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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 18, 2013 | CO | HB 1228 | Establishes a Background Check Fee | Bill Passed - House (33 - 32) |
| Feb. 15, 2013 | AR | HB 1243 | Authorizes University Staff to Carry a Concealed Handgun | Bill Passed - House (70 - 11) |
| Feb. 15, 2013 | UT | HB 50 | Expands Protective Orders to Dating Relationships | Bill Passed - House (61 - 11) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | VA | SB 1335 | Prohibits Disclosure of Concealed Firearm Permit Information | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (31 - 9) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | MO | HB 48 | Requires Photo Identification for Voting | Bill Passed - House (105 - 48) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | KY | SB 50 | Authorizes Industrial Hemp Farming | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 6) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | VT | S 77 | Prohibits Liability for Self-Administered Lethal Dosages | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 8) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | VT | S 77 | Prohibits Liability for Self-Administered Lethal Dosages | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 8) |
| Feb. 13, 2013 | WY | SF 132 | Authorizes the Use of Silencers While Hunting | Bill Passed - House (44 - 14) |
| Feb. 13, 2013 | VT | Galbraith and Hartwell Amdt | Establishes Immunity for Doctors Prescribing or People Present to Lethal Dosage | Amendment Adopted - Senate (16 - 15) |
| Feb. 13, 2013 | NM | HB 77 | Requires Background Checks for Firearms Sold at Gun Shows | Bill Passed - House (43 - 26) |
| Feb. 12, 2013 | VA | SB 1335 | Prohibits Disclosure of Concealed Firearm Permit Information | Bill Passed - House (76 - 23) |
| Feb. 12, 2013 | National | S 47 | Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 | Bill Passed - Senate (78 - 22) |
| Feb. 11, 2013 | TN | SB 142 | Authorizes Handguns in Parking Areas | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 5) |
| Feb. 8, 2013 | MD | SB 74 | Prohibits Operating a Vessel Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol | Bill Passed - Senate (37 - 8) |
| Feb. 7, 2013 | ND | SCR 4009 | Expands "Right to Life" to Human Beings at Any Stage of Development | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (26 - 21) |
| Feb. 6, 2013 | AR | SB 131 | Prohibits Disclosure of Concealed Firearm Permit Information | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 9) |
| Feb. 6, 2013 | MT | HB 27 | Authorizes the Use of Silencers While Hunting | Bill Passed - House (63 - 33) |
| Feb. 5, 2013 | VA | SB 719 | Amends Voting Requirements | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 20) |
| Feb. 5, 2013 | VA | SB 1256 | Requires Photo Identification for Voting | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 20) |
| Feb. 4, 2013 | VA | SB 721 | Requires Drug Testing for Certain Welfare Recipients | Bill Failed - Senate (19 - 20) |
| Feb. 4, 2013 | AR | HB 1037 | Prohibits Abortions After 20 Weeks | Bill Passed - House (75 - 20) |
| Feb. 1, 2013 | WY | HB 105 | Authorizes the Carrying of Firearms on School Property | Bill Passed - House (46 - 13) |
| Feb. 1, 2013 | MT | HB 30 | Prohibits Same-Day Voter Registration | Bill Passed - House (60 - 38) |
| Feb. 1, 2013 | WY | HB 104 | Prohibits the Enforcement of Federal Firearm Regulations | Bill Passed - House (46 - 13) |
| Feb. 1, 2013 | WY | HB 103 | Requires State Approval of Firearm Regulations | Bill Passed - House (53 - 6) |
| Jan. 31, 2013 | SD | SB 70 | Establishes Alternative Court Programs for Nonviolent Offenders | Bill Passed - House (63 - 7) |
| Jan. 31, 2013 | SD | SB 70 | Establishes Alternative Court Programs for Nonviolent Offenders | Bill Passed - House (63 - 7) |
| Jan. 31, 2013 | AR | SB 134 | Prohibits an Abortion if a Fetal Heartbeat is Detected | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 8) |
| Jan. 29, 2013 | SD | HB 1087 | Authorizes School Sentinel Programs | Bill Passed - House (42 - 27) |
| Jan. 28, 2013 | WY | SF 132 | Authorizes the Use of Silencers While Hunting | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 7) |
| Jan. 28, 2013 | AR | SB 71 | Authorizes Handguns on Religious Institutions' Properties | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 4) |
| Jan. 16, 2013 | WY | HB 23 | Requires Juvenile Offenders to Be Eligible for Parole While Serving a Life Sentence | Bill Passed - House (42 - 17) |
| Jan. 15, 2013 | NY | S 2230 | Establishes Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement | Bill Passed - House (104 - 43) |
| Jan. 14, 2013 | NY | S 2230 | Establishes Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement | Bill Passed - Senate (43 - 18) |