Using CapitolMath
Bills, officials, committees and the calendar; saved views, lists and watching bills.
Getting started
- Welcome to CapitolMathConceptWhat CapitolMath covers, how this help is organized, and where to start for the work you do.
- Signing inHow toSign in with email, Google, Microsoft, GitHub or Slack, through your organization's single sign-on, or from an invitation.
- Your photo and time zoneHow toSet the photo people see beside your name, in one organization or all of them, and the time zone your dates and emails follow.
- NotificationsHow toChoose what CapitolMath tells you about and where: the bell in the app, email, or Slack or Teams; read the bell; unsubscribe from an email.
- Notifications in Slack or TeamsHow toCreate a Slack or Microsoft Teams incoming webhook for yourself, add it on My profile, and send a test, so your notifications arrive in your own channel.
- Choosing and switching organizationsHow toChoose which organization to work in, switch between organizations under one login, create another, or leave one.
- Finding your way aroundConceptThe header's Tracking, Explore and Integration menus, the account menu, the app and the public site, the browse pages' shared layout, and the panels that slide in.
- The assistantConceptAsk how to do something in CapitolMath, or ask about bills, legislators and hearings: answers checked against Help and the data, and what your plan includes.
- Getting helpHow toThe help button: ask the assistant first, message support when it can't help, and read support's replies in My profile.
- AccessibilityConceptHow CapitolMath meets WCAG 2.2 AA, what the conformance report (VPAT) covers and how it was tested, widgets on an accessible site, and how to report a barrier.
- Plans and what they includeReferenceWhat each CapitolMath plan includes — licenses, API calls, analysis, webhooks, scorecards and single sign-on.
Bills
- About the bill listConceptWhat the Legislation page shows when it opens, cards and table, choosing All jurisdictions, and what the filter counts mean.
- Searching billsHow toFind bills by number, title, key words, sponsor or the words in their text, with phrases, OR and excluded words.
- Filtering billsHow toNarrow the bill list with its filters, combine them to answer questions like which bills died in committee, and start again.
- Bill facetsReferenceEvery filter on the Legislation page — Jurisdiction, Tracked, Bills like, Session, Last updated, Outcome, Furthest Stage, Currently with and more — and its rules.
- Reading a billConceptWhat CapitolMath shows about each bill it tracks, in its panel, section by section: progress and outcome, summary and lean, your organization's tracking, full text, sponsors, history, floor votes and similar bills.
- Status and outcome labelsReferenceEvery chip that describes a bill — outcome, furthest stage and who holds it now — what each means, and when a bill counts as Dead.
Officials
- About the officials rosterConceptWhat Elected Officials lists — legislators and the governor, one jurisdiction at a time — how it handles vacant seats and former members, and finding the officials behind your tracked bills.
- Finding your representatives by addressHow toNarrow a legislator scorecard to the legislators who represent an address, or find a district's member on Elected Officials.
- Reading an official's profileConceptA legislator's profile: voting record and sponsorship, committees, years in chamber and contact information — and a governor's signing record.
Calendar
- About the calendarConceptWhat the calendar shows — Schedule, Week and Month, coverage, time zones — and how your legislation and saved views narrow it.
- Why is the calendar empty?TroubleshootingWhy the calendar shows no meetings — coverage, the date window, filters or a saved bill view — and what to do about each.
Saved views & lists
- About saved viewsConceptWhat a saved view stores, why its results are worked out afresh each time it's used, and the three kinds and where each can be used.
- Creating and editing a saved viewHow toSave the filters you use on Legislation or Elected Officials as a named view, apply it, and change it later.
- ListsHow toCollect bills by hand into an ordered list of up to 1,000, add several at once, reorder them, and find similar bills elsewhere.
- Watching a billHow toFollow a bill with Watch, see the bills you watch, and choose the emails CapitolMath sends you about them.
- Sharing a saved viewHow toShare a saved view or list with everyone, groups or members as viewers or editors, and see who can change or delete it.
- Deleting something others depend onConceptWhat depends on a saved view, list or scorecard, what a delete takes with it, and why you sometimes can't delete one.