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. 25, 2019 | NJ | S 2055 | Authorizes Student Financial Aid for Incarcerated Persons | Bill Passed - House (41 - 27) |
| Nov. 21, 2019 | PA | HB 49 | Authorizes School Police to Make Arrests | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (35 - 14) |
| Nov. 19, 2019 | PA | HB 49 | Authorizes School Police to Make Arrests | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (161 - 37) |
| Nov. 13, 2019 | OH | HB 164 | Authorizes Religious Expression in Public Schools | Bill Passed - House (61 - 31) |
| Oct. 31, 2019 | NC | SB 354 | Increases Pay for Public School Teachers and Personnel | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (28 - 21) |
| Oct. 31, 2019 | NC | SB 354 | Increases Pay for Public School Teachers and Personnel | Conference Report Adopted - House (62 - 46) |
| Oct. 30, 2019 | NC | HB 377 | Increases State Teacher Pay | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (61 - 49) |
| Oct. 30, 2019 | NC | HB 231 | Authorizes Pay Raises for UNC Systems and Community College Employees | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (61 - 49) |
| Oct. 30, 2019 | IL | HB 3904 | Authorizes Student Athletes to Receive Compensation for Use of Their Name, Image, or Likeness | Bill Passed - House (86 - 25) |
| Oct. 29, 2019 | NC | SB 522 | Amends the Innovative School District (ISD) Program | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (33 - 16) |
| Oct. 29, 2019 | NC | SB 522 | Amends the Innovative School District (ISD) Program | Conference Report Adopted - House (64 - 48) |
| Oct. 29, 2019 | IL | SB 1970 | Authorizes Student Absences for Voting | Bill Passed - House (74 - 40) |
| Oct. 29, 2019 | IL | SB 1970 | Authorizes Student Absences for Voting | Bill Passed - House (74 - 40) |
| Oct. 24, 2019 | NC | HB 377 | Increases State Teacher Pay | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 20) |
| Oct. 24, 2019 | NC | HB 231 | Authorizes Pay Raises for UNC Systems and Community College Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 21) |
| Oct. 23, 2019 | OH | SB 26 | Repeals the Tax on Feminine Hygiene Products | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (30 - 1) |
| Oct. 23, 2019 | PA | HB 49 | Authorizes School Police to Make Arrests | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 20) |
| Oct. 2, 2019 | OH | HB 123 | Requires Annual Suicide Prevention Classes for Public Middle and High Schools | Bill Passed - House (85 - 7) |
| Sept. 24, 2019 | MI | HB 4236 | Establishes a Higher Education Budget for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 | Conference Report Adopted - House (58 - 51) |
| Sept. 19, 2019 | MI | HB 4242 | Establishes K-12 Education Budget for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (21 - 17) |
| Sept. 14, 2019 | CA | SB 328 | Requires Later Start Times for Middle and High Schools | Bill Passed - House (44 - 20) |
| Sept. 10, 2019 | CA | AB 963 | Establishes a Student Civic and Voter Empowerment Program at Public Post-Secondary Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 9) |
| Sept. 9, 2019 | CA | AB 1505 | Establishes Public Oversight for Charter Schools | Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 11) |
| Sept. 5, 2019 | CA | AB 197 | Requires Schools To Offer A Full-day Kindergarten Program | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 9) |
| Sept. 4, 2019 | CA | AB 500 | Requires Paid Maternity Leave for California Teachers | Bill Passed - Senate (35 - 2) |