# OpenStates Legislation Crawler - 50-State Bill Tracker (`jungle_synthesizer/openstates-legislation-crawler`) Actor Track state legislation across all 50 US states via the Open States API. Filter by state, session, subject, keyword, or date. Outputs bill metadata, sponsor details, vote records, and legislative actions -- ideal for AI policy monitoring, compliance tracking, and government intelligence. - **URL**: https://apify.com/jungle\_synthesizer/openstates-legislation-crawler.md - **Developed by:** [BowTiedRaccoon](https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer) (community) - **Categories:** Business, Automation, Other - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per event This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## OpenStates Legislation Crawler - 50-State Bill Tracker Extract state legislation records from the [Open States API v3](https://v3.openstates.org/) covering all 50 US states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. Filter bills by jurisdiction, session, subject, keyword, or date range. Outputs bill metadata, primary sponsors, legislative action history, vote records, and bill text version links -- ideal for AI policy monitoring, regulatory compliance tracking, and government intelligence workflows. ### Features - Track legislation across all 50 US states + DC + PR via the Open States API v3 - Filter by state, legislative session, subject tag, bill type, full-text keyword, or last-updated date - Extract sponsor names and classifications (primary/co-sponsor), with primary sponsor highlighted - Get full legislative action history per bill: date, chamber, and description of each action - Include vote records with yes/no/absent counts per chamber vote - Include bill text version links (introduced, amended, enrolled) as formatted URL strings - Delta mode: `updatedSince` field enables daily polling workflows (only new/changed bills) - Pay-per-event pricing at roughly $0.001 per record ### Authentication This actor requires a free Open States API key. Register at [https://openstates.org/accounts/signup/](https://openstates.org/accounts/signup/) using a GitHub, Google, Twitter, or Facebook account. After registration, visit your [profile page](https://openstates.org/account/profile/) to copy your API key. Provide the key via the `apiKey` input field, or store it as the `OPENSTATES_API_KEY` actor environment variable for scheduled runs. ### Who Uses Open States Data and Why - **Policy monitoring teams** -- track AI, healthcare, climate, or other subject-tagged bills across all states in real time - **Lobbying and government affairs teams** -- monitor bills by session, sponsor, or subject that affect your industry - **Compliance and legal teams** -- receive alerts when bills in your regulatory space advance through committee or pass - **Political researchers and journalists** -- analyze legislative trends, sponsor patterns, and voting records across jurisdictions - **Civic tech developers** -- power constituent alert systems, legislative calendars, and policy comparison tools ### How It Works 1. You provide your Open States API key plus at least one filter: a state name, a keyword, or a subject tag. 2. The crawler queries `v3.openstates.org/bills` with page-based pagination (20 bills per page, max ~30 requests/minute on the free tier). 3. Each bill is transformed into a clean output record: flat strings for classification/subjects, pipe-delimited strings for actions/votes/versions. ### Input Parameters | Field | Description | Default | |-------|-------------|---------| | `apiKey` | Your Open States API key (required) | -- | | `jurisdiction` | State name or abbreviation (e.g. `California`, `ca`) | `California` | | `session` | Legislative session (e.g. `2025-2026`) | all | | `subject` | Subject tag filter, comma-separated (e.g. `artificial intelligence`) | -- | | `query` | Full-text keyword search | -- | | `classification` | Bill type: `bill`, `resolution`, etc. | all | | `updatedSince` | Delta mode: only bills updated on/after this date (YYYY-MM-DD) | -- | | `sortOrder` | Sort order for results | `updated_desc` | | `includeVotes` | Include legislator vote records per bill | false | | `includeVersions` | Include bill text version links | true | | `maxItems` | Maximum number of bills to return (0 = unlimited) | 15 | ### Output Fields Each output record contains: | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `bill_id` | Open States internal OCD bill identifier | | `jurisdiction` | State or territory name | | `state_abbr` | Two-letter state abbreviation (CA, TX, etc.) | | `session` | Legislative session identifier | | `chamber` | Chamber of origination (upper/lower) | | `bill_number` | Official bill ID (e.g. SB 205, HB 123) | | `title` | Full official bill title | | `classification` | Bill type(s) as comma-separated string | | `subjects` | Subject tags as comma-separated string | | `primary_sponsor` | Name of the primary bill sponsor | | `sponsors` | All sponsors as `name:classification` strings | | `actions` | Legislative actions as `date\|chamber\|description` strings | | `votes_summary` | Vote records as `date\|chamber\|result\|yes:N\|no:N\|absent:N` strings | | `versions` | Bill text links as `note\|date\|url` strings | | `source_urls` | Source URLs for the bill record | | `openstates_url` | Direct link to the bill on OpenStates.org | | `first_action_date` | Date of first legislative action | | `latest_action_date` | Date of most recent action | | `latest_action_description` | Description of most recent action | | `latest_passage_date` | Date the bill last passed | | `created_at` | Record creation timestamp in Open States | | `updated_at` | Record last-modified timestamp in Open States | ### Rate Limits and Performance The Open States free tier allows approximately 30 requests per minute. This actor uses a conservative 2.2-second delay between API calls. At 20 bills per page, this yields roughly 540 bills per minute. For large state-wide pulls (thousands of bills), consider using `updatedSince` for delta polling rather than pulling full history repeatedly. ### Example Use Cases **Monitor AI-related bills across all states:** Set `subject` to `artificial intelligence` and leave `jurisdiction` empty. **Track California bills updated this week:** Set `jurisdiction` to `California` and `updatedSince` to the start of the current week. **Pull all bills from the current Texas session:** Set `jurisdiction` to `Texas` and `session` to `2025`. **Set up daily polling for a specific subject:** Schedule daily runs with `updatedSince` set to yesterday's date using a dynamic date expression. # Actor input Schema ## `sp_intended_usage` (type: `string`): Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler. ## `sp_improvement_suggestions` (type: `string`): Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements. ## `sp_contact` (type: `string`): Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you. ## `apiKey` (type: `string`): Your Open States API key. Free registration at https://openstates.org/accounts/signup/ ## `jurisdiction` (type: `string`): Filter by US state name or abbreviation (e.g. 'California', 'ca', 'Texas', 'tx'). Leave empty to search all jurisdictions -- requires a keyword or subject filter when empty. ## `session` (type: `string`): Filter by session identifier (e.g. '2025-2026', '2025'). Leave empty for all sessions. ## `subject` (type: `string`): Filter bills by subject tag (e.g. 'artificial intelligence', 'healthcare', 'education'). Separate multiple subjects with a comma. ## `query` (type: `string`): Search bill text and titles for keywords (e.g. 'AI', 'machine learning', 'abortion'). Required when jurisdiction is not specified. ## `classification` (type: `string`): Filter by classification type (e.g. 'bill', 'resolution', 'memorial'). ## `updatedSince` (type: `string`): Only return bills updated on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Useful for daily polling workflows. ## `sortOrder` (type: `string`): How to sort returned bills. ## `includeVotes` (type: `boolean`): Include individual legislator vote records for each bill. Increases data volume and API calls. ## `includeActions` (type: `boolean`): Include the full list of legislative actions (readings, committee referrals, votes, signatures). ## `includeVersions` (type: `boolean`): Include links to bill text versions (introduced, amended, enrolled, etc.). ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of bills to return. Set to 0 for unlimited. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Select proxies. The Open States API does not require proxies. ## Actor input object example ```json { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "jurisdiction": "California", "sortOrder": "updated_desc", "includeVotes": false, "includeActions": true, "includeVersions": true, "maxItems": 15, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ```` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "apiKey": "", "jurisdiction": "California", "session": "", "subject": "", "query": "", "classification": "", "updatedSince": "", "sortOrder": "updated_desc", "includeVotes": false, "includeActions": true, "includeVersions": true, "maxItems": 15, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/openstates-legislation-crawler").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "apiKey": "", "jurisdiction": "California", "session": "", "subject": "", "query": "", "classification": "", "updatedSince": "", "sortOrder": "updated_desc", "includeVotes": False, "includeActions": True, "includeVersions": True, "maxItems": 15, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False }, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/openstates-legislation-crawler").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "apiKey": "", "jurisdiction": "California", "session": "", "subject": "", "query": "", "classification": "", "updatedSince": "", "sortOrder": "updated_desc", "includeVotes": false, "includeActions": true, "includeVersions": true, "maxItems": 15, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } }' | apify call jungle_synthesizer/openstates-legislation-crawler --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=jungle_synthesizer/openstates-legislation-crawler", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "OpenStates Legislation Crawler - 50-State Bill Tracker", "description": "Track state legislation across all 50 US states via the Open States API. Filter by state, session, subject, keyword, or date. Outputs bill metadata, sponsor details, vote records, and legislative actions -- ideal for AI policy monitoring, compliance tracking, and government intelligence.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "c09cTWteIE9Q4eY5R" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~openstates-legislation-crawler/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-jungle_synthesizer-openstates-legislation-crawler", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~openstates-legislation-crawler/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-jungle_synthesizer-openstates-legislation-crawler", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~openstates-legislation-crawler/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-jungle_synthesizer-openstates-legislation-crawler", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "sp_intended_usage": { "title": "What is the intended usage of this data?", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler." }, "sp_improvement_suggestions": { "title": "How can we improve this crawler for you?", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements." }, "sp_contact": { "title": "Contact Email", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you." }, "apiKey": { "title": "Open States API Key", "type": "string", "description": "Your Open States API key. Free registration at https://openstates.org/accounts/signup/" }, "jurisdiction": { "title": "State / Jurisdiction", "type": "string", "description": "Filter by US state name or abbreviation (e.g. 'California', 'ca', 'Texas', 'tx'). Leave empty to search all jurisdictions -- requires a keyword or subject filter when empty." }, "session": { "title": "Legislative Session", "type": "string", "description": "Filter by session identifier (e.g. '2025-2026', '2025'). Leave empty for all sessions." }, "subject": { "title": "Subject Filter", "type": "string", "description": "Filter bills by subject tag (e.g. 'artificial intelligence', 'healthcare', 'education'). Separate multiple subjects with a comma." }, "query": { "title": "Full-Text Search", "type": "string", "description": "Search bill text and titles for keywords (e.g. 'AI', 'machine learning', 'abortion'). Required when jurisdiction is not specified." }, "classification": { "title": "Bill Classification", "enum": [ "", "bill", "resolution", "concurrent resolution", "joint resolution", "memorial", "constitutional amendment" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by classification type (e.g. 'bill', 'resolution', 'memorial')." }, "updatedSince": { "title": "Updated Since (Delta Mode)", "type": "string", "description": "Only return bills updated on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Useful for daily polling workflows." }, "sortOrder": { "title": "Sort Order", "enum": [ "updated_desc", "updated_asc", "first_action_asc", "first_action_desc", "latest_action_asc", "latest_action_desc" ], "type": "string", "description": "How to sort returned bills.", "default": "updated_desc" }, "includeVotes": { "title": "Include Vote Records", "type": "boolean", "description": "Include individual legislator vote records for each bill. Increases data volume and API calls.", "default": false }, "includeActions": { "title": "Include Legislative Actions", "type": "boolean", "description": "Include the full list of legislative actions (readings, committee referrals, votes, signatures).", "default": true }, "includeVersions": { "title": "Include Bill Versions", "type": "boolean", "description": "Include links to bill text versions (introduced, amended, enrolled, etc.).", "default": true }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of bills to return. Set to 0 for unlimited.", "default": 15 }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Select proxies. The Open States API does not require proxies." } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```