Vote Smart provides easy access to congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:
Vote Smart provides a summary of the version of the bill text associated with each selected key vote. Our summaries are written by Vote Smart's staff and interns, who adhere to our strict policies and procedures in order to guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. They do not necessarily reflect the content of the final version of the bill, but rather the version voted on in that stage. While many procedural votes take place before a full chamber vote, our voting stages reflect the final reading of each chamber vote. Each key vote selection is reviewed by the project's community of advisors, who are political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
For more information about the legislative process, see here.
| Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 22, 2018 | KS | SB 405 | Authorizes Confined Feeding Facilities Within City Limits | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 10) |
| Feb. 15, 2018 | NJ | S 598 | Requires New Jersey to Join US Climate Alliance | Bill Passed - House (49 - 23) |
| Feb. 15, 2018 | MO | SB 564 | Amends Electrical Utility Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 6) |
| Feb. 15, 2018 | WV | HB 4268 | Authorizes Natural Gas Drilling in Certain Circumstances | Bill Passed - House (60 - 40) |
| Feb. 14, 2018 | WA | HB 1144 | Amends Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets | Bill Passed - House (50 - 48) |
| Feb. 12, 2018 | MD | SB 138 | Requires Governor to Include Maryland as a Member of US Climate Alliance | Bill Passed - Senate (36 - 10) |
| Feb. 9, 2018 | National | HR 1892 | Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (240 - 186) |
| Feb. 9, 2018 | National | HR 1892 | Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (71 - 28) |
| Feb. 9, 2018 | VA | SB 966 | Amends Various Utilities Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 13) |
| Feb. 8, 2018 | CA | AJR 29 | Expresses Opposition to Executive Offshore Drilling Proposal | Bill Passed - House (56 - 9) |
| Feb. 7, 2018 | SC | H 3529 | Prohibits Local Regulations on Plastic Bags | Bill Passed - House (73 - 41) |
| Feb. 6, 2018 | National | HR 772 | Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2017 | Bill Passed - House (266 - 157) |
| Feb. 5, 2018 | WV | HB 2662 | Prohibits the Waste of Game Animals | Bill Passed - House (56 - 39) |
| Feb. 1, 2018 | NJ | S 598 | Requires New Jersey to Join US Climate Alliance | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 12) |
| Jan. 31, 2018 | MI | SB 660 | Extends the Deadline for 100 Percent Cage-Free Eggs to 2025 | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 5) |
| Jan. 23, 2018 | IA | SF 512 | Amends Wastewater Treatment Financial Assistance Program | Bill Passed - House (59 - 41) |
| Jan. 23, 2018 | IA | SF 512 | Amends Wastewater Treatment Financial Assistance Program | Bill Passed - House (59 - 41) |
| Jan. 23, 2018 | MI | SB 409 | Authorizes Private Harbor Permits in the Great Lakes | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (23 - 14) |
| Jan. 18, 2018 | WA | SB 6091 | Authorizes Rural Landowners to Tap Household Wells | Bill Passed - House (66 - 30) |
| Jan. 18, 2018 | WA | SB 6091 | Authorizes Rural Landowners to Tap Household Wells | Bill Passed - Senate (35 - 14) |
| Jan. 10, 2018 | National | S 140 | An Act to amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the WMAT Settlement Fund | Bill Passed - House (239 - 173) |
| Dec. 21, 2017 | National | HR 4667 | Making further supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, for disaster assistance for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and calendar year 2017 wildfires, and for other purposes | Bill Passed - House (251 - 169) |
| Nov. 14, 2017 | National | HR 2874 | 21st Century Flood Reform Act | Bill Passed - House (237 - 189) |
| Nov. 7, 2017 | WI | AB 499 | Authorizes Sulfide Mining | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 14) |
| Nov. 7, 2017 | MI | HB 5095 | Amends the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act | Bill Passed - House (66 - 42) |
| Nov. 2, 2017 | WI | AB 499 | Authorizes Sulfide Mining | Bill Passed - House (53 - 38) |
| Nov. 1, 2017 | National | HR 2936 | Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 | Bill Passed - House (232 - 188) |
| Oct. 18, 2017 | MI | SB 542 | Establishes Pesticide Notification Registry | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 12) |
| Oct. 4, 2017 | NC | H 56 | Transfers Funds for Cape Fear River Cleanup | Veto Override Passed - House (70 - 44) |
| Oct. 4, 2017 | NC | H 56 | Transfers Funds for Cape Fear River Cleanup | Veto Override Passed - Senate (30 - 9) |
| Sept. 8, 2017 | National | HR 601 | Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017 | Bill Passed - House (316 - 90) |
| Sept. 7, 2017 | National | HR 601 | Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017 | Bill Passed - Senate (80 - 17) |
| Sept. 6, 2017 | National | H Res 502 | Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2017 | Bill Passed - House (419 - 3) |
| Aug. 11, 2017 | TX | HB 7 | Specifies Tree Removal Regulations Municipalities May Impose | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 14) |
| July 18, 2017 | National | HR 806 | Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017 | Bill Passed - House (229 - 199) |
| July 17, 2017 | CA | AB 617 | Establishes Air-Quality Regulations | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (50 - 24) |
| July 17, 2017 | CA | AB 398 | Extends California's Cap-and-Trade Policies | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (55 - 22) |
| July 17, 2017 | CA | AB 617 | Establishes Air-Quality Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 13) |
| July 17, 2017 | CA | AB 398 | Extends California's Cap-and-Trade Policies | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 12) |
| July 12, 2017 | National | HR 23 | Gaining Responsibility on Water Act | Bill Passed - House (230 - 190) |
| July 12, 2017 | National | HR 23 | Gaining Responsibility on Water Act | Bill Passed - House (230 - 190) |
| June 30, 2017 | NC | HB 589 | Specifies North Carolina's Energy Policy | Conference Report Adopted - House (66 - 41) |
| June 29, 2017 | DE | HB 190 | Authorizes Commercial Activity in State-Designated Coastal Zones | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 2) |
| June 28, 2017 | NC | SB 615 | Amends Agricultural Laws | Conference Report Adopted - House (98 - 18) |
| June 28, 2017 | NC | SB 615 | Amends Agricultural Laws | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (36 - 10) |
| June 21, 2017 | WI | SB 68 | Amends Prohibition on Baiting and Feeding Deer | Bill Passed - House (60 - 37) |
| June 21, 2017 | OH | SB 2 | Amends Environmental Protection Laws | Bill Passed - House (85 - 10) |
| June 21, 2017 | WI | SB 68 | Amends Prohibition on Baiting and Feeding Deer | Bill Passed - House (60 - 37) |
| June 20, 2017 | DE | HB 190 | Authorizes Commercial Activity in State-Designated Coastal Zones | Bill Passed - House (34 - 7) |
| June 14, 2017 | RI | S 112A | Expands Renewable Energy Growth Program | Bill Passed - House (72 - 0) |