Former member of Congress · last served 112th Congress
Laura Richardson
Laura Richardson was a Democratic U.S. representative from California, first elected to Congress in 2007, who voted with most Democrats on 93% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 2 bills that became law (110th–112th Congress).
How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.
5 most recent votes
- YeaOn Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Agreeing to the Resolution — Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 8) to extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and…Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — Drywall Safety Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska.Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass — Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility ActJan 1, 2013 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.R. 6718 Early Intervention for Toddlers and Infants with Disabilities ActDec 30, 2012 · Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
- H.R. 6715 Protecting Our Protectors Act of 2012Dec 27, 2012 · Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the…
- H.R. 6714 Cainaan Putuga Wendt Shock of Life ActDec 27, 2012 · Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined…
- H.R. 6713 Ensuring Scanned Containers Arrive in Ports Efficiently Act of 2012Dec 27, 2012 · Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
- H.R. 6712 Elgin's LawDec 27, 2012 · Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 4131 (110th) To designate a portion of California State Route 91 located in Los Angeles County, California, as the "Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway".Became law
- H.R. 4957 (111th) Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010Became law
- H.Res. 822 (110th) Recognizing the 100th anniversary year of the founding of the Port of Los Angeles.Passed a chamber
- H.R. 5806 (112th) Outreach to People With Disabilities During Emergencies ActReported from committee
- H.R. 5562 (111th) Homeland Security Grant Management Improvement ActReported from committee
- H.R. 2019 (112th) Transportation Opportunity and Accountability Act of 201152 cosponsors
- H.Res. 929 (111th) Recognizing December 2 as the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery and the 60th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly…43 cosponsors
- H.Res. 928 (111th) Supporting of the goals and ideals of Universal Children's Day to encourage citizens in the United States to share in the mission of improving the lives of…16 cosponsors
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Richardson has won
Rep. Richardson has won 2 U.S. House elections (2008–2010). Of the contested races, margins ran from 45.1 to 50.5 points.
Full election history for this seat →
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.
How has California’s 37th district done while Rep. Richardson served?
2007 to 2011 in CA-37: typical household income was down 6% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 2.6 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 7.3 points.
Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Teal = district, oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in California’s 37th district during Richardson’s time representing it (2007 to 2013). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
Only one set of district lines is shown. CA-37 was redrawn in 2012 and again in 2022, and a redrawn district is a different place. So this card shows only the longest stretch on the same lines during the term, 2007 to 2011 (no 2020 yearly estimate), not the full 2007 to 2013.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
112th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 54 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 54 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 47 | See the 47 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 1 | See the 1 → |
| With a committee report listed | 1 | See the 1 → |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 112th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
- Fields
- cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
- PORKER copy refreshed
- October 26, 2026 (nightly)
Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.
Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded House vote Sep 16, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.