Hendrickson said he is probably more conservative today than he was 18 years ago when he was first elected from his West Valley district. "That's partly because the makeup of my district has changed," he said. His willingness to work with the majority Republicans in the House serves both his constituents and party well, he says. Democratic House leaders picked Hendrickson to serve on the powerful Rules Committee to try to get Democratic bills out for hearings and floor debate.

Sen. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley, is the most conservative of the Democrats in the Senate. Considering there are only eight Democratic senators, Goodfellow joked: "Being the most conservative Democrat is like being the tallest building in Delta, Utah."

Some interest groups approve of the Legislature, or groups of its members, more than others.

For example, the Utah Education Association gave every single Democrat in the Legislature a "perfect" score. Its report card also said the overall Legislature voted the way it preferred on 65 percent of key votes.

The Sierra Club gave "perfect" scores to 14 legislators (13 Democrats plus Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan). It also gave one worst-possible score to Rep. Bud Bowman, R-Cedar City, who was defeated in convention. It said the Legislature voted the way it preferred on 67 percent of key votes.

The Utah Taxpayers Association gave two "perfect" scores: to Sens. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper — who is also president of that group — and Madsen. It said the Legislature voted the way it preferred on 75 percent of key votes.

GrassRoots gave no "perfect" or "worst possible" scores. It said the Legislature voted the way GrassRoots preferred on 47 percent of key votes.

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