Key Votes
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About the Selection and Descriptions of Key Votes
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:
- The vote should be helpful in portraying how a member stands on a particular issue
- The vote should be clear for any person to understand
- The vote has received media attention
- The vote was passed or defeated by a very close margin
- Occasionally, if a specific bill is consistently inquired about on the Voter's Research Hotline, the vote will be added
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.
results per page:
| Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1, 2019 | IN | SB 201 | Authorizes Health Providers to Abstain from Participating in Abortion Procedures | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (38 - 8) |
| March 31, 2019 | NY | A 2006 | Establishes an Education, Labor, Housing and Family Assistance Budget for FY 2019-2020 | Bill Passed - Senate (40 - 22) |
| March 31, 2019 | NY | A 2006 | Establishes an Education, Labor, Housing and Family Assistance Budget for FY 2019-2020 | Bill Passed - Senate (40 - 22) |
| March 31, 2019 | NY | S 1507 | Establishes a Healthcare Budget for FY 2019-2020 | Bill Passed - Senate (40 - 22) |
| March 29, 2019 | MT | SB 331 | Restructures Electric Utility Cost Recovery for Certain Coal-Fired Power Plants | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 22) |
| March 28, 2019 | ME | LD 181 | Authorizes State Funds for Free Health Clinics | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 16) |
| March 28, 2019 | GA | HB 346 | Prohibits Retaliation By A Landlord Against A Tenant For Taking Certain Actions | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 16) |
| March 28, 2019 | KY | HB 11 | Prohibits Tobacco Products from Public Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 10) |
| March 28, 2019 | NH | SB 168 | Authorizes Solar Energy Projects | Bill Passed - Senate (14 - 10) |
| March 28, 2019 | IL | SB 1786 | Prohibits License Suspension for Unpaid Parking Tickets | Bill Passed - Senate (38 - 10) |
| March 26, 2019 | GA | HB 83 | Requires Recess for Students in Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade | Bill Passed - Senate (48 - 4) |
| March 26, 2019 | National | S J Res 8 | A joint resolution recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (0 - 57) |
| March 26, 2019 | IA | SF 343 | Prohibits Traffic Cameras | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 19) |
| March 25, 2019 | NJ | A 1504 | Authorizes Medical Aid in Dying | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 16) |
| March 25, 2019 | NJ | S 1080 | Establishes Conditions for Restricted Usage of Suspended or Revoked Driver's Licenses | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 10) |
| March 22, 2019 | GA | HB 481 | Prohibits Abortion After a Fetal Heartbeat is Detected | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 18) |
| March 21, 2019 | AL | SB 119 | Repeals Common Core | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 7) |
| March 21, 2019 | NH | SB 310 | Authorizes Casino Gambling | Bill Passed - Senate (13 - 11) |
| March 20, 2019 | AR | HB 1251 | Expands Procedures that Optometrists May Perform | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 8) |
| March 20, 2019 | IA | SF 548 | Amends Land Purchase Regulations for Water Quality Testing | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 17) |
| March 19, 2019 | MS | SB 2901 | Amends Landowner Liability | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (31 - 20) |
| March 19, 2019 | IA | SF 538 | Establishes Medicaid Work Requirements | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 17) |
| March 18, 2019 | ID | H 180 | Authorizes Syringe and Needle Exchange Program | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 11) |
| March 14, 2019 | NM | HB 89 | Requires Insurance Companies Provide Coverage for Contraceptives | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 8) |
| March 14, 2019 | CO | SB 19-139 | Authorizes Drivers Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 10) |
| March 13, 2019 | National | S J Res 7 | A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress | Bill Passed - Senate (54 - 46) |
| March 13, 2019 | WA | SB 5822 | Establishes a Work Group to Study Universal Health Care | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 21) |
| March 12, 2019 | SD | HB 1191 | Authorizes the Cultivation of Industrial Hemp | Veto Override Failed - Senate (20 - 13) |
| March 12, 2019 | OR | SB 664 | Requires School Districts to Teach About the Holocaust and Genocide | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 3) |
| March 12, 2019 | IA | SF 519 | Establishes Trespass Charges for Undercover Investigators at Certain Agricultural Facilities | Bill Passed - Senate (41 - 8) |
| March 8, 2019 | WV | HB 3142 | Reduces Severance Tax on Steam Coal | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 12) |
| March 7, 2019 | GA | SB 131 | Expands State Control over the Atlanta Airport | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 22) |
| March 6, 2019 | NM | SB 489 | Authorizes State Investment in Renewable Energies | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 9) |
| March 6, 2019 | CO | SB 19-078 | Establishes Net Neutrality Rules | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 15) |
| March 6, 2019 | IL | SB 1596 | Authorizes Exceptions for Limits on Workers' Compensation Claims | Bill Passed - Senate (41 - 16) |
| March 1, 2019 | WA | SB 5116 | Increases State Clean Energy Efforts to be 100 Percent Carbon Free by 2045 | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 19) |
| Feb. 27, 2019 | WA | SB 5395 | Establishes K-12 Sexual Health Education Programs in Public Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 21) |
| Feb. 26, 2019 | GA | SB 106 | Authorizes Governor to Pursue Medicaid Waivers | Bill Passed - Senate (35 - 20) |
| Feb. 26, 2019 | IN | SB 552 | Authorizes Sports Gambling | Bill Passed - Senate (38 - 11) |
| Feb. 26, 2019 | NJ | S 692 | Prohibits the Department of Education from Establishing Maximum Salaries for Superintendents | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 15) |
| Feb. 23, 2019 | VA | SB 1126 | Authorizes Casino Gaming in Select Cities | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (30 - 10) |
| Feb. 21, 2019 | NH | SB 241 | Authorizes Funding for Capitol Corridor Rail Project | Bill Passed - Senate (14 - 10) |
| Feb. 21, 2019 | NJ | S 3381 | Authorizes Graduation Proficiency Tests to High School | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 7) |
| Feb. 20, 2019 | KS | SB 32 | Authorizes The Farm Bureau To Offer Coverage | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 11) |
| Feb. 20, 2019 | KS | SB 32 | Authorizes The Farm Bureau To Offer Coverage | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 11) |
| Feb. 20, 2019 | AZ | SB 1217 | Amends Eligibility For School Tuition Benefits | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 12) |
| Feb. 19, 2019 | ND | SB 2315 | Establishes Hunters Access Advisory Group | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 18) |
| Feb. 15, 2019 | WY | HB 74 | Establishes Special Purpose Depository Institutions to Serve Blockchain Businesses | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 10) |
| Feb. 14, 2019 | NH | SB 142 | Requires Public Schools Provide Menstrual Products | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 6) |
| Feb. 14, 2019 | NH | SB 1 | Establishes Paid Family and Medical Leave | Bill Passed - Senate (13 - 10) |
| Feb. 13, 2019 | MI | SB 2 | Prohibits Property Seizures by Law Enforcement Until After Criminal Conviction | Bill Passed - Senate (36 - 2) |
| Feb. 13, 2019 | KY | SB 100 | Requires Net Metering for Solar Power | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 12) |
| Feb. 12, 2019 | OR | SB 608 | Prohibits No-Cause evictions | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 11) |
| Feb. 7, 2019 | MS | SB 2901 | Amends Landowner Liability | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 17) |
| Feb. 5, 2019 | National | S 1 | Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019 | Bill Passed - Senate (77 - 23) |
| Feb. 4, 2019 | UT | SB 96 | Expands Medicaid Eligibility | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 7) |
| Jan. 29, 2019 | NY | S 101 | Prohibits Firearms on School Campuses | Bill Passed - Senate (41 - 22) |
| Jan. 22, 2019 | NY | S 240 | Authorizes Comprehensive Abortion Coverage | Bill Passed - Senate (38 - 24) |
| Jan. 14, 2019 | NY | S 1250 | Expands Aid For Higher Education to Undocumented Children | Bill Passed - Senate (40 - 20) |
| Dec. 18, 2018 | MI | HB 5634 | Repeals Ban on Tinted Windshields | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 18) |
| Dec. 12, 2018 | National | S J Res 64 | A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of the Treasury relating to "Returns by Exempt Organizations and Returns by Certain Non-Exempt Organizations" | Bill Passed - Senate (50 - 49) |
| Dec. 11, 2018 | National | HR 2 | Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (87 - 13) |
| Dec. 11, 2018 | National | PN 1803 | Nomination of Justin George Muzinich to be Deputy Director of the Department of the Treasury | (55 - 44) |
| Dec. 10, 2018 | National | PN 1803 | Nomination of Justin George Muzinich to be Deputy Director of the Department of the Treasury | Cloture Invoked - Senate (55 - 43) |
| Dec. 6, 2018 | National | PN 2170 | Nomination of Kathleen Laura Kraninger to be the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection | (50 - 49) |
| Dec. 4, 2018 | WI | SB 883 | Appropriates Funds from the Department of Transportation for State Road Projects | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 15) |
| Nov. 29, 2018 | National | PN 2170 | Nomination of Kathleen Laura Kraninger to be the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection | Cloture Invoked - Senate (50 - 49) |
| Oct. 29, 2018 | NJ | S 678 | Prohibits Disposal of Fracking Waste | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 5) |
| Oct. 17, 2018 | PA | HB 1822 | Establishes Certification Process for Schools to Become Certified Suicide Prevention Institutions of Higher Education | Bill Passed - Senate (49 - None) |
| Oct. 17, 2018 | PA | HB 2138 | Establishes Medicaid Work Requirements | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 19) |
| Oct. 15, 2018 | PA | SB 1095 | Authorizes Alternatives to Graduate for Keystone Test | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (49 - 0) |
| Sept. 26, 2018 | PA | SB 1098 | Establishes School Bus Safety Grant Program Fund | Bill Passed - Senate (48 - 0) |
| Sept. 25, 2018 | PA | SB 521 | Requires CPR Training in High Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (49 - 0) |
| Sept. 17, 2018 | National | HR 6 | Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 | Bill Passed - Senate (99 - 1) |
| Sept. 17, 2018 | National | S 2554 | Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act | Bill Passed - Senate (98 - 2) |
| Aug. 27, 2018 | MS | SB 2001 | Establishes Mississippi Lottery Corporation | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (31 - 17) |
| Aug. 23, 2018 | National | S Amdt 3967 | Senator Rand Paul's Amendment to H.R. 6157 | Amendment Rejected - Senate (45 - 48) |
| Aug. 23, 2018 | National | S Amdt 3967 | Senator Rand Paul's Amendment to H.R. 6157 | Amendment Rejected - Senate (45 - 48) |
| Aug. 21, 2018 | CA | SB 1192 | Requires Beverages Included in Kids' Meals to be Milk or Water | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (29 - 9) |
| Aug. 1, 2018 | National | HR 5515 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (87 - 10) |
| July 18, 2018 | UT | HB 2001 | Amends Jurisdictional Boundaries of Utah Inland Port Authority | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 2) |
| July 17, 2018 | National | PN 1391 | Nomination of James Blew to Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development for the Department of Education | (50 - 49) |
| July 12, 2018 | MA | S 2595 | Establishes Commission to Study Lead in Drinking Water at Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (38 - 0) |
| July 10, 2018 | OH | HB 123 | Amends Payday Lending Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 9) |
| July 1, 2018 | NJ | A 4061 | Establishes Surcharge on Prearranged Rides | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (21 - 18) |
| July 1, 2018 | NJ | S 822 | Requires Employers and Landlords to Hold Liability Insurance | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 14) |
| July 1, 2018 | NJ | S 1612 | Requires Minimum Nurse Aide-to-Resident Ratio | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 15) |
| June 28, 2018 | National | HR 2 | Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 | Bill Passed - Senate (86 - 11) |
| June 28, 2018 | DE | HB 425 | Prohibits Pharmaceutical "Gag Clauses" | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 0) |
| June 27, 2018 | NC | HB 374 | Limits Nuisance Damages Against Livestock Farmers | Veto Override Passed - Senate (34 - 11) |
| June 26, 2018 | NC | SB 711 | Limits Nuisance Damages Against Livestock Farmers | Veto Override Passed - Senate (37 - 9) |
| June 25, 2018 | NJ | A 4249 | Increases the Use of Hospital Admission Fees | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 15) |
| June 25, 2018 | NJ | A 542 | Requires Schools Maintain a Supply of Opioid Antidotes | Bill Passed - Senate (39 - 0) |
| June 22, 2018 | PA | HB 1448 | Requires Lead Testing in School Water Systems | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (44 - 4) |
| June 22, 2018 | PA | HB 2468 | Requires Court Order for Eminent Domain on Conserved Lands | Bill Passed - Senate (37 - 12) |
| June 22, 2018 | PA | HB 864 | Amends Gaming and Gambling Laws | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 29) |
| June 22, 2018 | PA | HB 864 | Amends Gaming and Gambling Laws | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 29) |
| June 21, 2018 | NJ | S 1074 | Requires Public Access to Beaches | Bill Passed - Senate (36 - 4) |
| June 20, 2018 | ME | LD 1584 | Expands Local Food Economy by Promoting Local Foods Procurement | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (22 - 11) |
| June 18, 2018 | National | HR 5515 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 | Bill Passed - Senate (85 - 10) |