Coverage of Floor and Committee Proceedings
Live webcasts of legislative floor proceedings are available in all 50 state legislatures, the District of Columbia Council, and the Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands legislatures. At least 24 states and D.C. also broadcast legislative proceedings on television, ranging from special programs or limited coverage to full gavel-to-gavel coverage in some states.
Most legislatures also offer webcasts of all or selected committee hearings, and an increasing number also archive and make available on-demand floor proceedings and committee hearings, available online for varying lengths of time. Archives in a handful of states go back to the late 1990s, and many others date to the mid- 2000s. California's Proposition 54, passed in 2016, requires videos to be available for 20 years (Calif. Const., Art. IV, sec 7(c)(2)).
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many state legislatures have been meeting remotely and have been live-streaming floor sessions and committee hearings to ensure public access. Many also are providing various means for online public participation. The chart below provides links to state legislatures' offerings. Note that some links may not be active if proceedings are not taking place at the time the link is selected.