Some committees also had much better overall voting participation than others. The lowest rates were in the Senate Workforce Services, 56 percent; House Retirement and Independent Entities, 58 percent; and Senate Revenue and Taxation, 64 percent.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Senate Retirement and Independent Entities Committee had 100 percent voting participation (but only had a minuscule six votes); the House Judiciary Committee had 87 percent; and the House Public Utilities and Technology Committee had 86 percent.

Appropriations

House members have long complained that senators have poor attendance at their joint appropriations subcommittees, sometimes making it difficult to conduct business. (The joint appropriations committees have both House and Senate members on them. Those committees set budgets. The standing committees of the House and Senate operate only within those bodies, and standing committees take actions on bills, which become law if approved by both bodies.)

Statistics show that this year, half of the appropriations subcommittee votes occurred when fewer than half of Senate members were present.

That happened 100 percent of the time, for example, in the Natural Resources Appropriations subcommittee. It happened in 92 percent of the time in the Transportation, Environmental Quality and National Guard Appropriations subcommittee. It happened 83 percent of the time in the Higher Education Appropriations subcommittee.

Sometimes as few as just one Senate member was present in an appropriations subcommittee vote to represent that body (occurring after a legal quorum had been established, but some senators then left).

Just one senator voting happened nine times (out of 24 total votes affecting legislation) in the Executive Offices & Criminal Justice Appropriations subcommittee. It happened once on the Health and Human Services Appropriations subcommittee.

Senate President Valentine said that with nine budget subcommittees — all of which normally meet at the same time — and with only 29 senators, "It doesn't take a genius to see we don't have enough senators to adequately staff all those meetings. I've pushed for fewer (budget) committees."

But that would stack dozens of House members on fewer budget subcommittees, diluting representatives' individual votes, something House leaders won't accept, Valentine said.

So there are times when only one senator will be voting in a budget committee, but that's "the way the numbers work out," said Valentine.