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 15, 2012 | IL | HB 3859 | Requires Publication of Reduced Tax Rates under the EDGE Program | Bill Passed - House (84 - 26) |
| May 10, 2012 | MI | SB 1067 | Personal Property Taxes: Continuation of Existing Exemptions for 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 1069 | Personal Property Taxes: Credit for New Industrial Personal Property | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 14) |
| May 10, 2012 | MI | SB 1072 | Personal Property Taxes: Credit for Loss of Personal Property | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 15) |
| May 8, 2012 | IA | SF 2344 | Reduces Certain Business Property Taxes | Bill Failed - Senate (24 - 23) |
| May 3, 2012 | AZ | HB 2815 | Establishes Tax Credits for Certain Businesses | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (39 - 16) |
| May 3, 2012 | AZ | HB 2815 | Establishes Tax Credits for Certain Businesses | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 9) |
| April 19, 2012 | National | HR 9 | Income Tax Deduction for Small Businesses | Bill Passed - House (235 - 173) |
| April 16, 2012 | National | S 2230 | Establishes a Minimum 30 Percent Tax Rate for High-Income Taxpayers | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 45) |
| April 11, 2012 | WA | HB 2565 | Roll-Your-Own Cigarette Tax Requirements | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 19) |
| April 11, 2012 | WA | HB 2565 | Roll-Your-Own Cigarette Tax Requirements | Bill Passed - House (66 - 32) |
| March 29, 2012 | ID | H 563 | Reduces Income Tax Rates | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 7) |
| March 29, 2012 | National | S 2204 | Amends Energy-Related Tax Credits | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 47) |
| March 29, 2012 | NH | HB 1607 | Establishes a Tax Credit for Businesses that Donate to Certain Scholarship Funds | Bill Passed - House (173 - 127) |
| March 29, 2012 | SC | H 4894 | Authorizes Income Tax Credit for Tuition Payments | Bill Passed - House (62 - 38) |
| March 29, 2012 | National | H Con Res 112 | Limits Federal Appropriations for Fiscal Years 2013-2022 ("Ryan Budget") | Joint Resolution Passed - House (228 - 191) |
| March 28, 2012 | NH | H Amdt 917h | Authorizing the Establishment of 4 Casinos | Amendment Rejected - House (154 - 195) |
| March 27, 2012 | LA | HB 969 | Establishes Tax Deductions for Donating to Scholarship Programs | Bill Passed - House (66 - 37) |
| March 22, 2012 | ID | HJR 1 | Requires a 2/3 Vote for Tax Increases | Motion Rejected - House (37 - 33) |
| March 19, 2012 | SD | HB 1228 | Tax Credits for Alternative Energy Projects | Veto Override Failed - House (44 - 23) |
| March 15, 2012 | MD | SB 523 | Increases State Income Tax Rates | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 20) |
| March 13, 2012 | KS | Goodman Amdt | Eliminates Sales Tax on Food | Amendment Adopted - House (76 - 44) |
| March 12, 2012 | OK | SB 1571 | Repeals State Income Tax | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 17) |
| March 8, 2012 | AZ | SB 1338 | Requires Online Retailers to Pay Sales Taxes | Bill Failed - Senate (8 - 20) |