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 24, 2012 | IL | SB 2840 | Limits Medicaid Funding | Bill Passed - House (94 - 22) |
| May 24, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2111 | Prohibits Pharmaceutical Companies from Delaying the Release of Generic Drugs | Amendment Rejected - Senate (28 - 67) |
| May 24, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2107 | Authorizes Import of FDA-Approved Drugs from Canada | Amendment Rejected - Senate (43 - 54) |
| May 22, 2012 | IL | SB 1808 | Authorizes Individuals to Record Law Enforcement Officers | Bill Passed - House (71 - 45) |
| May 22, 2012 | LA | HB 543 | Parole Eligibility for Nonviolent Offenders | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 12) |
| May 16, 2012 | AL | HB 658 | Amends Immigration Regulations | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (67 - 37) |
| May 16, 2012 | NH | HB 1607 | Establishes a Tax Credit for Businesses that Donate to Certain Scholarship Funds | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 7) |
| May 16, 2012 | AL | HB 658 | Amends Immigration Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 7) |
| May 16, 2012 | National | HR 4970 | Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (222 - 205) |
| May 15, 2012 | MO | SB 576 | Authorizes the Expansion of Charter Schools | Bill Passed - House (99 - 54) |
| May 15, 2012 | MA | S Amdt 125 | Requires Establishing a Single Payer Health Care System Benchmark | Amendment Rejected - Senate (15 - 22) |
| May 10, 2012 | IL | SB 1313 | Limits Health Care Coverage for Retired State Employees | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (31 - 20) |
| May 10, 2012 | IL | SB 1313 | Limits Health Care Coverage for Retired State Employees | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (31 - 20) |
| May 10, 2012 | MI | SB 1069 | Personal Property Taxes: Credit for New Industrial Personal Property | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 14) |
| May 10, 2012 | MI | SB 1070 | Establishes a Tax Exemption for Eligible Personal Property | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 14) |
| May 10, 2012 | MI | SB 1067 | Personal Property Taxes: Continuation of Existing Exemptions for Personal Property | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 14) |
| May 10, 2012 | National | HR 5652 | Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (218 - 199) |
| May 10, 2012 | DE | SB 205 | Requires Manufactured Home Community Owners to Explain Rent Increases | Bill Passed - Senate (11 - 9) |
| May 10, 2012 | MI | SB 1072 | Personal Property Taxes: Credit for Loss of Personal Property | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 15) |
| May 9, 2012 | IA | SF 2315 | Amends the Mental Health and Disability Services Program | Conference Report Adopted - House (66 - 31) |
| May 9, 2012 | IL | SB 1313 | Limits Health Care Coverage for Retired State Employees | Bill Passed - House (74 - 43) |
| May 9, 2012 | IL | SB 1313 | Limits Health Care Coverage for Retired State Employees | Bill Passed - House (74 - 43) |
| May 9, 2012 | RI | S 2555 A | Authorizes Medical Marijuana Dispensaries | Bill Passed - Senate (35 - 3) |
| May 8, 2012 | MN | HF 1752 | Authorizes Bonds for Construction Works | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (97 - 33) |
| May 8, 2012 | IA | SF 2344 | Reduces Certain Business Property Taxes | Bill Failed - Senate (24 - 23) |