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 15, 2020 | NC | SB 818 | Authorizes Bonuses for Public School Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 16) |
| June 15, 2020 | NC | SB 818 | Authorizes Bonuses for Public School Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 16) |
| June 13, 2020 | CO | SB 20-163 | Amends the Definition for Nonmedical Exemptions for School Immunization Policies | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (20 - 13) |
| June 13, 2020 | IA | SF 2310 | Establishes Educational Instructional Requirements for Online Learning | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (49 - 0) |
| June 11, 2020 | OH | HB 164 | Authorizes Religious Expression in Public Schools | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (90 - 3) |
| June 10, 2020 | OH | HB 164 | Authorizes Religious Expression in Public Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 0) |
| June 10, 2020 | PA | SB 1125 | Authorizes School Districts to Extend Time Needed to Pay Taxes | Bill Passed - Senate (50 - 0) |
| June 3, 2020 | TN | HB 1689 | Prohibits Students From Participating in Sports That do Not Match Their Birth Sex | Bill Passed - House (73 - 13) |
| June 3, 2020 | TN | HB 1839 | Prohibits Universities from Contracting with a Foreign Nation | Bill Passed - House (80 - 10) |
| May 29, 2020 | VT | H 959 | Establishes an Education Property Tax for Fiscal Year 2021 | Bill Passed - House (127 - 20) |
| May 27, 2020 | MI | HB 5217 | Authorizes Compensation for College Athletes | Bill Passed - House (94 - 13) |
| May 17, 2020 | MN | HF 4415 | Expands Aid for COVID-19 Related School Closures | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (75 - 55) |
| May 13, 2020 | OK | HB 2741 | Reduces Contributions to Teachers' Retirement System | Veto Override Passed - Senate (34 - 12) |
| May 9, 2020 | AL | HB 187 | Appropriates Funds for the Fiscal Year 2021 Education Budget | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (73 - 1) |
| May 8, 2020 | MO | HB 2002 | Appropriates Education Funding for Fiscal Year 2021 | Conference Report Adopted - House (120 - 28) |
| March 25, 2020 | PA | SB 751 | Authorizes Financial Assistance for Schools Amid COVID-19-Related Shutdown | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (50 - 0) |
| March 25, 2020 | OH | HB 197 | Establishes Relief Provisions in Response to the COVID-19 Emergency | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (92 - 0) |
| March 25, 2020 | OH | HB 197 | Establishes Relief Provisions in Response to the COVID-19 Emergency | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 0) |
| March 24, 2020 | AK | HB 106 | Extends School Bond Debt Reimbursement Moratorium for 5 years | Bill Passed - Senate (13 - 6) |
| March 19, 2020 | TN | HB 2818 | Authorizes the State Board of Education to Establish Rules During COVID-19 | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 0) |
| March 19, 2020 | AZ | HB 2902 | Appropriates Funds Related to Education | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 6) |
| March 19, 2020 | AZ | HB 2902 | Appropriates Funds Related to Education | Bill Passed - House (31 - 29) |
| March 18, 2020 | AK | SB 74 | Increases Minimum Internet Speed for K-12 Schools | Bill Passed - House (32 - 3) |
| March 17, 2020 | MD | HB 1300 | Establishes the "Blueprint for Maryland's Future" | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (96 - 38) |
| March 17, 2020 | KS | SB 142 | Authorizes Waiver for School Hour Requirement | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (30 - 4) |
| March 16, 2020 | CA | SB 117 | Appropriates Funds to Public Schools Amid COVID-19 Emergency Shut-Down | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (32 - 0) |
| March 16, 2020 | ID | H 500 | Prohibits Transgender Female Students from Sports designated for Females | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 11) |
| March 16, 2020 | ID | H 500 | Prohibits Transgender Female Students from Sports designated for Females | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 11) |
| March 16, 2020 | KS | SB 474 | Authorizes Compensation for College Athletes | Bill Passed - Senate (35 - 4) |
| March 13, 2020 | FL | SB 646 | Authorizes Compensation for College Athletes | Bill Passed - House (98 - 14) |
| March 12, 2020 | UT | HB 222 | Expands School Breakfast Programs | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (53 - 17) |
| March 12, 2020 | NH | HB 1285 | Prohibits Firearms on School Property | "Ought to Pass" Report Adopted - House (182 - 141) |
| March 12, 2020 | NH | HB 1251 | Prohibits Transgender Students from Playing on a Female Sports Team | "Inexpedient to Legislate" Vote Passed - House (184 - 131) |
| March 12, 2020 | ME | LD 2077 | Establishes a Legislative Review for Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth | Bill Passed - House (91 - 47) |
| March 12, 2020 | MS | HB 1200 | Prohibits "Free Speech Zones" on College Campuses | Bill Passed - House (68 - 52) |
| March 12, 2020 | ME | LD 1894 | Increases Purchases of Electric School Buses | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 10) |
| March 11, 2020 | IN | HB 1065 | Authorizes School Districts To Use Tax Dollars For Charter Schools | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (31 - 18) |
| March 11, 2020 | IN | HB 1065 | Authorizes School Districts To Use Tax Dollars For Charter Schools | Conference Report Adopted - House (52 - 40) |
| March 11, 2020 | NY | S 5073 | Establishes a School Voter Registration Access Program | Bill Passed - Senate (40 - 18) |
| March 11, 2020 | FL | HB 1213 | Requires Adding Ocoee Riots to School Curriculum | Bill Passed - Senate (40 - 0) |
| March 11, 2020 | National | H J Res 76 | Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to "Borrower Defense Institutional Accountability" | Bill Passed - Senate (53 - 42) |
| March 11, 2020 | NH | HB 1500 | Establishes a Student Loan Ombudsman and a Student Loan "Bill of Rights" | Bill Passed - House (197 - 128) |
| March 10, 2020 | UT | HB 246 | Establishes Additional Psychiatry Positions at the University of Utah | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (59 - 10) |
| March 10, 2020 | UT | HB 99 | Expands Enhanced Kindergarten Early Intervention Programs | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (47 - 23) |
| March 10, 2020 | FL | SB 70 | Establishes Alert Systems in Public Schools | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (40 - 0) |
| March 10, 2020 | GA | SB 386 | Expands State-Funded Private School Scholarships for Students with Learning Disabilities | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 22) |
| March 10, 2020 | AL | HB 235 | Repeals Ban on Yoga Classes in Public Schools | Bill Passed - House (84 - 17) |
| March 9, 2020 | WA | SB 6561 | Establishes a Student Loan Program for Undocumented Students | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (37 - 11) |
| March 9, 2020 | WY | HB 119 | Establishes Medicaid Billing Process for School-Based Services | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (44 - 14) |
| March 9, 2020 | WY | HB 174 | Amends Kindergarten Minimum Age Start Date | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 12) |