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. 29, 2012 | NJ | A 2162 | Increases Minimum Wage | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 16) |
Aug. 20, 2012 | CA | AB 1313 | Requires Overtime Wages for Agricultural Workers | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 15) |
June 14, 2012 | CA | AB 2127 | Authorizes Work Release for Certain Offenders | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 14) |
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. 29, 2012 | CA | AB 889 | Establishes Work Condition Requirements for Domestic Work Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 13) |
Feb. 1, 2012 | IN | HB 1001 | Prohibits Employers from Requiring Employees to Join a Labor Organization | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 22) |
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) |
Feb. 27, 2012 | SD | HB 1234 | Eliminates Teacher Tenure | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 12) |
May 31, 2012 | IL | HB 1447 | Pension Law Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 24) |
April 18, 2012 | OK | HB 2155 | Authorizes an Alternative Plan to the Worker's Compensation Program | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 17) |
May 3, 2012 | KS | HB 2333 | Amends State Pension System | Bill Passed - Senate (32 - 8) |
Oct. 17, 2012 | PA | HB 2626 | Authorizes Employers to Keep Income Taxes Paid by their Employees | Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 16) |
Aug. 21, 2012 | CA | HB 2676 | Increases Penalties For Agriculture Health And Safety Violations | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 12) |
Dec. 6, 2012 | MI | HB 4003 | Limits Labor Organization Activities: Public Entities | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 4) |
March 7, 2012 | MI | HB 4929 | Prohibits Union Dues Deductions from School Employee Paychecks | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 18) |
Feb. 14, 2012 | MI | HB 5085 | Prohibits public employers from deducting political contributions from employee paychecks | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 12) |
May 3, 2012 | CT | HB 5312 | Authorizes Day Care and Personal Care Workers to Join Unions | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 14) |
May 30, 2012 | LA | HB 61 | Amends State Workers Pensions | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (26 - 8) |
May 16, 2012 | AL | HB 658 | Amends Immigration Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 7) |
April 4, 2012 | LA | HB 974 | Amends Teacher Tenure Policy | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 16) |
Feb. 27, 2012 | MN | HF 1870 | Authorizes School Districts to Dismiss Teachers Based on Performance | Bill Passed - Senate (36 - 26) |
Feb. 6, 2012 | National | HR 658 | Federal Aviation Administration Act of 2012 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (75 - 20) |
May 3, 2012 | KS | King Amendment | Amends the State Retirement System for New Public Employees | Amendment Rejected - Senate (20 - 20) |