Which US states are covered by this integration?

OpenStates covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. You can use the `list_jurisdictions` tool to see the full list of currently active jurisdictions.

Can I search for bills by specific keywords like 'environment' or 'education'?

Yes! Use the `search_bills` tool, provide the state name in the `jurisdiction` parameter, and your keywords in the `q` parameter. Your agent will return all matching legislation.

How do I get the contact information for my state representative?

First, find the legislator using `search_legislators` with their name or district. Then, use the `get_legislator_details` tool with their ID to retrieve their official email, office address, and phone number.

OpenStates MCP Server for CrewAI 7 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: OpenStates
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

docs.crewai.com/mcp/overview

Built by Vinkius GDPR 7 Tools Framework

Connect your CrewAI agents to OpenStates through Vinkius, pass the Edge URL in the `mcps` parameter and every OpenStates tool is auto-discovered at runtime. No credentials to manage, no infrastructure to maintain.

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ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER

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Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

python

from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew

agent = Agent(
    role="OpenStates Specialist",
    goal="Help users interact with OpenStates effectively",
    backstory=(
        "You are an expert at leveraging OpenStates tools "
        "for automation and data analysis."
    ),
    # Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
    mcps=["https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"],
)

task = Task(
    description=(
        "Explore all available tools in OpenStates "
        "and summarize their capabilities."
    ),
    agent=agent,
    expected_output=(
        "A detailed summary of 7 available tools "
        "and what they can do."
    ),
)

crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task])
result = crew.kickoff()
print(result)

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About OpenStates MCP Server

Equip your AI agent with the most comprehensive US state-level legislative intelligence via OpenStates. This unified server provides your agent with instant access to bills, legislators, and committee metadata across all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. Your agent can instantly search for specific legislation, audit legislator profiles, and retrieve committee memberships without you ever manually checking a government site. Whether you are tracking policy trends or verifying legislative actions, your agent acts as a dedicated political analyst through natural conversation.

When paired with CrewAI, OpenStates becomes a first-class tool in your multi-agent workflows. Each agent in the crew can call OpenStates tools autonomously, one agent queries data, another analyzes results, a third compiles reports, all orchestrated through Vinkius with zero configuration overhead.

What you can do

Bill Discovery — Search for thousands of legislative bills by keyword, jurisdiction, and session.
Legislator Auditing — Fetch complete profiles, contact information, and current roles for state legislators.
Committee Intelligence — List all legislative committees in a jurisdiction and retrieve their detailed membership lists.
Jurisdiction Lookup — List and inspect all supported states and jurisdictions to understand current legislative coverage.
Deep Metadata — Retrieve detailed actions and versions for specific bills to analyze the legislative process.

The OpenStates MCP Server exposes 7 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to CrewAI in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect OpenStates to CrewAI via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the OpenStates MCP Server with CrewAI.

Install CrewAI

Run pip install crewai

Replace the token

Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your Vinkius token from cloud.vinkius.com

Customize the agent

Adjust the role, goal, and backstory to fit your use case

Run the crew

Run python crew.py. CrewAI auto-discovers 7 tools from OpenStates

Why Use CrewAI with the OpenStates MCP Server

CrewAI Multi-Agent Orchestration Framework provides unique advantages when paired with OpenStates through the Model Context Protocol.

Multi-agent collaboration lets you decompose complex workflows into specialized roles, one agent researches, another analyzes, a third generates reports, each with access to MCP tools

CrewAI's native MCP integration requires zero adapter code: pass Vinkius Edge URL directly in the `mcps` parameter and agents auto-discover every available tool at runtime

Built-in task delegation and shared memory mean agents can pass context between steps without manual state management, enabling multi-hop reasoning across tool calls

Sequential and hierarchical crew patterns map naturally to real-world workflows: enumerate subdomains → analyze DNS history → check WHOIS records → compile findings into actionable reports

OpenStates + CrewAI Use Cases

Practical scenarios where CrewAI combined with the OpenStates MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Automated multi-step research: a reconnaissance agent queries OpenStates for raw data, then a second analyst agent cross-references findings and flags anomalies. all without human handoff

Scheduled intelligence reports: set up a crew that periodically queries OpenStates, analyzes trends over time, and generates executive briefings in markdown or PDF format

Multi-source enrichment pipelines: chain OpenStates tools with other MCP servers in the same crew, letting agents correlate data across multiple providers in a single workflow

Compliance and audit automation: a compliance agent queries OpenStates against predefined policy rules, generates deviation reports, and routes findings to the appropriate team

OpenStates MCP Tools for CrewAI (7)

These 7 tools become available when you connect OpenStates to CrewAI via MCP:

get_bill_details

Get bill details

get_committee_details

Get committee details

get_legislator_details

Get legislator details

list_committees

List committees in a jurisdiction

list_jurisdictions

List all jurisdictions

search_bills

Search for legislative bills

search_legislators

Search for legislators

Example Prompts for OpenStates in CrewAI

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your CrewAI agent to start working with OpenStates immediately.

"Search for education bills in California."

"Who are the members of the New York Senate Finance Committee?"

"Get the latest actions for bill TX HB-500."

Troubleshooting OpenStates MCP Server with CrewAI

Common issues when connecting OpenStates to CrewAI through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

MCP tools not discovered

Ensure the Edge URL is correct. CrewAI connects lazily when the crew starts. check console output.

Agent not using tools

Make the task description specific. Instead of "do something", say "Use the available tools to list contacts".

Timeout errors

CrewAI has a 10s connection timeout by default. Ensure your network can reach the Edge URL.

Rate limiting or 429 errors

Vinkius enforces per-token rate limits. Check your subscription tier and request quota in the dashboard. Upgrade if you need higher throughput.

OpenStates + CrewAI FAQ

Common questions about integrating OpenStates MCP Server with CrewAI.

How does CrewAI discover and connect to MCP tools?

CrewAI connects to MCP servers lazily. when the crew starts, each agent resolves its MCP URLs and fetches the tool catalog via the standard tools/list method. This means tools are always fresh and reflect the server's current capabilities. No tool schemas need to be hardcoded.

Can different agents in the same crew use different MCP servers?

Yes. Each agent has its own mcps list, so you can assign specific servers to specific roles. For example, a reconnaissance agent might use a domain intelligence server while an analysis agent uses a vulnerability database server.

What happens when an MCP tool call fails during a crew run?

CrewAI wraps tool failures as context for the agent. The LLM receives the error message and can decide to retry with different parameters, fall back to a different tool, or mark the task as partially complete. This resilience is critical for production workflows.

Can CrewAI agents call multiple MCP tools in parallel?

CrewAI agents execute tool calls sequentially within a single reasoning step. However, you can run multiple agents in parallel using process=Process.parallel, each calling different MCP tools concurrently. This is ideal for workflows where separate data sources need to be queried simultaneously.

Can I run CrewAI crews on a schedule (cron)?

Yes. CrewAI crews are standard Python scripts, so you can invoke them via cron, Airflow, Celery, or any task scheduler. The crew.kickoff() method runs synchronously by default, making it straightforward to integrate into existing pipelines.