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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 16, 2019 | OR | SB 1008 | Amends Juvenile Offender Sentencing | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 10) |
| April 15, 2019 | IA | SF 615 | Prohibits the Attorney General From Joining Out-Of-State Lawsuits | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 18) |
| April 12, 2019 | CO | SB 19-1025 | Prohibits Employers from Asking About Employee Criminal History | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 12) |
| April 11, 2019 | AZ | HB 2693 | Repeals Requirement that Firearms be Unloaded on School Grounds | Bill Failed - Senate (15 - 14) |
| April 11, 2019 | NH | HB 455 | Repeals the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 6) |
| April 10, 2019 | NY | A 6188 | Prohibits Harassment of Rent Regulated Tenants | Bill Passed - Senate (42 - 17) |
| April 10, 2019 | IL | SB 2090 | Expands Access to Voting in Jails | Bill Passed - Senate (37 - 17) |
| April 10, 2019 | IL | SB 2090 | Expands Access to Voting in Jails | Bill Passed - Senate (37 - 17) |
| April 10, 2019 | NC | SB 250 | Amends Voting Rolls to Correlate with Jury Selection Excusals | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 19) |
| April 9, 2019 | DE | SB 34 | Establishes a Per-Pill Tax on Prescription Opioid Painkillers | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 4) |
| April 8, 2019 | AR | HJR 1008 | Establishes Stricter Requirements for Ballot Initiatives | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 10) |
| April 8, 2019 | MD | SB 737 | Amends Long Gun License Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 14) |
| April 3, 2019 | TX | SB 17 | Authorizes Protections for Lawyers that Deny Clients Based on Religious Exemptions | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 12) |
| April 3, 2019 | TX | SB 406 | Amends Conceal Carry Regulations for Local School Marshals | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 3) |
| April 2, 2019 | IN | SB 198 | Amends Criminal Sentencing Regulations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (34 - 14) |
| March 31, 2019 | MD | HB 994 | Prohibits Employment Discrimination Based On an Applicants Criminal History | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (30 - 14) |
| March 31, 2019 | NY | S 1505 | Amends Criminal Justice Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (40 - 22) |
| March 29, 2019 | GA | HB 345 | Establishes Rights for Pregnant Inmates | Bill Passed - Senate (52 - 1) |
| March 29, 2019 | GA | HB 345 | Establishes Rights for Pregnant Inmates | Bill Passed - Senate (52 - 1) |
| March 29, 2019 | ND | HB 1381 | Prohibits Government Funded Gun Buyback Programs | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 12) |
| March 29, 2019 | ND | HB 1332 | Authorizes Schools to Develop a Plan for an Armed First Responder | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 14) |
| March 28, 2019 | CO | HB 19-1177 | Establishes Extreme Risk Protection Orders | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 17) |
| March 28, 2019 | MT | SB 65 | Amends DUI Laws | Bill Passed - Senate (39 - 10) |
| March 28, 2019 | IL | SB 1786 | Prohibits License Suspension for Unpaid Parking Tickets | Bill Passed - Senate (38 - 10) |
| March 27, 2019 | WA | HB 1074 | Increases the Smoking and Vaping Age to 21 | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 12) |