Legislation

The 43 tools it listed

"Read only" and "Changes data" are the server's own marks. Underlined parameters are required.

1. get_ballot_measureRead only

   Statewide ballot measures

   Ballot measures (GET /v1/measures): the list for a state, or one measure by its number (e.g. 'Amendment 1') with full text, summary and official source URL. Use for 'what's on the ballot in X' and 'what does Amendment N do'.

   state number type q limit offset

2. get_billRead only

   Get one bill

   Fetch a single bill by its numeric bill_id (GET /v1/bills/{bill_id}), optionally merging in sub-resources: votes (roll calls with tallies), sponsors, history (action timeline), texts (version metadata), amendments, subjects, analyses (staff analyses), calendar (scheduled events), citations (statutes the bill touches), referrals (committee referrals), sast (same-as / similar-to companion bills in the other chamber or other states), supplements (fiscal notes and summaries). analyses and citations are populated only for the deeper-coverage states. Each include is a separate API call, so ask only for what you need. Pass detail:true to get everything in one round trip instead. Get a bill_id from search_bills or semantic_search_bills. status_id values: 1=Introduced, 2=In Committee, 3=Passed One Chamber, 4=Passed Both Chambers (for a simple resolution, bill_type_id 2: Adopted, its final step), 5=Signed into Law, 6=Vetoed, 7=Failed/Dead, 8=Chaptered. Aggregate buckets: passed={4,5,8}, failed={

   bill_id include max_items detail

3. get_bill_diffRead only

   Diff two bill-text versions

   Compare two versions of a bill's text (GET /v1/bills/{bill_id}/diff): a unified diff plus similarity, added/removed line and character counts, and changed-section highlights. Get the two version ids from get_bill with include:['texts'] — each text row's `text_id`. Pass them as `from` (the earlier version) and `to` (the later version). Diffs are precomputed, so only bills that have more than one text version return one.

   bill_id from to

4. get_bill_statutesRead only

   Laws a bill changes

   The sections of existing law a bill amends, creates, repeals or cites (GET /v1/bills/{bill_id}/statutes), classified by how it touches each, with the current text of sections we hold. Use for 'what current law does this bill change'. Get bill_id from search_bills. Only states whose code is loaded resolve to section text (see list_statute_coverage); a link to a section we hold carries resolved:true and the text, otherwise just the citation as written.

   bill_id

5. get_bill_textRead only

   Get the text of one bill version

   The cleaned plain text of one bill-text version (GET /v1/texts/{text_id}), entities decoded, ready to quote or summarize. Get text_id from get_bill with include:['texts'] (each version has a date and type). Texts longer than 40,000 characters are clipped with a '[truncated]' marker.

   text_id

6. get_bill_text_historyRead only

   Get every text diff for a bill

   Timeline of all computed diffs between successive text versions of one bill (GET /v1/bills/{bill_id}/changes): what changed, when, and how much. Use get_bill_diff for one specific pair of versions. Get bill_id from search_bills or semantic_search_bills.

   bill_id include_whitespace

7. get_candidateRead only

   Get a candidate

   Fetch one election candidate by id (GET /v1/candidates/{id}): their party, office, district and cycle, plus an FEC filer id where the campaign has filed and a Bioguide id for sitting members of Congress. When people_id is set, the candidate has a legislative voting record — pass it to get_legislator or get_legislator_scorecard to go from candidate to voting history in one hop. Get an id from list_candidates.

   id

8. get_candidate_photoRead only

   Candidate portrait URL

   The URL of a candidate's official portrait (GET /v1/photos/{candidate_id} returns the image bytes). Sources are official state-legislature and congressional portraits, public-domain and licensed images only — never a third party's photo library — and each carries a license and attribution string that MUST be shown when the license requires it (Wikimedia CC BY). Returns null when the candidate has no accepted portrait — which is the COMMON case: only about a tenth of the 2026 field has one (11%), so design for an initials-avatar default. Candidate rows from list_candidates and get_midterms already include photo_url, so call this only when you have just an id.

   candidate_id

9. get_changesRead only

   Get the bill change feed

   Near-real-time feed of what changed (GET /v1/changes). Poll with since=<ISO timestamp> to get everything newer than your cursor; with no since it defaults to the last hour. Reason types include NewBill, StatusChange, Text, Vote and Amendment. Use this for monitoring and incremental sync — 'what moved in Florida since yesterday' — rather than re-scanning search_bills.

   since state reason limit

10. get_committeeRead only

    Get one committee

    Fetch a committee by committee_id (GET /v1/committees/{committee_id}), optionally merging in members (its roster, with roles) and hearings (its scheduled meetings). Find a committee_id with list_committees.

    committee_id include max_items

11. get_coverageRead only

    Get per-state data coverage

    Per-state depth snapshot (GET /v1/coverage): how COMPLETE each jurisdiction's data is — bill counts, the share of bills holding at least one vote, text or sponsor, and whether the legislature is currently in session. Use it before drawing conclusions from a thin result set, to tell 'no such bills' apart from 'this state is thinly covered'. Read the completeness ratios rather than the raw percentages: most bills die in committee without ever getting a roll call, so a low pct_with_votes usually reflects the legislature, not a gap in the data. Served from a materialised snapshot; `computed_at` gives its age.

    max_items

12. get_floor_transcriptRead only

    Read one floor-session transcript

    The verbatim record of one chamber sitting (GET /v1/floor-transcripts/{transcript_id}): debate, explanations of vote and roll calls as spoken on the floor. A sitting can run to 850,000 characters, so this returns a window (offset, max_chars, next_offset) or, with search, every passage that mentions a phrase such as a bill number or a member's name. Get transcript_id from list_floor_transcripts.

    transcript_id offset max_chars search

13. get_hearingRead only

    Get one hearing and read its transcript

    One committee hearing or meeting (GET /v1/hearings/{hearing_id}) with its verbatim transcript where one exists (has_transcript in list_hearings; NY public hearings and FL committee meetings carry them). Transcripts can exceed a million characters, so this returns a window of the text (offset, max_chars, next_offset to keep reading) or, with search, every passage that mentions a phrase. transcript_url is the official document. Find hearing_id with list_hearings or get_committee include:['hearings'].

    hearing_id offset max_chars search

14. get_legislatorRead only

    Get one legislator

    Fetch a legislator's profile by people_id (GET /v1/legislators/{people_id}), optionally merging in votes (every roll call they are recorded on, newest first, with their individual position: 1=Yea, 2=Nay, 3=Not Voting, 4=Absent) and bills (legislation they sponsor, with sponsor_type_id 1=primary, 2=cosponsor). Find a people_id with list_legislators or from a bill's sponsors. Corpus is 2026-forward only.

    people_id include limit

15. get_legislator_scorecardRead only

    Get a legislator's scorecard

    One-call voting and sponsorship profile for a legislator (GET /v1/legislators/{people_id}/scorecard): participation, party-line alignment, bills sponsored and passed, notable votes. This is the tool for 'how does X vote' or 'is X effective'. Get people_id from list_legislators (q=name).

    people_id

16. get_measure_statutesRead only

    Laws a ballot measure changes

    The sections of existing law a 2026 ballot measure amends, creates, repeals or cites (GET /v1/measures/{state}/{number}/statutes). Use for 'which laws does Prop X / Question Y change'. Read from the measure's official text: constitutional amendments cite the constitution (not loaded), and a measure whose text is not yet published returns nothing. Treat the list as a floor. Only states whose code is loaded resolve to section text (see list_statute_coverage); a link to a section we hold carries resolved:true and the text, otherwise just the citation as written.

    state number

17. get_midtermsRead only

    2026 midterm election slate

    The election slate for 2026-11-03 (GET /v1/midterms): races, candidates and ballot measures per state, with official results where available. All data is official state election-office and FEC content collected by Delilah — no third-party attribution is required. live_results carries ONE ENTRY PER CONTEST, each with `contest` (e.g. primary:DEM, runoff:REP) and `party`: a closed primary returns each party separately and vote_pct is the share of THAT party's ballot, so never compare or rank candidates across two contests. Use for 'who is running for X' and results questions. Never call or project a race; report counts exactly as reported.

    state level chamber q year limit offset

18. get_roll_callRead only

    Get one roll-call vote

    Fetch a roll call by roll_call_id (GET /v1/votes/{roll_call_id}): the motion, chamber, date and yea/nay/absent tallies. Add include:['details'] to also pull how every individual member voted (vote_id 1=Yea, 2=Nay, 3=Not Voting, 4=Absent) — this is the tool for 'how did each legislator vote on this'. Get a roll_call_id from get_bill with include:['votes'].

    roll_call_id include max_items

19. get_session_breakdownRead only

    Bill counts by status or subject

    Bill count per status (by:'status', on the status_id ladder) or per subject (by:'subject') for one session (GET /v1/sessions/{id}/status-counts or /subject-counts). Get session_id from list_sessions. status_id values: 1=Introduced, 2=In Committee, 3=Passed One Chamber, 4=Passed Both Chambers (for a simple resolution, bill_type_id 2: Adopted, its final step), 5=Signed into Law, 6=Vetoed, 7=Failed/Dead, 8=Chaptered. Aggregate buckets: passed={4,5,8}, failed={6,7}, alive={1,2,3}.

    session_id by

20. get_session_dashboardRead only

    Session dashboard

    Headline counts for one legislative session (GET /v1/sessions/{id}/dashboard): bills filed, passed, signed, vetoed, roll calls, active legislators. Start here for 'how is the 2026 Florida session going'. Get session_id from list_sessions.

    session_id

21. get_session_sponsor_statsRead only

    Top sponsors in a session

    Legislators ranked by bills sponsored and passed in one session (GET /v1/sessions/{id}/sponsor-stats). Each row has bills_sponsored, bills_primary, bills_passed, bills_primary_passed and pass_rate (passed = status 4, 5 or 8). This is the one call for 'who is most active or effective this session' and 'which senator passed the most bills': set chamber and sort:'passed' (or 'primary_passed' to count only bills they carried). Committees filed as sponsors are excluded by default. Get session_id from list_sessions.

    session_id chamber party sort include_committees limit

22. get_session_vote_participationRead only

    Roll-call participation per legislator

    How many roll calls each legislator voted in versus missed during one session (GET /v1/sessions/{id}/vote-participation). Use for attendance questions. Get session_id from list_sessions.

    session_id limit

23. get_statuteRead only

    One statute section

    One section of law with full text and its place in the code (GET /v1/statutes/sections/{section_id}, or by citation via GET /v1/statutes/lookup). Give section_id from a search or a bill/measure link, or state + citation exactly as the code prints it (e.g. '39:4-50', '790.01', '18-3-102'). Set include_bills:true to also return the bills that amend, create, repeal or cite the section. Only states whose code is loaded resolve to section text (see list_statute_coverage); a link to a section we hold carries resolved:true and the text, otherwise just the citation as written.

    section_id state citation code include_bills

24. get_trending_billsRead only

    Bills trending in the news

    Bills with the most news coverage in the window (GET /v1/trending), optionally for one state. Use for 'what's in the news' or 'hot bills right now'. Returns bill summaries with mention counts; call get_bill for detail.

    state days limit

25. get_usageRead only

    Your API usage this month

    The current key's tier, monthly cap, requests used and remaining, and when the period resets (GET /v1/_meta/usage). Call this when a request is rate-limited (HTTP 429) or the user asks about their plan.

26. get_weekly_stage_breakdownRead only

    Fleet-wide counts per stage

    One row per stage with the number of bills whose latest action landed there in the window (GET /v1/bills-weekly-breakdown). All jurisdictions combined. Use for a national 'how much moved this week' number; use get_session_dashboard for one state.

    days

27. keyword_search_billsRead only

    Search bills by exact keywords (all must match)

    Keyword search where EVERY term must appear (GET /v1/search/bills). Use when the user gives specific words that all have to be present, e.g. ['short-term rental', 'tax']. Prefer semantic_search_bills for questions and search_bills for structured filters. Up to 10 terms. Returns bill summaries plus pagination. Corpus is 2026-forward only.

    keywords state limit offset

28. list_bills_by_stageRead only

    Bills that moved to a stage recently

    Bills whose LATEST action in the window falls in a stage (GET /v1/bills-by-stage): introduced, committee, passed, executive (with the governor, signed, or vetoed), amendments, other. Fleet-wide across all jurisdictions — there is no state filter, so filter the rows by state_id or state_name yourself. Classified from the action text, not status_id. Use for 'what passed this week' or 'what reached the governor'. Stage values are lowercase.

    stage days limit

29. list_candidatesRead only

    Search election candidates

    Search the election-candidate directory (GET /v1/candidates): people running for office. Filters combine with AND. Roughly a third carry an FEC filer id and sitting members of Congress carry a Bioguide id; both are null otherwise. Rows also carry people_id where the person has a legislative voting record — pass it to get_legislator / get_legislator_scorecard to go from candidate to voting history in one hop. Covers STATE and federal candidates. Pass a candidate id to get_candidate for the full record.

    state office cycle bioguide fec_id limit offset

30. list_committeesRead only

    List committees

    List legislative committees (GET /v1/committees), filterable by jurisdiction, chamber, or name search. Returns the committee_id values that get_committee needs.

    state chamber q limit

31. list_districtsRead only

    Electoral districts (and boundaries)

    District metadata by state and type (GET /v1/districts): congressional, state senate, state house. Pass district_id with boundary:true to get the polygon as GeoJSON (GET /v1/districts/{id}/boundary) — it is large, so set simplify (degrees, e.g. 0.01) to shrink it. Match districts NUMERICALLY (district_number), never by label text.

    state type district_id boundary simplify limit offset

32. list_floor_transcriptsRead only

    List floor-session transcripts

    Verbatim stenographic records of chamber floor sessions (GET /v1/floor-transcripts), newest first: each sitting's date, session type, length and official PDF. Coverage: the New York Senate, every sitting from 2025 on. Read one with get_floor_transcript. For committee hearings use list_hearings.

    state chamber since until limit offset

33. list_hearingsRead only

    List hearings

    Committee hearings and meetings across committees (GET /v1/hearings), newest first, filterable by jurisdiction and start date. Use this to answer 'what is being heard this week' or to track when a committee next meets. Rows with has_transcript:true carry a verbatim transcript (transcript_chars long); read it with get_hearing. For hearings on one specific committee use get_committee with include:['hearings']; for one specific bill use get_bill with include:['calendar']. Floor sessions are in list_floor_transcripts.

    state since has_transcript limit offset

34. list_legislatorsRead only

    Search legislators

    Search or list legislators (GET /v1/legislators) by jurisdiction, chamber, party, district, or name. This is how you turn a name into the people_id that get_legislator needs. Filters combine with AND.

    state q party chamber district limit offset

35. list_session_legislatorsRead only

    Legislators active in a session

    Every legislator who served in one session (GET /v1/sessions/{id}/legislators), with people_id. Use list_legislators for the current roster by state; use this for a specific past or special session. Get session_id from list_sessions.

    session_id

36. list_sessionsRead only

    List legislative sessions

    Legislative sessions (GET /v1/sessions): regular and special sessions with their years, start/sine-die dates and a session_id. Use this to resolve which session a bill belongs to, to find the current session for a state, or to pass session_id as a filter to search_bills. Omit `state` to list every jurisdiction's sessions. Corpus is 2026-forward only.

    state max_items

37. list_statesRead only

    List states & jurisdictions

    The jurisdiction directory (GET /v1/states): the 50 states, D.C. and the U.S. Congress with their state_id, 2-letter code and full name. Returns the full list (52 rows) so you can resolve a name to a code or enumerate everything the corpus covers. For how COMPLETE each jurisdiction's data is, use get_coverage instead.

38. list_statute_coverageRead only

    Statute coverage and codes

    Which jurisdictions' codified law is loaded, and how big and current it is (GET /v1/statutes/coverage): per state the number of codes, sections, bill links and the edition it is current through. Pass state to list that state's codes (GET /v1/statutes/codes) — the code_id values used by get_statute lookups. Call this first to know whether a state's statutes are available.

    state

39. list_subjectsRead only

    List subjects

    The raw subject taxonomy with per-subject bill counts (GET /v1/subjects). Subjects are the fine-grained categories the legislatures themselves assign to bills — narrower and more numerous than the curated topic slugs from list_topics. Use this to find a subject_id to filter search_bills by, or to gauge what a jurisdiction is legislating on. Scope with `state` and narrow with `q`.

    state q max_items

40. list_topicsRead only

    List topics

    The canonical topic taxonomy with per-topic bill counts (GET /v1/topics). Call this first to find the right slug for the topic filter on search_bills, instead of guessing one. Pass a slug to get that topic's detail and a sample of the raw subject names folded into it (GET /v1/topics/{slug}); to get the topic's actual bills, use search_bills with topic=<slug>.

    slug max_items

41. search_billsRead only

    Search bills

    Search or list legislation with structured filters (GET /v1/bills). Use this when you know the jurisdiction, sponsor, topic, or status you want. Every filter is optional and they combine with AND. A bill number typed into q (e.g. 'HB 1', 'SB0002') matches that bill directly. Returns bill summaries plus pagination; call get_bill for the full record. Corpus is 2026-forward only. status_id values: 1=Introduced, 2=In Committee, 3=Passed One Chamber, 4=Passed Both Chambers (for a simple resolution, bill_type_id 2: Adopted, its final step), 5=Signed into Law, 6=Vetoed, 7=Failed/Dead, 8=Chaptered. Aggregate buckets: passed={4,5,8}, failed={6,7}, alive={1,2,3}.

    state q topic subject sponsor_last_name bill_number session_id status_id title_contains updated_since include_sponsors limit offset

42. search_statutesRead only

    Search statutes

    Full-text search of a state's codified law (GET /v1/statutes/search). Use for 'what does the law say about X' and to find the section a bill or ballot measure changes. Returns matching sections with headings and excerpts; fetch the whole section with get_statute. Only states whose code is loaded resolve to section text (see list_statute_coverage); a link to a section we hold carries resolved:true and the text, otherwise just the citation as written.

    state q code limit

43. semantic_search_billsRead only

    Search bills by meaning

    Vector search over the full text of every bill (GET /v1/search/semantic): describe what you want in plain English — 'protecting kids from social media', 'limits on rent increases' — and get the closest bills with a match_score. Prefer this over search_bills for questions and topics; prefer search_bills for a known bill number, sponsor, or status filter, and keyword_search_bills for exact terms that must all appear. Returns bill_id, bill_number, title, description, state_abbr, status_id. Corpus is 2026-forward only. status_id values: 1=Introduced, 2=In Committee, 3=Passed One Chamber, 4=Passed Both Chambers (for a simple resolution, bill_type_id 2: Adopted, its final step), 5=Signed into Law, 6=Vetoed, 7=Failed/Dead, 8=Chaptered. Aggregate buckets: passed={4,5,8}, failed={6,7}, alive={1,2,3}.

    query state limit threshold