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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 9, 2021 | SC | S 571 | Expands Availability of Naloxone (Narcan) Prescriptions to Patients Under Certain Circumstances | Bill Passed - Senate (37 - 0) |
| Feb. 27, 2021 | VA | HB 2312 | Authorizes the Simple Possession of Marijuana | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (20 - 19) |
| Feb. 26, 2021 | CO | SB 21-111 | Establishes a Program to Support Entrepreneurs in the Marijuana Industry | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 15) |
| Feb. 24, 2021 | AK | SB 70 | Extends Access to Naloxone | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 0) |
| Feb. 24, 2021 | AL | SB 46 | Authorizes the Legalization and Regulation of Medical Marijuana | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 10) |
| Feb. 23, 2021 | IN | SB 201 | Amends Cannabis Possession While Driving Laws | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 20) |
| Feb. 5, 2021 | VA | SB 1406 | Expands Adult Cannabis Use and Eliminates Criminal Penalties | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 15) |
| Dec. 17, 2020 | NJ | S 2535 | Reduces Fines and Sentences Related to Marijuana Possession | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (32 - 2) |
| Dec. 17, 2020 | NJ | A 21 | Rescinds the Classification of Marijuana as a Schedule I Drug. | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 17) |
| Dec. 17, 2020 | NJ | S 3256 | Reduces Penalties for Psilocybin Possession | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 15) |
| Nov. 16, 2020 | NJ | A 1897 | Reduces Criminal Penalty for Marijuana Possession | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 4) |
| Oct. 2, 2020 | VA | SB 5029 | Prohibits Search and Seizure Based Solely on the Odor of Marijuana | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (21 - 17) |
| Sept. 23, 2020 | MI | HB 4982 | Authorizes Convicts of Marijuana Misdemeanors to Apply for Expungement | Bill Passed - Senate (35 - 2) |
| Sept. 22, 2020 | VT | S 54 | Authorizes the Sale and Regulation of Cannabis | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (23 - 6) |
| Aug. 28, 2020 | VA | SB 5029 | Prohibits Search and Seizure Based Solely on the Odor of Marijuana | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 14) |
| June 30, 2020 | OH | SB 3 | Amends Drug Penalties | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 4) |
| June 16, 2020 | NC | HB 511 | Authorizes Shorter Sentences for Nonviolent Drug Offenders | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (48 - 0) |
| June 13, 2020 | CO | SB 20-007 | Requires Insurance Carriers Provide Coverage for Treatment of Substance Use Disorders | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (23 - 12) |
| June 11, 2020 | CO | HB 20-1017 | Expands Substance Use Disorder Treatment in the Criminal Justice System | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 11) |
| June 11, 2020 | CO | HB 20-1065 | Authorizes Pharmacists to Sell Nonprescription Syringes | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 12) |
| June 3, 2020 | IA | HF 2589 | Expands the Medical Marijuana Program to Include Severe Autism and PTSD | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 17) |
| May 27, 2020 | LA | HB 819 | Expands Access to Medical Marijuana | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 6) |
| April 22, 2020 | VA | HB 972 | Establishes Provisions Decriminalizing Marijuana | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (26 - 14) |
| March 12, 2020 | AL | SB 165 | Establishes a Medical Marijuana Program | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 11) |
| March 11, 2020 | FL | HB 389 | Expands List of Medical Conditions That Pharmacists May Treat | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 12) |