CTLCV grades legislators on a 0 to100% scale based on their voting records on bills that affect the environment. In addition to analyzing final House and Senate votes, we looked at every vote cast in each committee along the way. 

To determine the scores, we gave one point for a pro–environment vote and zero points for an anti–environment vote. Each column in the scorecard table represents the averages of all relevant votes on a specific bill. The final score shown in this document is the total of all the selected votes.

Abstentions are not calculated in legislators’ final scores, but absences are. CTLCV subtracts 50% for missed votes on issues that we score. Sometimes legislators deliberately miss votes. Of course, absences also occur for a variety of valid reasons, ranging from illness and family emergencies to pressure of other business and various mundane occurrences.  For example, in 2010 Senator Gayle Slossberg's 2009 score of 100% dropped to 50% because of understandable absences, including a death in the family.

In the end though, an absence isn’t as constructive as taking a stand and casting a pro–environment vote. Thus, a half point score for absences is a compromise.  We also encourage readers to check how many times your legislators may have missed important votes.