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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1, 2017 | CA | AB 42 | Amends Money Bail Procedures | Bill Failed - House (35 - 37) |
| May 31, 2017 | IL | SB 1 | Specifies School Funding Reallocation | Bill Passed - House (60 - 52) |
| May 31, 2017 | IL | SB 639 | Authorizes Drug Crime Prosecutions Across State Lines | Bill Passed - House (105 - 2) |
| May 31, 2017 | IL | SB 1761 | Prohibits "Gay Panic" Defense | Bill Passed - House |
| May 29, 2017 | IL | SB 31 | Establishes the Illinois TRUST Act. | Bill Passed - House (62 - 49) |
| May 24, 2017 | MA | H 3034 | Limits the Use of Prison Labor | Bill Passed - House (120 - 35) |
| May 23, 2017 | ME | LD 347 | Authorizes the Prescription of Lethal Doses of Drugs to Terminally Ill Patients | "Ought to Pass as Amended" Report Not Adopted - House (61 - 85) |
| May 18, 2017 | National | HR 115 | Thin Blue Line Act | Bill Passed - House (271 - 143) |
| May 17, 2017 | NY | A 516 | Expands Cigarette Legislation to Apply to Electronic Cigarette | Bill Passed - House (92 - 36) |
| May 17, 2017 | RI | H 5457A | Requires Parents to Take Course in Driver's Education | Bill Passed - House (59 - 11) |
| May 17, 2017 | OH | HB 27 | Amends Eligibility for Workers' Compensation Benefits | Bill Passed - House (66 - 31) |
| May 17, 2017 | OH | HB 27 | Amends Eligibility for Workers' Compensation Benefits | Bill Passed - House (66 - 31) |
| May 16, 2017 | AK | HB 111 | Restructures Oil Tax and Credit System | Concurrence Vote Failed - House (17 - 22) |
| May 15, 2017 | AK | HB 132 | Authorizes Operation of Ridesharing Services | Bill Passed - House (35 - 5) |
| May 15, 2017 | LA | HB 71 | Prohibits Removal of Public Military Memorials | Bill Passed - House (65 - 31) |
| May 11, 2017 | TX | HB 39 | Prohibits Vaccination of New Foster Children | Bill Passed - House (132 - 11) |
| May 10, 2017 | VT | S 22 | Reduces Penalties for Possession of Marijuana | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (79 - 66) |
| May 10, 2017 | CO | HB 1329 | Establishes Requirements for Youth Corrections Centers | Nonconcurrence Vote Passed - House (43 - 22) |
| May 9, 2017 | DE | HB 125 | Authorizes Capital Punishment | Bill Passed - House (26 - 16) |
| May 9, 2017 | CO | HB 1375 | Requires School Districts to Develop a Plan to Equitably Distribute Funds | Bill Passed - House (65 - 0) |
| May 8, 2017 | AZ | SB 1384 | Prohibits Censorship of Student Media | Bill Passed - House (41 - 19) |
| May 8, 2017 | MO | SB 43 | Requires Certain Changes to Discrimination Lawsuit Proceedings | Bill Passed - House (98 - 30) |
| May 6, 2017 | TX | HB 2466 | Expands Healthcare to Cover Postpartum Depression | Bill Passed - House (135 - 7) |
| May 4, 2017 | NH | SB 9 | Prohibits the Use of Victim's Past Sexual Activity as Evidence in Sexual Assault Cases | Bill Passed - House (328 - 30) |
| May 3, 2017 | VT | H 196 | Requires a Statewide Payroll Tax to Fund a Paid Family Leave Insurance Program | Bill Passed - House (88 - 58) |