But House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton, said Republicans "did not single out any Democratic bills to kill them. We were very fair. We included Democratic bills — by their proportion (of House membership) — in our priority lists sent to the Senate (for its action). Maybe the Senate (GOP leaders) took some of their bills off" the priority list, but at least they were sent over, said Garn.

The Deseret News has done its "legislative report card" since the early 1990s. And one trend is clear: Democrats are doing worse in passing their bills than they did years ago. For example, one year in the 1990s, House Democrats passed nearly as many of their bills as did House Republicans.

But in 2009 that slipped again. House Republicans passed 68 percent of the bills they introduced; House Democrats passed only 30 percent. Senate Democrats did slightly better, with a 36 percent success rate. But Senate Republicans passed 77 percent.

Of all passed bills this year, 55 percent come from House Republicans; 35 percent from Senate Republicans; just 5 percent from House Democrats; and only 4 percent from Senate Democrats.

And the poor success rates for Democrats came in a Legislature that even their own leaders said seemed to be especially cooperative and accommodating.

While the newspaper's analysis does show overall how well one house, or party, or caucus may fare each session, legislators are quick to say the report card doesn't give all the details. Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, for example, was 0-for-5 this year — didn't pass a single measure. But he's upset over only one bill — which would have been debated and probably passed if the Senate and House hadn't adjourned an hour early last Thursday night.

"I was just livid," said Mascaro. "It was a bill the governor wanted that would raise the fine for parking in a handicapped zone, the money going to help get disabled people hired more quickly by the state."

And legislators often complain their bills are killed in favor of another lawmaker's similar proposal.

For example, a number of Democratic legislators (with a few Republicans) introduced so-called "ethics reform" bills this past session. But GOP leaders in the House and Senate decided that they would push the ethics issue — and they introduced and passed the four main ethics bills. Of course, all the other ethics bills, whether sponsored by Democrats or Republicans, died.

Sometimes, a rank-and-file member may get run over by leadership's desires. Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, ran the main liquor reform bill for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. But after Huntsman, Hughes and others worked out an acceptable compromise, Senate leaders demanded that one of their own sponsor the main alcohol bill.

So Hughes, who ended up 5-for-10 on his bills, saw one of his main bills die in favor of another's.