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The Deseret News takes a break from reporting on American Idol contestants to evaluate how often our state legislators actually manage to vote on bills:

The analysis shows that the typical legislator made it to three of every four votes in committee, and nine of every 10 on the floor. It shows, in this election year, who were the best attendees and the worst. But it also revealed some strange happenings. They include:

• Because of rules loopholes to accommodate legislative leaders, a surprising number of committee votes occur without a majority of committee members present. Sometimes as few as two members of a six-member committee were present for votes, but it was still considered a legal quorum.

• In half of all joint appropriations subcommittees votes, fewer than a majority of Senate members assigned to that committee were present. (Sometimes only one senator was present to represent the Senate in such budget votes.) House members have long complained that poor attendance at such meetings by their Senate counterparts make it difficult to conduct business. Some budget chairmen have resorted to holding votes at only the last meeting or two of the session, making it easier to round up wayward senators for a quorum.
  
• The lowest voting percentages are by legislative leaders, who say they are often pulled away for meetings on individual important issues. The leaders' attendance in their assigned committees is often much worse than, say, regular members who are battling a serious illness, like cancer.