State Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg was a busy legislator in the 2015 General Assembly. He sponsored 42 bills. As a new guy in the Senate after years in the House, he enjoyed the power of the majority, though 15 of those bills didn’t get through. He was able to round up support despite a passed-bill voting record of 291 Yes votes to 74 No votes, which might cause some hard feelings.

Sonnenberg saved farmer and rancher water rights by killing HB15-1259, which would have allowed non-rurals to collect rain runoff from their roofs to water gardens. Crying foul, he said collecting any precipitation was like “stealing flowers” from a neighbor’s yard. The bill’s sponsors were urban and suburban Democrats. City folk, often recipients of mockery from farming and ranching legislators, are still scratching their heads on that one.Sens. Andy Kerr and Laura Woods married up on HB15-1274, Creation of Career Pathways for Students. Woods’ help for Kerr was key, as some GOPers don’t want to feather his hat. (Woods’ assist may help her re-election campaign in 2016 in a potential rematch with former Sen. Rachel Zenzinger.)

Former Weld County Sheriff John Cooke had a banner start in the Senate. He ran 34 bills in both chambers, setting a novice record for the 2015 session. He passed 26. His support of the Second Amendment didn’t go anywhere, but he’s no single-issue man. He turned out to have a moderate voting record, with 342 Yes votes to 19 No votes on passed bills, matching Sen. Irene Aguilar’s record at 343 Yes votes to 19 No votes.

Another Republican up-and-comer is Sen. Beth Martinez-Humenik. She ran 19 bills, passing 14. Her voting record matched many Democrats, at 346 Yes votes to nine No votes on passed bills. If Martinez-Humenik continues on this path, she should end up a steady player during her term.

Two Republican representatives, Patrick Neville and Paul Lundeen, caught the short straws. Neville sponsored 10 bills and not one passed. Lundeen sponsored nine bills and seven lost. Neville, along with his father, Sen. Tim Neville, carried GOP water on reproduction and gun rights. Lundeen worked hard on education issues. Democrats weren’t going to help him, as he’s a foe of Common Core and the PARCC tests.

Rep. Kathleen Conti continued her habit of running the fewest bills — four this session. Rep. Daniel Kagan, running for a Senate seat in 2016, sponsored eight bills but only batted .500. He’s running for Sen. Linda Newell’s seat in Arapahoe County. Newell had good success with bills supporting child security and has long been a leader on childcare issues.

The six members of the Joint Budget Committee have the biggest bill load in the Legislature. Rep. Millie Hamner carried 56 bills, Sen. Kent Lambert ran 52, Sen. Pat Steadman sponsored 43, Sen. Kevin Grantham pushed 33, Rep. Dave Young lifted 26, and Rep. Bob Rankin led on 25.

With 692 bills introduced this session, the five-bill rule scarcely counted. With election year 2016 on the horizon and many “statement” bills covered in 2015, the next session might be lighter on volume. Many residents hope so. There’s also a hope that red-light bills, prominently vetoed in the governor’s biggest stamp this year, might make their way into law next year.

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform.