Key Votes
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About the Selection and Descriptions of Key Votes
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:
- The vote should be helpful in portraying how a member stands on a particular issue
- The vote should be clear for any person to understand
- The vote has received media attention
- The vote was passed or defeated by a very close margin
- Occasionally, if a specific bill is consistently inquired about on the Voter's Research Hotline, the vote will be added
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. 17, 2010 | SD | HCR 1009 | Urges Changes to the Public School Environmental Curriculum | Resolution Passed - House (36 - 30) |
| Feb. 17, 2010 | CA | AB 1998 | Ban of Single-Use Carryout Bags in Certain Stores | |
| Feb. 17, 2010 | NM | SB 148 | Excluding Gender for Health Insurance Deliberation | Bill Passed - House (50 - 17) |
| Feb. 17, 2010 | NH | HB 1644 | Expanding Homicide to Include "Unborn Child" | "Inexpedient to Legislate" Vote Failed - House (219 - 122) |
| Feb. 16, 2010 | NM | HB 178 | Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act | Bill Passed - House (34 - 31) |
| Feb. 16, 2010 | UT | HCR 8 | Statement of Opposition to Federal Health Care Proposal | Resolution Passed - House (57 - 15) |
| Feb. 12, 2010 | VA | SB 283 | Prohibiting Federal Individual Health Insurance Mandate | Bill Passed - House (67 - 29) |
| Feb. 12, 2010 | NM | HB 178 | Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act | Bill Failed - House (33 - 37) |
| Feb. 11, 2010 | NM | HB 12 | Health Insurer Service Reimbursement | Bill Passed - House (46 - 21) |
| Feb. 10, 2010 | NM | HB 276 | New Mexico Air Quality Act Amendments | Bill Failed - House (32 - 33) |
| Feb. 9, 2010 | VA | HB 629 | Asbestos Lawsuit Restrictions | Bill Passed - House (49 - 48) |
| Feb. 9, 2010 | ID | H 391 | Opposing Federal Individual Health Insurance Mandate | Bill Passed - House (52 - 18) |
| Feb. 8, 2010 | TN | SB 1092 | Banning Non-Elected Boards from Requiring Nutrition Information on Menus | Veto Override Passed - House (65 - 31) |
| Feb. 8, 2010 | VA | HB 756 | Allocating Offshore Drilling Royalties | Bill Passed - House (71 - 26) |
| Feb. 2, 2010 | IN | HB 1131 | Statewide Indoor Smoking Ban | Bill Passed - House (73 - 26) |
| Jan. 28, 2010 | MA | H 4441 | School Nutrition Standards | Bill Passed - House (152 - 4) |
| Jan. 27, 2010 | VT | H 485 | Property Tax and Land Use Law Amendments | Bill Passed - House (104 - 34) |
| Jan. 19, 2010 | MO | HCR 18 | Statement of Opposition to Federal Health Care Proposal | Joint Resolution Passed - House (111 - 46) |
| Jan. 11, 2010 | NJ | S 119 | Legalizing Medical Marijuana | Bill Passed - House (48 - 14) |
| Jan. 11, 2010 | NJ | S 119 | Legalizing Medical Marijuana | Bill Passed - House (48 - 14) |
| Jan. 11, 2010 | NJ | S 2905 | Requiring Chain Restaurants to Post Nutrition Information | Bill Passed - House (43 - 32) |
| Jan. 7, 2010 | NJ | A 2762 | Authorizing Reduction of Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Drug Offenses in School Zones | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (46 - 30) |
| Jan. 6, 2010 | NH | HB 569 | Expanding Coverage Requirements for Autism Disorders | Bill Passed - House (213 - 147) |