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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2017 | CT | HB 6695 | Prohibits Conversion Therapy | Bill Passed - House (141 - 8) |
| April 27, 2017 | TX | HB 89 | Prohibits Contracts with Companies Boycotting Israel | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 5) |
| April 27, 2017 | MI | SB 163 | Authorizes "Choose Life" License Plates | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 11) |
| April 26, 2017 | IL | HB 2462 | Prohibits Screening Job Applicants Based on Wage or Salary History | Bill Passed - House (91 - 24) |
| April 26, 2017 | NC | HB 527 | Establishes Sanctions for Disruptive Student Protest | (88 - 32) |
| April 26, 2017 | LA | SB 16 | Provides Parole Eligibility to Juveniles Sentenced to Life in Prison | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 13) |
| April 24, 2017 | NE | LB 75 | Restores Voting Rights Upon Completion of a Felony Sentence | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 13) |
| April 21, 2017 | VT | H 333 | Requires Gender-Neutral Bathrooms | Bill Passed - House (123 - 19) |
| April 17, 2017 | AZ | SB 1406 | Limits Applicability of Disability Lawsuits | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (18 - 11) |
| April 12, 2017 | VT | HB 492 | Establishes a Board for Racial Justice in Policing | Bill Passed - House (120 - 25) |
| April 11, 2017 | AL | SB 193 | Authorizes Briarwood Presbyterian Church to Form a Police Force | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 4) |
| April 7, 2017 | WA | HB 1595 | Establishes Fees for Printed and Digital Copies of Public Records | Bill Passed - Senate (43 - 4) |
| April 5, 2017 | PA | HB 741 | Reinstates Mandatory Minimum Sentences | Bill Passed - House (122 - 67) |
| April 5, 2017 | SC | H 3930 | Amends Handgun Carry Rules | Bill Passed - House (64 - 46) |
| April 4, 2017 | TX | SB 576 | Establishes Reporting Standards for Sexual Assault on College Campuses | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 1) |
| March 30, 2017 | MN | HF 3 | Requires REAL ID Compliance | Nonconcurrence Vote Passed - House (75 - 54) |
| March 30, 2017 | MN | HF 3 | Requires REAL ID Compliance | Bill Passed - Senate (60 - 7) |
| March 28, 2017 | ND | HB 1310 | Amends Concealed Carry Laws | Bill Failed - Senate (18 - 27) |
| March 23, 2017 | IA | HF 516 | Requires Identification to Vote | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 21) |
| March 23, 2017 | FL | SB 436 | Prohibits Discrimination Against Religious Expression in Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 13) |
| March 23, 2017 | VT | S 96 | Establishes Protections For Journalists | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 0) |
| March 17, 2017 | NM | SB 374 | Prohibits Public Shaming of Students Who Can't Pay for Lunch | Bill Passed - House (60 - 0) |
| March 15, 2017 | NM | SB 121 | Prohibits Conversion Therapy | Bill Passed - House (44 - 23) |
| March 15, 2017 | FL | SB 128 | Authorizes Immunity for Self-Defense | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 15) |
| March 13, 2017 | MO | HB 441 | Establishes Protections for Student Journalists | Bill Passed - House (148 - 6) |