How do I install Legislens?

Legislens is a local plugin. Install it using npm package: @reneturcios/legislens and add the generated configuration snippet to your AI app's MCP config file. Then restart your AI app.

Is Legislens safe to use?

Legislens scored 6.2/10 (moderate risk) in MCP Marketplace's automated security scan. It has 2 high or critical findings to review. It's listed, but review the security report on this page before installing.

What credentials does Legislens need?

Legislens requires the following credentials or environment variables: GAVELIN_API_KEY. You can find setup instructions on the server detail page.

What AI apps work with Legislens?

Legislens uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and works with any MCP-compatible AI app, including Claude, ChatGPT / Codex, Gemini, Copilot, Cursor, and more.

Back to Browse

Legislens MCP Server

by CloudCorpRecords

Developer ToolsModerate6.2MCP RegistryLocal

Free

Server data from the Official MCP Registry

US state bills and hearing transcripts: search bills, testimony, speakers, hearings.

About

US state bills and hearing transcripts: search bills, testimony, speakers, hearings.

Security Report

6.2

Moderate6.2Moderate Risk

legislens is a forwarding client for a hosted legislative API. It requires GAVELIN_API_KEY, fails before any request when the key is missing, and sends the key only as a Bearer token to the configured base URL. The main points to note are that LEGISLENS_API_URL can redirect the bearer token to any host and that the endpoint paths are described as unverified reconstructions. Supply chain analysis found 3 known vulnerabilities in dependencies (0 critical, 2 high severity). Package verification found 1 issue.

8 files analyzed · 7 issues found

Security scores are indicators to help you make informed decisions, not guarantees. Always review permissions before connecting any MCP server.

Permissions Required

This plugin requests these system permissions. Most are normal for its category.

HTTP Network Access

Connects to external APIs or services over the internet.

env_vars

Check that this permission is expected for this type of plugin.

What You'll Need

Set these up before or after installing:

GAVELIN_API_KEYRequired

How to Install

Add this to your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-github-cloudcorprecords-legislens": {
      "env": {
        "GAVELIN_API_KEY": "your-gavelin-api-key-here"
      },
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@reneturcios/legislens"
      ],
      "command": "npx"
    }
  }
}

Documentation

View on GitHub

From the project's GitHub README.

legislens

legislens gives you a window onto US state lawmaking: bills moving through legislatures in all 50 states and DC, and what was actually said about them in committee hearings, attributed to the person who said it. One binary serves a command-line interface and a stdio MCP server.

legislens does not hold the archive itself. It is a forwarding client for a hosted API: each request is sent to that service and its answer is returned. The bills, testimony segments, transcripts, and coverage are the hosted service's; if it is unavailable or its coverage changes, legislens reflects that.

An API key is required. Set GAVELIN_API_KEY before use; when it is missing or blank, every tool fails with an error naming it before any request is made. The key is sent as Authorization: Bearer <key>. The API base URL can be overridden with LEGISLENS_API_URL; when it is not set, calls go to https://api.gavelin.ai (a reconstruction of the wire address, labelled as such).

Install

npx @reneturcios/legislens list_available_states

Or run the container image:

docker run -i ghcr.io/cloudcorprecords/legislens

The container defaults to the MCP server (see below). Pass CLI arguments to use it as a CLI instead.

CLI

The subcommands mirror the MCP tool names:

export GAVELIN_API_KEY=<your key>

legislens search_bills --query housing --state CA --status passed
legislens search_bills --sponsor Lee --committee Housing --chamber assembly
legislens search_hearing_testimony --query "rent control" --speaker Lee
legislens get_bill_detail --bill-id CA-AB1
legislens get_speaker_activity --speaker "Jane Lee"
legislens search_committee_hearings --topic housing --from-date 2026-01-01 --to-date 2026-02-01
legislens get_hearing_transcript --hearing-id h-9
legislens list_available_states

legislens --version

Results print the upstream JSON payload. Exit codes: 0 on success, 1 when a call fails (including a missing key or an upstream API error), 2 for usage errors.

MCP server

One bin serves both faces. The mcp subcommand starts a stdio MCP server:

npx -y @reneturcios/legislens mcp

MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "legislens": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@reneturcios/legislens", "mcp"],
      "env": { "GAVELIN_API_KEY": "..." }
    }
  }
}

Tools

Tool	Input	What it does
`search_bills`	`query`, `state`, `sponsor`, `committee`, `status`, `chamber` (all optional)	Search bills by keyword, sponsor, committee, status, or chamber.
`search_hearing_testimony`	`query` (required), `speaker`, `committee`	Search speaker-attributed testimony segments.
`get_bill_detail`	`bill_id` (required)	Full bill detail, including history and hearing mentions.
`get_speaker_activity`	`speaker` (required)	Everything a legislator or witness has said.
`search_committee_hearings`	`topic`, `committee`, `chamber`, `from_date`, `to_date` (all optional)	Browse committee hearings.
`get_hearing_transcript`	`hearing_id` (required)	Full hearing transcript with speakers labelled.
`list_available_states`	(none)	States with data and the data types available for each.

Dates use YYYY-MM-DD form as from_date / to_date. All inputs are strings.

Development

npm install
npm run build   # tsc -> dist/
npm test        # node test runner over test/*.test.ts, no network (fake fetch fixtures)
npm run dev     # run the CLI from source via tsx

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Reviews

No reviews yet

Be the first to review this server!

4.8

Local

MCP Marketplace

Free

by mcp-marketplace · Developer Tools

Search and install MCP servers from inside your AI client.