Farr was the representative for California’s 20th congressional district and was a Democrat. He served from 2013 to 2016.
He was previously the representative for California’s 17th congressional district as a Democrat from 1993 to 2012.
![Photo of Rep. Sam Farr [D-CA20, 2013-2016]](/static/legislator-photos/400129-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2016 Report Card for Farr.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Farr is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2016 positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Farr sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 5, 2011 to Dec 30, 2016. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Farr was the primary sponsor of 6 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 272 (113th): To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense joint outpatient clinic to be constructed in Marina, California, as the “Major General William H. Gourley …
- H.R. 3641 (112th): Pinnacles National Park Act
- H.R. 1171 (112th): Marine Debris Act Amendments of 2012
- H.R. 1446 (108th): California Missions Preservation Act
- H.R. 4750 (107th): Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002
- H.R. 1950 (106th): To amend the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to improve the farmland protection program.
Does 6 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Farr sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Public Lands and Natural Resources (75%) Crime and Law Enforcement (25%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Farr recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 5797 (114th): California Seamounts and Ridges National Marine Conservation Area Designation and Management Act
- H.J.Res. 94 (114th): Conferring honorary citizenship of the United States on Staff Sergeant Laszlo Holovits, …
- H.R. 2717 (114th): Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2015
- H.R. 1838 (114th): Clear Creek National Recreation Area and Conservation Act
- H.R. 5541 (113th): Exercise and Fitness For All Act
- H.R. 5545 (113th): To reauthorize the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009.
- H.Res. 324 (113th): Expressing support for designation of the week of September 22, 2013, through …
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jun 1993 to Dec 2016, Farr missed 463 of 15,731 roll call votes, which is 2.9%. This is on par with the median of 2.4% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2016. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
