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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 17, 2020 | National | HR 1957 | Great American Outdoors Act | Bill Passed - Senate (73 - 25) |
| June 11, 2020 | CO | HB 20-1265 | Establishes an Emergency Notification Service for Air Quality Incidents | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 15) |
| June 11, 2020 | CO | HB 20-1265 | Establishes an Emergency Notification Service for Air Quality Incidents | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 15) |
| June 10, 2020 | CO | HB 20-1143 | Increases Maximum Fines for Air and Water Quality Violations | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 14) |
| June 10, 2020 | CO | HB 20-1343 | Requires Colorado Eggs to be Cage-Free by 2025 | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 16) |
| June 10, 2020 | CO | HB 20-1343 | Requires Colorado Eggs to be Cage-Free by 2025 | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 16) |
| June 10, 2020 | CO | HB 20-1143 | Increases Maximum Fines for Air and Water Quality Violations | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 14) |
| June 9, 2020 | NY | S 8075 | Amends Tax Law to Include Nuclear Fuel From Ceased Plants | Bill Passed - Senate (45 - 17) |
| June 5, 2020 | IA | SF 2413 | Increases Penalties for Trespassing on Animal Food Operations | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 11) |
| May 27, 2020 | OH | HB 242 | Prohibits Local Government from Enacting Fees on Plastic Bags in Stores | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 9) |
| May 20, 2020 | LA | SB 440 | Limits Environmental Lawsuits Against Oil and Gas Companies | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 15) |
| May 19, 2020 | VT | S 337 | Establishes New Programs to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 2) |
| April 22, 2020 | VA | SB 883 | Establishes the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (24 - 16) |
| March 17, 2020 | MD | HB 732 | Increases Tobacco Tax and Establishes Vaping Tax | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 16) |
| March 12, 2020 | ME | LD 1894 | Increases Purchases of Electric School Buses | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 10) |
| March 10, 2020 | WA | SB 5947 | Establishes the Sustainable Farms and Fields Grant Program | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (43 - 6) |
| March 10, 2020 | WY | HB 200 | Establishes Low-Carbon Energy Standards and Subsidizes Carbon Capture Projects | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 10) |
| March 10, 2020 | WY | HB 159 | Requires Payment of Ad Valorem Tax on Mineral Production | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 7) |
| March 10, 2020 | WY | HB 200 | Establishes Low-Carbon Energy Standards and Subsidizes Carbon Capture Projects | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 10) |
| March 9, 2020 | WA | SB 5323 | Establishes Standards for the Use of Plastic Bags at Retail Establishments | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (33 - 15) |
| March 8, 2020 | VA | SB 710 | Expands Renewable Energy Tax Credits | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (27 - 12) |
| March 8, 2020 | VA | SB 710 | Expands Renewable Energy Tax Credits | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (27 - 12) |
| March 7, 2020 | WV | HB 4615 | Increases Penalties for Critical Infrastructure Protesting | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 13) |
| March 5, 2020 | NH | SB 159 | Increases Net Metering Capacity for Customer-Generators | Veto Override Passed - Senate (17 - 7) |
| March 5, 2020 | WA | HB 2311 | Requires State Greenhouse Gas Emissions be Reduced to Zero by 2050 | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 21) |