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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dec. 6, 2012 | MI | HB 4003 | Limits Labor Organization Activities: Public Entities | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 4) |
Dec. 6, 2012 | MI | SB 116 | Prohibits Employees from Being Required to Join a Labor Union | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 16) |
Dec. 6, 2012 | MI | SB 116 | Prohibits Employees from Being Required to Join a Labor Union | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 16) |
Nov. 29, 2012 | NJ | A 2162 | Increases Minimum Wage | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 16) |
Nov. 29, 2012 | NJ | SCR 1 | Increases Minimum Wage | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (23 - 16) |
Oct. 25, 2012 | NJ | S 1650 | Increases Requirements for Emergency Medical Service Workers | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 16) |
Oct. 17, 2012 | PA | HB 2626 | Authorizes Employers to Keep Income Taxes Paid by their Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 16) |
Aug. 31, 2012 | CA | SB 1234 | Establishes Retirement Program for Private Sector Employees | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (25 - 13) |
Aug. 29, 2012 | CA | AB 889 | Establishes Work Condition Requirements for Domestic Work Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 13) |
Aug. 28, 2012 | CA | AB 2132 | Encourages State Universities to Include Public Service in Tenure Policy | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 14) |
Aug. 27, 2012 | CA | AB 2346 | Authorizes Farm Workers to Sue Employers for Health or Safety Violations | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 12) |
Aug. 21, 2012 | CA | HB 2676 | Increases Penalties For Agriculture Health And Safety Violations | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 12) |
Aug. 20, 2012 | CA | AB 1313 | Requires Overtime Wages for Agricultural Workers | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 15) |
July 19, 2012 | National | S 3364 | Bring Jobs Home Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (56 - 42) |
June 14, 2012 | CA | AB 2127 | Authorizes Work Release for Certain Offenders | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 14) |
June 7, 2012 | RI | S 2374 | Increases Minimum Wage | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 11) |
June 5, 2012 | National | S 3220 | Paycheck Fairness Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 47) |
May 31, 2012 | IL | HB 1447 | Pension Law Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 24) |
May 30, 2012 | LA | HB 61 | Amends State Workers Pensions | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (26 - 8) |
May 30, 2012 | CA | SB 1234 | Establishes Retirement Program for Private Sector Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 13) |
May 16, 2012 | AL | HB 658 | Amends Immigration Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 7) |
May 15, 2012 | MD | SB 1301 | Amends Teacher Pension Funding | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 13) |
May 10, 2012 | LA | SB 740 | Limits Cost of Living Adjustments for Pensions | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 15) |
May 3, 2012 | KS | HB 2333 | Amends State Pension System | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 8) |
May 3, 2012 | CT | HB 5312 | Authorizes Day Care and Personal Care Workers to Join Unions | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 14) |
May 3, 2012 | KS | King Amendment | Amends the State Retirement System for New Public Employees | Amendment Rejected - Senate (20 - 20) |
May 1, 2012 | CT | SB 79 | Prohibits Discrimination Against Unemployed Job Applicants | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 5) |
April 30, 2012 | MS | SB 2576 | Amends worker's compensation | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (31 - 15) |
April 25, 2012 | National | S 1789 | United States Postal Service Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (62 - 37) |
April 18, 2012 | OK | HB 2155 | Authorizes an Alternative Plan to the Worker's Compensation Program | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 17) |
April 14, 2012 | ME | LD 1913 | Worker's Compensation Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 13) |
April 12, 2012 | TN | SB 3345 | Limits the Number of Foreign Nationals that May Work in a Charter School | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 13) |
April 10, 2012 | AL | SB 388 | Amends State Employee Pensions | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 8) |
April 4, 2012 | LA | HB 974 | Amends Teacher Tenure Policy | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 16) |
March 14, 2012 | MS | SB 2576 | Amends Worker's Compensation | Bill Passed - Senate (39 - 13) |
March 12, 2012 | AZ | SB 1388 | Job Training for Unemployed Individuals | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 9) |
March 9, 2012 | FL | HB 1205 | Authorizes Random Drug Tests of State Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 14) |
March 8, 2012 | MO | HB 1219 | Workplace Discrimination Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 8) |
March 7, 2012 | MI | HB 4929 | Prohibits Union Dues Deductions from School Employee Paychecks | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 18) |
March 7, 2012 | GA | SB 469 | Prohibits Picketing in Certain Circumstances | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 18) |
March 7, 2012 | GA | SB 469 | Prohibits Picketing in Certain Circumstances | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 18) |
March 7, 2012 | GA | SB 460 | Exempts Religious Employers from Insurance Requirements for Coverage of Contraception | Bill Passed - Senate (38 - 15) |
Feb. 28, 2012 | AZ | SB 1486 | Prohibits Public Employers from Providing Compensation for Union Activities | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 11) |
Feb. 28, 2012 | AZ | SB 1486 | Prohibits Public Employers from Providing Compensation for Union Activities | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 11) |
Feb. 27, 2012 | SD | HB 1234 | Eliminates Teacher Tenure | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 12) |
Feb. 27, 2012 | MN | HF 1870 | Authorizes School Districts to Dismiss Teachers Based on Performance | Bill Passed - Senate (36 - 26) |
Feb. 22, 2012 | MI | SB 971 | Repeals Collective Bargaining Rights for Graduate Research Assistants | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 12) |
Feb. 21, 2012 | CO | SB 3 | Limits Employers' Use Of Credit Histories | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 15) |
Feb. 16, 2012 | AZ | SB 1484 | Prohibits Certain Deductions from Public Employee Paychecks | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 11) |
Feb. 16, 2012 | MO | SB 572 | Amends Worker's Compensation | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 8) |
Feb. 14, 2012 | MI | HB 5085 | Prohibits public employers from deducting political contributions from employee paychecks | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 12) |
Feb. 14, 2012 | FL | SB 2038 | Private Correctional Facilities | Bill Failed - Senate (19 - 21) |
Feb. 14, 2012 | VA | SB 438 | Amends Teacher Contracts | Bill Failed - Senate (18 - 20) |
Feb. 8, 2012 | MO | SB 592 | Limits Punitive Damages for Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits | Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 8) |
Feb. 6, 2012 | National | HR 658 | Federal Aviation Administration Act of 2012 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (75 - 20) |
Feb. 1, 2012 | IN | HB 1001 | Prohibits Employers from Requiring Employees to Join a Labor Organization | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 22) |
Jan. 23, 2012 | IN | SB 269 | Prohibits Employers from Requiring Employees to Join or Pay Unions | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 22) |
Jan. 23, 2012 | IN | SB 170 | Nepotism and Conflicts of Interest in Local Government | Bill Passed - Senate (39 - 11) |
Jan. 23, 2012 | IN | SB 269 | Prohibits Employers from Requiring Employees to Join or Pay Unions | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 22) |