Frequently Asked Questions
For our paid customers and free trial users, here are answers to our top frequently asked questions.
You can always reach out for tech help or email us. Also, check out our YouTube channel that’s full of helpful videos. Also, check out the Release Notes section on your Navigation bar for the latest in BillTrack50 updates. And finally, our monthly newsletter always includes a helpful user tip (subscribe here, if you haven’t already).
How do I create a search?
How do I add a new user?
How do I share a bill sheet with another user?
How do I filter in the grid?
How do I share alerts with another user?
How do I look for bills outside of the current session?
What is a stakeholder page?
How do I enter data in the grid?
How do I find a bill by bill number?
How may I use and attribute data?
video. You can also read more about this topic here. Each sheet you create starts off as private to you, but you can choose to share it as you wish (see How do I share a bill sheet). You can make unlimited bill sheets, so feel free to experiment.
How do I add a new user?
A user needs to be the security administrator to add additional users. The admin can add unlimited users by accessing the “Manage Users” tab from the user’s drop-down menu. When adding individual users, the admin will provide the first name, last name, and email of the user to invite them into the system. The admin can also set the sharing controls for the invited user’s access to the BillTrack50 tools. Check out a quick video here. When adding a new user or users, consider whether scheduling a user training is appropriate. If so, schedule convenient user training here.
You can also read more about this topic by going here.
How do I share a bill sheet with another BillTrack50 user?
To establish sharing with another user, the user needs to either be a security admin or contact the security admin to either edit their permissions or facilitate the sharing. Under the new user management system (read more here), the default is for all creations to stay private to the user.
Assuming the necessary permissions, the user goes to their name, clicks for the drop-down to appear, and selects “Manage Users”. The list of users will appear for the account. Click edit next to the name of the desired user to edit the level of sharing relative to the specific item being shared. Don’t forget to scroll up and hit the save button once you finish editing the sharing. Check out this video to learn more.
If you want to know more about this topic, then you can read up on it here.
How do I filter in the grid?
Each column in the grid has a filter on it. You can filter any specific column by hovering over the column and then clicking the little stack of lines that appear on the right side of the label. The filter will give you a variety of options appropriate for the type of data in that column. The title of the column will become bold and underlined so you have a visual clue that it is filtered. To clear the filter, select “reset filter”. Check out this video.
Additional information of this topic can be found here.
How do I share alerts with another user?
Setting email alerts is specific by user and each bill sheet. That's one of the reasons why BillTrack50 has each user set-up their own log-in so that they can get the email alerts specific to their needs. Each user needs to go to each of their bill sheets and select their preferences for alerts by navigating to the alerts tab, checking the desired boxes, and hitting save. This is only to request that email alerts be sent. To see all alerts for their bill sheets, a user can click on the "Alerts" section of their navigation bar. Check out this video.
If you want to know more then please click here.
How do I look for bills outside of the current session?
To look for bills in past sessions, you need to use the query tab of your bill sheet. On the query tab, scroll down to the filter section where you can adjust the timeline dropdown to “Session Years”. While on “Session Years”, you can move the blue dot to arrange the desired time frame of years going back as far as BillTrack50 goes back. The top dot can only move backward. First, drag the dot backward then you can move the bottom dot forward. Then you can adjust as needed and save. Check out this video.
Further information on this topic can be found here.
What is a stakeholder page?
The stakeholder page itself is a customizable, interactive grid that you can publish on your website or share via link. You choose which bill information to share, including your own comments and calls to action. The unlimited templates of BillTrack50 allow you to use multiple grid layouts for various purposes.
Using the icons below the Stakeholder Page grid, your website visitors can sort and filter the bills to find what they want to see, as well as view a map showing how the bills are distributed across the country. People can also click the bill detail link to get more information without needing their own BillTrack50 account, as well as interact with any custom information you have chosen to include in the grid.
When shared privately the stakeholder pages are also a great tool to solicit opinions and feedback from stakeholders and subject matter experts and organize relevant information all in one place. Check out this video for more.
If you would like a longer explanation then please look here.
How do I enter data into the grid?
Check out this quick video on how to enter data into your grid. Once you’ve created your desired template to enter data, it’s time to actually do it. You can double click (or hit enter while on the cell) in any cell where you want to add data. Check out this blog post for error handling and warnings that you might have an issue with your data entry.
For a more in-depth explanation check this link here.
How do I find a bill (or bills) by a bill number?
Check out this video.
- Quick Search allows the users to search for bills during the current session. You can add a bill (or bills) to the “any of” search. You want your bill numbers to look like HB101, with no space between the letters and numbers (note some states use different letters). If you are searching for multiple bills, you can separate them by a space, semicolon, or comma, it doesn’t matter. Once you have entered your desired search, then hit search. You’ll get a grid back with the desired bill(s). If you are a paid subscriber, you can use the “+” to add the bill to any bill sheet. Any type of user can click on the bill number to read the bill.
- Bill sheets can be used to find a specific bill (or bills) from the query tab in the “Include Bills” section. You either type the bills in one by one or pick them from a drop-down list of all bills in the state. To get started, click on the box. If you already have bill numbers in the box, click in the white space after the last number, type in the state abbreviation, type the first letter of the bill number and then pause for a second for the drop-down list to appear. Once the drop-down appears, you can either keep typing the bill number or choose one or many bills from the list. Depending on how many bills the state has and how many numbers you have to add, this can be a pretty quick way to go. Advanced tip: If you have multiple sessions chosen on your timeline, you’ll see multiple versions of each bill in the list, along with the session identifier so you can figure out which bill you want. If you’d like to narrow down the list to a specific session choose the correct year(s) on the timeline and save. Then come back to the query tab and your drop-down list of bill numbers will be limited to the session you’ve chosen.
- Bill sheets can be used via the “Any” box on the Query tab. Do not use the “All” box. Rules for using the “Any” box: No spaces between the letters and numbers of the bill number, use spaces or commas or whatever between the numbers, leading zeroes or not in the bill number, and include the state code if your bill sheet covers more than one state. The drawback with this method is that searching this way finds any bill with that bill number, not just the specific bill you are after. So during the next session, this bill sheet will match a different set of bills, unless you archive the sheet or limit the years you are searching. You will also get any bills that happen to mention one of your bill numbers (which is exceedingly unlikely but possible). The bills listed in the bill number box are tied to your specific bill, not just to the bill number, so entering bill numbers there will continue to give you the correct results indefinitely. This strategy is quick and easy and works fine in certain circumstances. For example, if you are just trying to throw together a list that you intend to share in a blog post, so you are planning to archive the bill sheet anyway to lock it in place, searching this way is appropriate.
If you like another look at this topic, then please look here.
How do I use and attribute data?
Our Terms of Use is linked in our footer here, see section 2.1 paragraph 1: 2.1. Limitations on Use. You may not resell the Content on this Web Site except in a value added form. Value added form means that you take Content from the Web Site and add it to other content that you create (such as a newsletter or client letter). You may use graphics generated by the system based on work you've done, such as maps or scorecards, with or without attribution. You may share graphics generated by the system without your input, such as vote results from a bill page or graphics from the state stats pages, with attribution which should include the URL www.BillTrack50.com.
Reach out to Karen if you need more help in this regard, and she'll be happy to address your specific question.
How do I use regulation tracking?
Regulation sheets allow you to use keyword searches and date ranges to find the relevant regulations. You can save searches and get alerts for regulatory activity in state or federal registers. Regulation sheets include the capability to add your own custom data such as your own summary, links to other information, and notes about regulation status. We recently added a regulation map widget feature to allow you to display regulatory activity nationwide on your issues. For more insights into the regulatory process, see here. To learn about engagement in the process, check out this post.
Cover Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay