Openstates Mcp Server
Research state-level bills, legislators, committees, and events across all U.S. states with your agent before building civic or policy products.
Overview
Open States MCP Server is a MCP server for the Idea phase that searches state bills, legislators, committees, and events nationwide via the Open States API.
What is this MCP server?
- Search bills, legislators, committees, and events across 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico
- Requires OPENSTATES_API_KEY from open.pluralpolicy.com for all API requests
- stdio @cyanheads/openstates-mcp-server (Bun) plus hosted streamable-http remote
- MCP_LOG_LEVEL configurable for agent debugging
- Version 0.1.7 aligned with Open States v3 API workflows
- Coverage: 50 US states, DC, and Puerto Rico (per server description)
- Server version 0.1.7
- OPENSTATES_API_KEY required for any API request
Community signal: 1 GitHub stars.
What problem does it solve?
State policy research spans dozens of jurisdictions, and wiring Open States auth plus endpoints by hand blocks quick validation with your agent.
Who is it for?
Solo builders validating civic, govtech, or advocacy ideas who need unified state legislative search inside Claude Code or Cursor.
Skip if: Federal-only workflows, users unwilling to obtain an Open States API key, or products needing certified legal counsel outputs.
What do I get? / Deliverables
After you add an API key, your agent can query legislative entities across states, DC, and Puerto Rico from one MCP connection.
- Unified agent tools for bills, legislators, committees, and events
- Configured MCP server with mandatory API authentication
Recommended MCP Servers
Journey fit
How it compares
MCP connector to Open States, not a bill-tracking SaaS or generic web-scraping skill.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is Open States MCP Server for?
Developers and researchers using AI agents to explore state legislation and elected officials while scoping civic or policy-facing products.
When should I use Open States MCP Server?
During Idea research to test bill search, committee tracking, and event coverage before you commit schemas and notification features in Build.
How do I add Open States MCP Server to my agent?
Obtain OPENSTATES_API_KEY from open.pluralpolicy.com, configure @cyanheads/openstates-mcp-server with stdio or use the hosted streamable-http URL, and register the server in your MCP client.