Navigating the Legislative Information System (LIS)

Deputy Clerk for Information Technology, Sharon Steidel, and key staff members shared the upgrades to the Legislative Information System (LIS) on January 6th, just in time for the start of the General Assembly on January 14th. The primary goal of these 2026 session website updates is to streamline the tracking of the General Assembly by making the site more intuitive and reducing the number of manual steps for users.

This review summarizes the key upgrades and structural improvements to the LIS:

I. Enhanced Bill History and Navigation: The updated LIS focuses on minimizing clicks and providing immediate access to the most relevant data.

LIS Homepage

Direct Search: Entering a bill number in the search box now takes you directly to that bill’s page, bypassing search results.

Reverse Chronological Order: Bill history now defaults to showing the most recent action at the top. Users can toggle back to chronological order using the date arrows.

Integrated Bill Versions: The separate "Bill Versions" section has been eliminated. Links to HTML and PDF versions are now embedded directly within the bill history line that generated that version.

Real-time Committee Updates: As soon as a vote is closed in a committee or subcommittee, the outcome (e.g., "Reported from Rules") is posted immediately.

"Vote Details Pending": This status appears temporarily while members are allowed to cast missed votes (until noon for morning meetings or 5:00 PM for afternoon meetings). The outcome cannot change, but the final vote tally is uploaded later by the clerk.

II. Bill Content and Amendments

Floor Amendments: Links to floor amendments are provided alongside the specific version of the bill they are drawn to (e.g., the "Introduced" version), making it easier to reference line numbers.

HTML Highlighting: The HTML view includes a "Highlight Changes" slider that visually indicates proposed additions or deletions in the text.

Fiscal Impact Statements (FIS): FIS now appears as a permanent line in the bill history. Unlike previous years, older FIS versions are no longer replaced by new ones; all versions remain accessible to provide full context.

III. Watch Lists and "Lobbyist in a Box": Detailed tracking features available to logged-in users

Creating Lists: Users can create multiple watch lists (the free account is limited to one list of five bills).

Custom Notifications: Notifications can be set to hourly or daily. New triggers include Second and Third Reading alerts.

Potential Bill Alerts: Users can set notifications to alert them if a specific patron (delegate/senator) introduces a bill, if a bill is referred to a specific committee, or if specific keywords/Code sections are used.

Managing Notes: Users can add private notes to bills. These are indicated by a "caption bubble" icon.

IV. Sharing and Reporting

Quick Share: You can email a link to a watch list that remains active for 72 hours (increased from 24). Note: This method does not include your private notes.

Exporting Data: To share notes, users must "Expand Notes" and download the list as a CSV, Excel, or Text file. These files contain live links to the bill history.

Cross-Referencing: A new "Bill Cross Reference" tool allows users to see which bills appear on multiple watch lists simultaneously.

If you are unable to join the vast number of foot soldiers pounding the pavement during this year's legislative session, but want to stay informed, the LIS is another way to accomplish the mission. New users can create a free account and, as mentioned above, utilize the Lobbyist in a Box feature and add up to 5 bills to their own personal watch list. The site also features the LIS Learning Center to guide users through the process.

To track legislation, go to https://lis.virginia.gov/home.

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