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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
April 26, 2017 | NC | H 239 | Reduces Court of Appeals Caseload | Veto Override Passed - Senate (34 - 15) |
Oct. 16, 2017 | NC | S 656 | Prohibits Part Primaries for Certain 2018 Court Elections | Veto Override Passed - Senate (26 - 15) |
June 6, 2017 | LA | SB 139 | Establishes New Parole Regulations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (20 - 13) |
May 31, 2017 | IL | SB 31 | Establishes the Illinois TRUST Act. | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (37 - 17) |
June 6, 2017 | LA | SB 139 | Establishes New Parole Regulations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (20 - 13) |
Feb. 8, 2017 | National | PN 30 | Nomination of Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (52 - 47) |
April 7, 2017 | National | PN 55 | Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | (54 - 45) |
April 7, 2017 | National | PN 55 | Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | (54 - 45) |
March 27, 2017 | IA | HF 518 | Requires Certain Restrictions Regarding Worker's Compensation | Bill Passed - Senate (29 - 21) |
March 9, 2017 | UT | HB 99 | Amends Bigamy Laws | Bill Passed - Senate (15 - 14) |
May 30, 2017 | LA | HB 27 | Extends Domestic Abuse Laws to Dating Partners | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 13) |
Feb. 7, 2017 | National | PN 30 | Nomination of Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (52 - 47) |
April 6, 2017 | National | PN 55 | Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Cloture Invoked - Senate (55 - 45) |
April 6, 2017 | National | PN 55 | Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Cloture Invoked - Senate (55 - 45) |
Jan. 19, 2017 | MT | SB 29 | Defines Consent and Aggravated Sexual Assault | Bill Passed - Senate (46 - 0) |
Nov. 7, 2017 | WI | SB 54 | Requires Department of Corrections to Revoke Parole under Certain Circumstances | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 12) |
Jan. 26, 2017 | MS | SB 2469 | Classifies the Targeting of Law Enforcement as a Hate Crime | Bill Passed - Senate (37 - 13) |
March 15, 2017 | FL | SB 128 | Authorizes Immunity for Self-Defense | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 15) |
March 28, 2017 | MN | SF 803 | Appropriates Funds to Various Agencies | Bill Passed - Senate (52 - 15) |
April 5, 2017 | DE | SB 27 | Establishes Bipartisan Commission for Drawing Legislative Districts | Bill Passed - Senate (12 - 7) |
April 11, 2017 | TX | SB 75 | Requires Parental Consent for Minors to Join Labor Unions | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 11) |
April 11, 2017 | AL | SB 193 | Authorizes Briarwood Presbyterian Church to Form a Police Force | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 4) |
April 12, 2017 | CO | SB 192 | Authorizes Transfers of Retail Marijuana to Medical Marijuana Licensees | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 7) |
May 4, 2017 | IL | SB 31 | Establishes the Illinois TRUST Act. | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 21) |
May 5, 2017 | IL | SB 1761 | Prohibits "Gay Panic" Defense | Bill Passed - Senate (41 - 0) |
May 8, 2017 | NE | LB 259 | Authorizes Release Options for Inmates Unable to Pay for Bail | Bill Passed - Senate (41 - 3) |
May 10, 2017 | PA | SB 560 | Establishes Provisions for Police Use of Body Cameras | Bill Passed - Senate (48 - 0) |
May 16, 2017 | NE | LB 289 | Authorizes Life Prison Terms for Sex Traffickers and Solicitors | Bill Passed - Senate (48 - 0) |
June 15, 2017 | RI | S 237A | Authorizes Parole Eligibility for Juveniles with Life Sentences | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 8) |