LegiScan MCP Server
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to the LegiScan API for legislative data from all 50 US states and Congress.
Features
10 Streamlined MCP Tools optimized for legislative research workflows
Composite tools that batch multiple API calls (90%+ reduction in API usage)
Full TypeScript type definitions for all API responses
Bill number normalization (handles AB 858, AB858, AB-858 formats)
Installation
From npm (Recommended)
From Source
Setup
1. Get a LegiScan API Key
Create a free account at LegiScan
Register for API access at https://legiscan.com/legiscan
Copy your API key
2. Add to Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Using npx (Recommended)
Using local installation
Available Tools
Composite Tools (High-Level Research)
Tool | Description |
| Find a legislator's people_id by name. Supports partial matching. |
| Get how a legislator voted on multiple bills in one call. |
| Get only bills where legislator is primary author (not co-sponsor). |
Bills
Tool | Description |
| Get detailed bill info (sponsors, history, votes, texts) |
| Find bill by number (handles AB 858, AB858, AB-858) |
| Get vote details with individual legislator votes |
People
Tool | Description |
| Get legislator info with third-party IDs (VoteSmart, OpenSecrets, etc.) |
| Get all legislators active in a session |
Search
Tool | Description |
| Full-text search across legislation |
Sessions
Tool | Description |
| List available legislative sessions by state |
Usage Examples
Find a legislator and get their voting record
Get all primary authored bills for a legislator
Find a specific bill by number
Search for bills about a topic
Get detailed information about a specific bill
API Call Reduction
The composite tools dramatically reduce API calls for common workflows:
Workflow | Without Composites | With Composites |
Get votes for 1 legislator on 10 bills | ~80 calls | 1 call |
Filter primary authored from 150 sponsored | ~150 calls | 1 call |
Find legislator by name | 2 calls | 1 call |
Development
API Limits
Free public API keys have a 30,000 queries per month limit
Composite tools batch requests (10 concurrent max) to avoid rate limits
The composite tools help you stay within limits by reducing total API calls
License
MIT - see LICENSE for details.
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