Written by: Karen Suhaka | February 12, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Emily Welch
emily@interlinegroup.com
847-358-6884

MAPPING TOOL MAKES IT EASY FOR NEWS ORGANIZATIONS TO VISUALLY SHOW STATE LEGISLATIVE BILLS IN REAL TIME

Palatine, IL — A free mapping tool for news organizations enables reporters to quickly and visually show legislation at the state level for issues important to the communities they cover. Created by LegiNation, Inc., and part of the BillTrack50 suite of products, the legislation mapping tool was designed for reporters to immediately get an idea on how many laws are considered on any topic they are covering.

“We wanted to make it easy for reporters and news staff to generate information on the laws important to the communities they serve,” says Karen Suhaka, founder of BillTrack50. “It’s important for people to know what’s going on, and this software will allow anyone in a news organization to quickly and accurately show their audiences what’s happening on any given topic.”

The BillTrack50 mapping tool to can be accessed through any browser at https://www.billtrack50.com/map/query. Reporters, anchors, and researchers in any news organization can simply search by using keywords for topics they are covering, indicating if relevant bills would include “all of” or “any of” the keywords, and then clicking “MAP IT.” A visual map will be generated to show the legislation being considered by state based on the search criteria. The news organization can then generate an embeddable URL to post on their own website, or take a snapshot with their computer and provide their audiences with the visually-rich, interactive map of where legislators are focused.

For example, the search terms “microbeads” will produce a map very different from “firearm.” “Generally only states bordering large lakes or bays are looking at microbeads,'” Suhaka says. “Whereas, for ‘firearm,’ all states in session have legislation that is currently active. You can really see when issues are of local or national concern.”

“The mapping tool is designed for the advocate in all of us,” adds Suhaka. “Being able to show and report on bills that will directly impact our communities is the role of news organizations. BillTrack50 allows these organizations to easily accurately access this information.”

The news organizations can dive further into the legislation results by taking out a free subscription to BillTrack50 itself, and then upgrade as they see fit. With an upgrade, a map can be created allowing readers to click on a state and see the actual list of relevant bills. “We want to get the word out on this easy-to-use piece of the software right away,” says Tom Hamilton, one of the account managers at Marketing Representatives LLC (MRL) who represents BillTrack50. “This powerful platform is a must for reporters who want to gather information and issues relevant to business/product development.”

LegiNation, Inc. was founded with the goal of making state-level legislation more readily available to the professionals who need it and, even more importantly, to the public at large. Located in Denver, CO, the company’s BillTrack50 software is one of the leading tools available for researching state legislation, federal legislation, and serving legislators. Initial subscriptions are free, with a tiered pricing plan for individuals and organizations that need more powerful capabilities.

Marketing Representatives LLC (MRL) is a comprehensive manufacturing representative organization based in Palatine, Illinois. MRL handles sales responsibilities along with advertising and communications tactics to promote, sell, and engage client customers and potential customers in purchasing products or services. MRL generates positive awareness of clients’ businesses and products, as well as developing the path to purchase. For more information, contact Emily Welch at 847-358-6884, emily@interlinegroup.com or visit www.marketingrepsllc.com. Marketing Representatives LLC is located at: 553 N. North Court, Suite 160, Palatine, IL 60067.

For more information on the mapping tool or to access it directly, go to https://www.billtrack50.com/map/query. For more information on BillTrack50 software itself, contact: Emily Welch at 847-358-6884, emily@interlinegroup.com.

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About BillTrack50 – BillTrack50 is a user friendly free service that provides legislation research in all 50 states and federally. BillTrack50 also offers legislation and regulation tracking across the nation with tools to help organization stay on top of changes (bill sheets and alerts) and share legislation they are tracking with key stakeholders (legislator scorecards, widgets and stakeholder pages). If you are interested in learning more about how BillTrack50 saves organizations time and money, sign up for a demo and try it out BillTrack50 Pro for a month, for free.