 2023, including Assemblymembers Megan Dahle (District-1, Redding), Vince Fong (District-32, Bakersfield), Joe Patterson (District-5, Rocklin), and Tri Ta (District-70, Westminster). The worst performing Republicans who received “F” s this year include Assembly members Marie Waldron with 48% (District-75, San Diego), Juan Alanis with 41% (District 22, Turlock), and Greg Wallis with 28% (District-47, Palm Springs).
State legislators were given individual scores by CFA in response to their votes (Yea, Nay, or “No Vote Recorded”) on bills listed on CFC’s legislation watchlist. Each legislator’s scorecard lists the votes for each bill and a short bill description. For a detailed explanation of the scoring process used by California Family Alliance (and how CFA grades “abstentions”), please visit their page.
CFC’s positions on each of these bills reflect the organization’s doctrinal beliefs about God’s design for Life, Family, and liberty. Each reader is free to make their own evaluation based on the descriptions of the bills listed and the record of each elected leader.