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 30, 2012 | IL | SB 3442 | Requires Recycling of Plastic Bags | Bill Passed - House (72 - 44) |
| May 30, 2012 | CA | SB 1234 | Establishes Retirement Program for Private Sector Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 13) |
| May 30, 2012 | CA | AB 1450 | Prohibits Discrimination Against Unemployed Workers | Bill Passed - House (51 - 26) |
| May 30, 2012 | CA | SB 1054 | Requires Notifying Property Owners Prior to Hydraulic Fracturing | Bill Failed - Senate (17 - 18) |
| May 29, 2012 | IL | SB 2194 | Increases Cigarette Tax | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (31 - 27) |
| May 29, 2012 | CA | AB 1447 | Requires Buy-Here-Pay-Here Car Sellers to Provide a Limited Warranty | Bill Passed - House (49 - 25) |
| May 29, 2012 | CA | AB 1534 | Requires Buy-Here-Pay-Here Dealers to Label Used Vehicles | Bill Passed - House (42 - 32) |
| May 25, 2012 | IL | SB 2194 | Increases Cigarette Tax | Bill Passed - House (60 - 52) |
| May 24, 2012 | NJ | A 2162 | Increases Minimum Wage | Bill Passed - House (46 - 33) |
| May 24, 2012 | NJ | A 2162 | Increases Minimum Wage | Bill Passed - House (46 - 33) |
| May 24, 2012 | NJ | A 1238 | Requires Copy Machine Hard Drives to be Erased Before Being Exchanged | Bill Passed - House (51 - 28) |
| 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 | MD | SB 1301 | Amends Teacher Pension Funding | Bill Passed - House (86 - 51) |
| May 16, 2012 | OH | HB 510 | Repeals the Corporate Franchise Tax | Bill Passed - House (75 - 23) |
| May 15, 2012 | IL | HB 3859 | Requires Publication of Reduced Tax Rates under the EDGE Program | Bill Passed - House (84 - 26) |
| May 15, 2012 | NY | A 9148 | Increases Minimum Wage | Bill Passed - House (98 - 49) |
| May 15, 2012 | MD | SB 1301 | Amends Teacher Pension Funding | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 13) |
| May 10, 2012 | LA | SB 740 | Limits Cost of Living Adjustments for Pensions | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 15) |
| May 10, 2012 | DE | SB 205 | Requires Manufactured Home Community Owners to Explain Rent Increases | Bill Passed - Senate (11 - 9) |
| May 8, 2012 | CT | HB 5556 | Requires Corporations to Identify Top Donors for Campaign Contributions | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 15) |
| May 8, 2012 | CT | HB 5556 | Requires Corporations to Identify Top Donors for Campaign Contributions | Bill Passed - House (94 - 54) |
| May 7, 2012 | IA | HF 2475 | Reduces Certain Business Property Taxes | Bill Passed - House (71 - 26) |
| May 3, 2012 | MN | HF 2337 | Amends Property Taxes | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (41 - 25) |