How to Get There
From the Search page, click the dropdown at the top that says Videos and change your selection to Legislation.
Searching for Legislation
Once you've selected Legislation, you can search using either Keyword Search or Smart Search - whichever fits how you're thinking about your search.
To run a search:
- Enter your keyword or phrase in the search bar
- Use the Location filter to select the state you want to search in
- Use the Date filter to set your date range
Results will show every matching legislative document in the state and date range you selected.
Tip: Click Hits on any result to view the exact keyword matches within that bill before clicking through.
Legislation Detail Page
Click on any bill to open the Legislation Detail Page. At the top of the page you will find a Subscribe button, covered in detail below. The page is organized into four tabs:
Details
The Details tab gives your team the full picture on where a bill stands and where it is headed:
- Title, number, and description
- Sponsors and external links, so you know who is driving the bill and can trace it back to source
- Progress bar, showing exactly where the bill sits in the legislative process, from introduction through passage
- Calendar and hearings, so you know when the bill will be discussed and can plan advocacy or testimony accordingly
- Timeline, capturing every movement the bill has had throughout its lifespan
- Committee referral dates, including when and where the bill was referred
Documents
The Documents tab is where amendment tracking happens. This is how your team catches language changes before they catch you.
- Bills are listed chronologically from introduction at the bottom to most recent at the top
- Click Compare Bill to see a side-by-side comparison. Additions are highlighted in green, removals and changes are highlighted in red
- To compare specific versions, click the first version and then Compare Bill for the second version. Original will display alongside the first version in your comparison
- Click the most recent version at the top to see the full comparison from introduction to the current text
Keyword Hits / Smart Search Hits
The Keyword Hits tab shows every instance your search terms appear within the bill, so your team can go straight to the sections that matter to your position without reading the full document. Clicking on a Keyword Hit takes you directly to that page of the document.
More info about Keyword Searches and Smart Searches available here: https://help.cloverleaf.ai/knowledge-base/natural-language-search
Legislative Body
The Legislative Body tab gives full context on the chamber considering the bill, including:
- Chamber type
- Member designations
- Number of committees
- Members of each legislative body and committee
This information helps identify who to engage, whether that is a committee chair, a sponsor, or a key swing vote.
Subscribing to a Bill
You can subscribe to any bill from the search results page or from the Legislation Detail Page - whichever is more convenient. Click the Subscribe button on any bill to set up notifications.
A modal will appear where you can choose to be notified of:
- Status Changes - Receive an email when the bill's status changes, such as when it is introduced, passes a vote, or gets signed into law
- Events - Receive an email any time there's new activity on the bill's timeline, including hearings, votes, amendments, and scheduled calendar events
Click Save to confirm. Bills you're already subscribed to will show a Subscribed badge in place of the Subscribe button.
Tip: Subscribe to both Status Changes and Events for any bill you want to follow closely - together they give you complete coverage of every development from introduction to final outcome.
Questions? Contact us at support@cloverleaf.ai