openstates-mcp-server

Search Committees

openstates_search_committees

Read-onlyIdempotent

List committees for a jurisdiction. jurisdiction is required — a request spanning all 56 jurisdictions exceeds the upstream timeout, so scope every call to a single state; use openstates_list_jurisdictions to pick one. Experimental — Open States is actively working to restore committee support and not all states have data. Use chamber to scope to upper (senate) or lower (house) committees. Use classification=subcommittee to find subcommittees of a parent. Use include=memberships to get the full roster with member roles. The coverageNote field in the output will always note the experimental coverage limitations.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`page`	No	Page number (1-indexed).
`parent`	No	OCD organization ID of a parent committee to retrieve its subcommittees.
`chamber`	No	Filter by chamber. "upper" = Senate, "lower" = House/Assembly.
`include`	No	Related data to inline. "memberships" includes the full roster with member roles. "links" includes the committee homepage and reference links, and "sources" the provenance URLs behind the record.
`per_page`	No	Results per page. Maximum 20.
`jurisdiction`	Yes	State name, abbreviation, or OCD-ID. Required — an all-states request exceeds the upstream timeout, so every call must be scoped to a single jurisdiction.
`classification`	No	Filter to parent committees or subcommittees only. Omit for all.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`page`	No	Current page returned.
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`maxPage`	No	Total pages available.
`results`	No	Committees matching the search criteria.
`pagination`	No	Pagination metadata.
`totalCount`	No	Total committees matching the query across all pages.
`coverageNote`	No	Committee data is experimental — not all states have coverage in Open States. Empty results may indicate the state lacks data, not that no committees exist.
`appliedFilters`	No	Filters applied to this query as the server received them, for agent self-verification of zero or unexpected results.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed2 schema fields changedSep 20, 2026
- removedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / parent_id / anyOf
```
Removed value: -[
-  {
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  {
-    "type": "null"
-  }
-]
```
- addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / parent_id / type
```
Added value: +[
+  "string",
+  "null"
+]
```

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 25, 2026

changedInput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedInput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +false
```

changedOutput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedOutput schema / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "not": {
+      "required": [
+        "error"
+      ]
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "results",
+      "pagination",
+      "totalCount",
+      "page",
+      "maxPage",
+      "coverageNote",
+      "appliedFilters"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "required": [
+      "error"
+    ]
+  }
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / error

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.",
+  "properties": {
+    "code": {
+      "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": -9007199254740991,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "properties": {
+        "reason": {
+          "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `upstream_timeout`: Open States did not answer within the per-request timeout — the query is too broad. `invalid_page`: Open States rejected the request as not found — page is past the last page for this query. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "upstream_timeout",
+            "invalid_page"
+          ],
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "recovery": {
+          "additionalProperties": {},
+          "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.",
+          "properties": {
+            "hint": {
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          },
+          "required": [
+            "hint"
+          ],
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "retryable": {
+          "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.",
+          "type": "boolean"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "message": {
+      "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "code",
+    "message"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "results",
-  "pagination",
-  "totalCount",
-  "page",
-  "maxPage",
-  "coverageNote",
-  "appliedFilters"
-]

Changed5 schema fields changedJul 31, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / links / items / properties / note / description

Previous value: -"Link description (e.g., \"homepage\")."New value: +"Link description (e.g., \"homepage\"). Empty string when Open States recorded no description."

changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / memberships / items / properties / person_id / description

Previous value: -"OCD person ID of the member."New value: +"OCD person ID of the member — pass it to openstates_search_people as id for the full record. Empty string when the membership carries no linked person."

changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / memberships / items / properties / person_name / description
```
Previous value: -"Member name."New value: +"Member name. Empty string when Open States recorded none."
```

changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / memberships / items / properties / role / description

Previous value: -"Member role (e.g., \"chair\", \"member\")."New value: +"Member role (e.g., \"chair\", \"member\"). Empty string when Open States recorded none."

changedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / sources / items / properties / note / description
```
Previous value: -"Source note."New value: +"Source note. Empty string when Open States recorded no note."
```

Changed3 schema fields changedJul 31, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / jurisdiction / description

Previous value: -"State name, abbreviation, or OCD-ID. Required — an all-states request exceeds the upstream timeout, so omitting it is rejected before any request is issued."New value: +"State name, abbreviation, or OCD-ID. Required — an all-states request exceeds the upstream timeout, so every call must be scoped to a single jurisdiction."

addedInput schema / properties / jurisdiction / minLength
```
Added value: +1
```
addedInput schema / required
```
Added value: +[
+  "jurisdiction"
+]
```

Changed1 schema field changedJul 26, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / jurisdiction / description

Previous value: -"State name, abbreviation, or OCD-ID. Omitting returns no committees rather than searching all states — supply a jurisdiction to get results."New value: +"State name, abbreviation, or OCD-ID. Required — an all-states request exceeds the upstream timeout, so omitting it is rejected before any request is issued."

Changed3 schema fields changedJul 16, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / include / description

Previous value: -"Related data to inline. \"memberships\" includes the full roster with member roles."New value: +"Related data to inline. \"memberships\" includes the full roster with member roles. \"links\" includes the committee homepage and reference links, and \"sources\" the provenance URLs behind the record."

addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / links

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Committee homepage and reference links when include=links is requested.",
+  "items": {
+    "additionalProperties": false,
+    "description": "External link record.",
+    "properties": {
+      "note": {
+        "description": "Link description (e.g., \"homepage\").",
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "url": {
+        "description": "Link URL.",
+        "type": "string"
+      }
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "url",
+      "note"
+    ],
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / results / items / properties / sources

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Provenance sources when include=sources is requested.",
+  "items": {
+    "additionalProperties": false,
+    "description": "Source record.",
+    "properties": {
+      "note": {
+        "description": "Source note.",
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "url": {
+        "description": "Source URL.",
+        "type": "string"
+      }
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "url",
+      "note"
+    ],
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

Changed1 schema field changedJul 16, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / jurisdiction / description

Previous value: -"State name, abbreviation, or OCD-ID. Omitting searches across all states."New value: +"State name, abbreviation, or OCD-ID. Omitting returns no committees rather than searching all states — supply a jurisdiction to get results."

Changed2 schema fields changedJun 22, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / appliedFilters

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "description": "Filters applied to this query as the server received them, for agent self-verification of zero or unexpected results.",
+  "properties": {
+    "chamber": {
+      "description": "Chamber filter as received.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "classification": {
+      "description": "Classification filter as received.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "jurisdiction": {
+      "description": "Jurisdiction filter as received.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "page": {
+      "description": "Page number requested.",
+      "type": "number"
+    },
+    "parent": {
+      "description": "Parent committee filter as received.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "per_page": {
+      "description": "Results per page requested.",
+      "type": "number"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "page",
+    "per_page"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "results",
-  "pagination",
-  "totalCount",
-  "page",
-  "maxPage",
-  "coverageNote"
-]New value: +[
+  "results",
+  "pagination",
+  "totalCount",
+  "page",
+  "maxPage",
+  "coverageNote",
+  "appliedFilters"
+]

Changed3 schema fields changedJun 13, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / totalCount

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total committees matching the query across all pages.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / totalItems

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Total committees matching the query across all pages.",
-  "type": "number"
-}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "results",
-  "pagination",
-  "totalItems",
-  "page",
-  "maxPage",
-  "coverageNote"
-]New value: +[
+  "results",
+  "pagination",
+  "totalCount",
+  "page",
+  "maxPage",
+  "coverageNote"
+]

Changed6 schema fields changedMay 30, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / coverageNote

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Committee data is experimental — not all states have coverage in Open States. Empty results may indicate the state lacks data, not that no committees exist.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / coverage_note

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Committee data is experimental — not all states have coverage in Open States. Empty results may indicate the state lacks data, not that no committees exist.",
-  "type": "string"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / maxPage

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total pages available.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / page

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Current page returned.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / totalItems

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total committees matching the query across all pages.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "results",
-  "pagination",
-  "coverage_note"
-]New value: +[
+  "results",
+  "pagination",
+  "totalItems",
+  "page",
+  "maxPage",
+  "coverageNote"
+]

First observedMay 25, 2026

TDQS

A4.2/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare the operation read-only, idempotent, and open-world, and the description adds behavioral context beyond that: the upstream timeout risk, experimental state of committee support, incomplete state coverage, and the guaranteed coverageNote field. It does not add details on auth, rate limits, or error behavior, but nothing contradicts the annotations.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The critical constraint (jurisdiction required, timeout) is front-loaded, and the experimental caveat is useful. The description is slightly repetitive about experimental limitations and some parameter guidance duplicates the schema, but it is still compact for a tool with seven parameters.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With a complete input schema and an output schema present, the description covers the non-obvious operational context: required jurisdiction, timeout penalty, experimental coverage, coverageNote in output, and how to use the most selective filters. Nothing an agent needs to call it correctly is missing.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3, and the description mostly restates what the schema already provides ('use chamber...', 'classification=subcommittee...', 'include=memberships...'). It adds no meaningful new parameter semantics beyond pointing the agent at existing fields.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The opening line 'List committees for a jurisdiction' names a specific verb, resource, and scope, and the tool name/title align with that purpose. The mention of openstates_list_jurisdictions and committee-specific filters (chamber, classification, include) further separates it from the bill, event, person, and jurisdiction siblings.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It explicitly instructs that jurisdiction is required, warns against an all-states request, and directs the agent to openstates_list_jurisdictions to pick one. It gives clear guidance for chamber, classification, and include, though it does not name the single-committee alternative (openstates_get_committee) for when you already have a committee ID.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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Search Committees

Input Schema

Output Schema

Schema Changelog

TDQS

Glama MCP Gateway

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