The 2022 legislative session has concluded, and we continue our mission of enforcing accountability to voters from our elected officials. By providing information about their votes and outreach that is easy to understand and act upon, voters are equipped to make smart decisions on election day. This year featured several prominent bills, but the most far-reaching were the Redistricting bills (H-7323A, S-2162A) that aimed to redraw the areas of the state that each member of the GA represents, and is done only once every 10 years. Brimming with controversy and corruption, the bill was nonetheless supported by 90% of the General Assembly. This cost legislators severely both in the Open Government category and in their overall score. We highlight this bill in particular as an example of why we feel our work is important: taking into account legislator speeches, campaign promises, and their personal reputation - most legislators still voted for a bill that was openly corrupt and benefitted them directly. Local news did not cover the redistricting bills in this manner, leaving voters in the dark on what was a controversial committee that led a very controversial process. Those few legislators that took a stand and refused to support the bill benefitted significantly, with five of them achieving the Top 3 ranking in their respective chamber. The redistricting bills speak to our mission loud and clear: support those legislators that act in voters' interests and shine light on those that do not. 

Each year we carefully work to improve the accuracy and fairness of our rankings, and for 2022 we combined social media and public meetings into a single category, Constituent Outreach (though both of those segments score similarly to what they have in the past). This year highlighted how critical good leadership is to passing legislation that voters want. Based on this added importance, a member's Leadership Vote now counts for 10% of their overall score, up from 5% last year. Additionally, criteria was tightened for social media profiles and posting recency. For voting record metrics, we continued to rely on three organizations with a long, non-partisan history of fighting for the public good. Our Civil Rights Voting Record metric is based entirely on a legislator's votes in comparison to the RI ACLU's position. This metric makes up the largest portion of each member's score (25%) because civil liberties are a critical component of our lives, dictating our freedoms and rights as RI residents. It is also given extra weight because it encompasses a majority of the bills voted on by the General Assembly, creating a large sample size. The Open Government Voting Record metric is based on the legislator's votes on bills related to government transparency, ethics, and voting as highlighted by RI Common Cause and the RI ACLU, and encompasses 20% of the legislator's score. Lastly, our Environmental Voting Record metric rates legislators based on their votes as they compared to the Environmental Council of RI's position. This metric has increasing importance as we enter the critical phase of our climate emergency, and represents 20% of a legislator's score. 

Voters in our surveys continue to stress the importance of constituent outreach, from important announcements and interactions via social media to in-person public meetings To reflect this, the two metrics used to define constituent outreach together make up 25% of the legislator's score. Constituent Outreach measures how engaged members of the General Assembly are with constituents on Facebook, Twitter, their official website, and in public meetings. Lastly, the Leadership Vote is based on their vote for Speaker or Senate President at the beginning of each 2-year session (2021, 2023, etc). How each member voted for leadership speaks volumes on where their loyalties lie and how those loyalties will impact the ability for the chamber to pass good legislation.

Our rankings do not measure every aspect and every category of legislation the General Assembly considers, but we believe the metrics we utilize paint a clear and accurate picture of the legislator's work towards enacting laws that benefit the public good and staying in tune with their constituents.