About Gavelin
Gavelin is an MCP server for AI tools working with US state legislative records. It covers bills across all 50 states and offers speaker-attributed hearing transcripts for legislative and policy research.
Key features
- 01Search bills across 50 states and DC
- 02Find hearing content by speaker
- 03Retrieve bill details and history
- 04Browse committee and public hearings
- 05Get full speaker-labeled transcripts
- 06Check data availability by state
Use cases
- 01Track a bill in a specific state
- 02Find statements by legislators or witnesses
- 03Research committee hearing records
- 04Verify bill sponsors and legislative history
MCP support
This hosted remote MCP server provides tools for searching legislative records over Streamable HTTP. Clients connect using the server URL and a bearer token.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcpclaude mcp add --transport http gavelin-ai https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp{"mcpServers":{"gavelin-ai":{"type":"http","url":"https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"gavelin-ai":{"type":"http","url":"https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"gavelin-ai":{"type":"http","url":"https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp"}}}{"mcpServers":{"gavelin-ai":{"serverUrl":"https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
Tools
Details
From the project READMEGavelin MCP Server
State legislative records for AI tools. Speaker-attributed hearing transcripts from US state legislatures, alongside bill records from all 50 states.
Search bills across all 50 states, find what legislators said in hearings, get full committee hearing transcripts with speaker attribution — all via the Model Context Protocol.
Connect
Server URL: https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp
Claude Desktop
Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"gavelin": {
"url": "https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
}
}
}
}
Claude Code
{
"mcpServers": {
"gavelin": {
"type": "url",
"url": "https://mcp.gavelin.ai/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
}
}
}
}
Any MCP Client
The server uses Streamable HTTP transport. Any MCP-compatible client (Cursor, Windsurf, custom agents) can connect with the URL and a bearer token.
Get an API Key
Sign up for a free account at gavelin.ai and generate an API key from your Account page under "Developer API."
Available Tools
search_bills
Search bills across all 50 US states + DC by keyword, sponsor, committee, status, or chamber. Covers multiple legislative sessions with full detail including sponsors, subjects, and legislative history.
Example queries an agent might make:
- "What housing bills are pending in California?"
- "Find bills sponsored by Rivera in New York"
- "Search for cannabis legislation that passed in 2025"
search_hearing_testimony
Search speaker-attributed hearing and floor session segments. Find what specific legislators or witnesses said about any topic. Returns speaker name, role, committee, date, and surrounding context.
Example queries:
- "What has Senator Krueger said about affordable housing?"
- "Find testimony about SNAP benefits in Finance committee hearings"
get_bill_detail
Get full details on a specific bill including sponsor, subjects, committee, legislative history, and any hearing mentions.
get_speaker_activity
Get everything a specific legislator or witness has said in hearings and floor sessions.
search_committee_hearings
Browse committee and public hearings by topic, committee, chamber, or date range.
get_hearing_transcript
Get the full transcript of a specific hearing with all speakers labeled by name.
list_available_states
See which states have data and what type (bills, transcripts, or both).
Rate Limits
API keys are free and rate-limited. Email [email protected] if you need higher limits.
What's in it
- Speaker attribution — real names on hearing testimony, not "Speaker A/B"
- All 50 states — bill records for every state, with hearing transcripts for a growing number of states
- Historical depth — multiple years of legislative sessions
About
Gavelin is a searchable archive of state legislative proceedings. Search is free at gavelin.ai.
- Web app: gavelin.ai
- Contact: [email protected]
License
The MIT License in this repository applies only to the documentation contained here (README, server configuration files, logos). The Gavelin MCP server itself is a proprietary hosted service operated by Gavelin (gavelin.ai) and is not covered by the MIT License. Access to the server requires an API key issued under Gavelin's terms of service.
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.