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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 9, 2017 | MA | S 2202 | Amends Various Healthcare Laws | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 6) |
| Nov. 7, 2017 | WI | AB 499 | Authorizes Sulfide Mining | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 14) |
| Nov. 7, 2017 | WI | SB 54 | Requires Department of Corrections to Revoke Parole under Certain Circumstances | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 12) |
| Oct. 26, 2017 | MA | S 2200 | Amends Various Criminal Justice Laws | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 10) |
| Oct. 25, 2017 | PA | SB 936 | Establishes Prescription Drug Formulary for Injured Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 16) |
| Oct. 25, 2017 | PA | SB 936 | Establishes Prescription Drug Formulary for Injured Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 16) |
| Oct. 18, 2017 | MI | SB 542 | Establishes Pesticide Notification Registry | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 12) |
| Oct. 11, 2017 | MI | SB 541 | Requires Half of Dental Therapists' Patients be Low Income, Disabled, or Uninsured | (21 - 15) |
| Oct. 5, 2017 | MI | SB 353 | Prohibits Local Rules Regarding Employer Interview Practices | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 9) |
| Oct. 2, 2017 | PA | HB 45 | Authorizes Terminally Ill Patients to Use Experimental Treatments | Bill Passed - Senate (49 - 0) |
| Sept. 16, 2017 | CA | SB 54 | Establishes a Statewide Sanctuary Policy | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (27 - 11) |
| Sept. 5, 2017 | CA | AB 841 | Restricts Marketing of Unhealthy Foods in Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 13) |
| Aug. 13, 2017 | IL | SB 1 | Specifies School Funding Reallocation | Veto Override Passed - Senate (38 - 19) |
| Aug. 11, 2017 | TX | HB 7 | Specifies Tree Removal Regulations Municipalities May Impose | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 14) |
| July 27, 2017 | National | HR 3364 | Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act | Bill Passed - Senate (98 - 2) |
| July 27, 2017 | National | S Amdt 340 | Expanded and Improved Medicare For All Act | Amendment Rejected - Senate (0 - 57) |
| July 26, 2017 | TX | SB 3 | Amends Regulations of Public and Charter School Facilities | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 10) |
| July 25, 2017 | MO | SB 5 | Amends Abortion Regulations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (22 - 9) |
| July 25, 2017 | TX | SB 2 | Appropriates Funds for Private School Scholarships | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 12) |
| July 9, 2017 | PA | HB 97 | Authorizes Budget Cuts for Low-Performing Charter Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 23) |
| July 6, 2017 | OR | SB 754 | Raises Tobacco Sales Age to 21 | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (19 - 11) |
| July 6, 2017 | OR | HB 3464 | Prohibits Disclosure of Immigration Status | Bill Passed - Senate (16 - 13) |
| July 4, 2017 | IL | SB 6 | Establishes Budget for Fiscal Year 2017-2018 | Veto Override Passed - Senate (39 - 15) |
| July 3, 2017 | OR | SB 558 | Expands Health Care Coverage for Children | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 8) |
| June 29, 2017 | DE | HB 190 | Authorizes Commercial Activity in State-Designated Coastal Zones | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 2) |
| June 29, 2017 | RI | S 897 | Amends Housing Restrictions for Sex Offenders | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 5) |
| June 28, 2017 | OH | SB 79 | Requires Review of Cabinet Departments | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 9) |
| June 22, 2017 | MA | H 3776 | Authorizes Medical Marijuana | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 5) |
| June 21, 2017 | OR | HB 2391 | Establishes a Tax on Oregon Health Plan Insurance Plans | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 10) |
| June 19, 2017 | NY | S 5512A | Establishes Harsher Penalties for Bomb Threats Against Community Centers | Bill Passed - Senate (62 - 0) |
| June 19, 2017 | NJ | S 3067 | Prohibits Transgender Discrimination in Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 10) |
| June 15, 2017 | RI | S 237A | Authorizes Parole Eligibility for Juveniles with Life Sentences | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 8) |
| June 15, 2017 | National | S 722 | Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017 | Bill Passed - Senate (98 - 2) |
| June 15, 2017 | MO | SB 5 | Amends Abortion Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 8) |
| June 6, 2017 | LA | SB 139 | Establishes New Parole Regulations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (20 - 13) |
| June 6, 2017 | RI | S 608 | Requires Notification of Sex Offenders Living Near School Bus Stops | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 0) |
| June 2, 2017 | NV | AB 374 | Expands Eligibility for Medicaid | Bill Passed - Senate (12 - 9) |
| June 1, 2017 | CA | SB 35 | Amends Affordable Housing Policies | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 12) |
| May 31, 2017 | IL | SB 31 | Establishes the Illinois TRUST Act. | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (37 - 17) |
| May 31, 2017 | CA | SB 394 | Authorizes Parole for Juvenile Offenders with Life Sentences | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 12) |
| May 31, 2017 | CA | SB 10 | Establishes New Provisions for the Criminal Justice System | (25 - 11) |
| May 30, 2017 | LA | HB 27 | Extends Domestic Abuse Laws to Dating Partners | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 13) |
| May 30, 2017 | CA | SB 328 | Amends School Start Time | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 13) |
| May 30, 2017 | CA | SB 328 | Amends School Start Time | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 13) |
| May 26, 2017 | NJ | S 359 | Raises Minimum Age for Purchasing Tobacco Products | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 14) |
| May 24, 2017 | ME | LD 347 | Authorizes the Prescription of Lethal Doses of Drugs to Terminally Ill Patients | |
| May 22, 2017 | National | PN 52 | Nomination of Terry Branstad to be Ambassador of the United States to the People's Republic of China | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (82 - 13) |
| May 18, 2017 | DE | SB 24 | Authorizes Medical Marijuana to Treat Anxiety | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 0) |
| May 18, 2017 | National | PN 52 | Nomination of Terry Branstad to be Ambassador of the United States to the People's Republic of China | Cloture Invoked - Senate (86 - 12) |
| May 17, 2017 | IL | SB 1 | Specifies School Funding Reallocation | Bill Passed - Senate (35 - 18) |