BillTrack50 Help Center

First, of course, you need to grab the app. You can find the iOS version here or the Android version here, or simply search for BillTrack50. The app is completely free, doesn’t have in-app purchases, and won’t bug you for reviews. (But please do write a review if you get a chance, that really helps us out…).

You’ll notice you can look up your own representatives, election information, and search for bills and legislators. We hope you find those features useful. You can also follow bills you think are important using the Tracked Bills list. In this post, we are going to focus on helping you set up the group of bills that have been shared with you. By the way, this list of bills may change over time; the organization that shared the stakeholder page with you can (and probably will) add new bills as they get introduced.

iOS Instructions

To add a shared list, simply tap Tracked Bills from the home screen. This is where you will see any bills you have chosen to follow (My Tracked Bills), see the bills in your BillTrack50 website account if you have one (Tracked Bills I Follow), and where you can add the list you’ve been invited to follow (Tracked Bills Shared With Me). You’ll see instructions for adding a new shared list to follow at the bottom of the screen. Go ahead and tap edit at the top and then click the green + symbol:

(If your screen doesn’t look like this you may need to update your app)

Tapping the plus will take you to a screen where you can enter the Name of the list, which is generally a 6 letter code provided by the organization sharing the list (for example QUMZSJ). Then enter a description so you know what this list is — this description is what will show up as your tracked list. For my example “2020 Census” would be a good name. If you have been provided with a QR code you can tap scan and scan the code which will enter the name and description for you. Either way, tap save and you’ll immediately see the list on your Tracked Bills screen.

Android Instructions

General Notes

A few things about the Tracked Bills screen. Lists with changes in the last day will be highlighted in green. Tap on a list name to see some list details, like how many bills are on it, and then tap “Bills” to see the actual bills. If you tap in the search bar at the top of the bills display, you will be able to change how the bills are sorted and grouped. The options will vary by page, but you can usually group by at least Progress (where the bill is in the legislative process), State (which state introduced the bill, with US being a federal bill), and Change (what changes happened yesterday, like new action or new vote).

Once you have identified a bill you would like to learn more about, you can tap on it to get details, including any notes that the organization that shared the bill with you wants you to see. You can tap again to read the bill text or see the details of any votes that have been held.

So that’s how you view bills. You can also choose to get notifications when something changes with these bills. Notifications only go out once a day, so we won’t be buzzing you constantly, just enough to keep you in the know. To set up notifications, go back to the main screen of the app and tap the settings option towards the bottom. This will take you to the settings screen to configure your notification options.

More help can be found on the FAQ page in the app or by contacting us at BillTrack50. We hope you find the app useful and look forward to your feedback.

Cover photo Photo by Yura Fresh on Unsplash