diff --git a/ARCHITECTURE.md b/ARCHITECTURE.md
index c84d3f0..5f730d3 100644
--- a/ARCHITECTURE.md
+++ b/ARCHITECTURE.md
@@ -764,6 +764,9 @@ Compact bill preview showing bill ID, title, sponsor with party badge, latest ac
**`TrendChart.tsx`**
Line chart of `composite_score` over time with tooltip breakdown of each data source.
+**`WelcomeBanner.tsx`**
+Dismissible onboarding card rendered at the top of the dashboard. Shown only to guests (no JWT token). On dismiss — via the × button, the "Dismiss" link, or the "Browse Bills" CTA — sets `localStorage["pv_seen_welcome"] = "1"` and hides permanently. Reads localStorage after mount to avoid hydration mismatch; renders nothing until client-side state is resolved.
+
### Utility Functions (`lib/utils.ts`)
```typescript
@@ -794,6 +797,8 @@ interface AuthState {
// Persisted to localStorage as "pocketveto-auth"
```
+**Auth-aware query keys:** TanStack Query keys that return different data for guests vs authenticated users include `!!token` in their key (e.g. `["dashboard", !!token]`). This ensures a fresh fetch fires automatically on login or logout without manual cache invalidation.
+
---
## Authentication
@@ -993,6 +998,18 @@ Nginx uses `resolver 127.0.0.11 valid=10s` (Docker's internal DNS) so upstream c
- Manual Controls split into two sections: always-visible recurring controls (Poll, Members, Trends, Actions, Resume) and a collapsible **Maintenance** section for one-time backfill tasks
- Maintenance section header shows "⚠ action needed" when any backfill has a non-zero count
+### v0.6.1 — Welcome Banner & Dashboard Auth Fix
+
+**Welcome Banner:**
+- `WelcomeBanner.tsx` — dismissible onboarding card shown only to guests at the top of the dashboard
+- Three bullet points: follow bills/members/topics, see what changed, Back to Source citations
+- "Browse Bills" CTA navigates to `/bills` and dismisses; × and "Dismiss" button also dismiss
+- Dismissed state stored in `localStorage["pv_seen_welcome"]`; never shown to logged-in users
+
+**Dashboard Auth-Aware Query Key:**
+- `useDashboard` hook query key changed from `["dashboard"]` to `["dashboard", !!token]`
+- Fixes stale cache issue where logging in showed the guest feed until a manual refresh
+
### v0.2.2 — Sponsor Linking & Search Fixes
- **Root cause fixed:** Congress.gov list API does not return sponsor data — only the detail endpoint does. Poller now calls the detail endpoint for each new bill to get the sponsor and populate `bill.sponsor_id`
- **Backfill task:** `backfill_sponsor_ids` Celery task + `/api/admin/backfill-sponsors` endpoint + "Backfill Sponsors" button in Admin UI — fixes existing bills with `NULL` sponsor_id (~10 req/sec, ~3 min for 1,600 bills)
diff --git a/MVP threshold this make v1 complete.md b/MVP threshold this make v1 complete.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..934bc4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/MVP threshold this make v1 complete.md
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+
+### Phase 3 — Personal Workflow & Context
+
+_Focus: Allowing users to organize data and adding the "Cross-Bill" intelligence layer._
+
+- **Collections / Watchlists:** `collections` table for public/private bill groupings shareable via UUID tokens.
+
+- **Personal Notes:** Private `bill_notes` table to store user stances, tags, and pinned insights on bill detail pages.
+
+
+- **Cross-Bill Referencing (New):**
+
+ - **Extraction:** Update LLM prompts to identify and extract related bill identifiers (e.g., "H.R. 1234") from text.
+
+ - **Referential Table:** Implement `bill_references` to map source-to-target bill relationships with context quotes.
+
+ - **Ghost Hydration:** Create the `/api/admin/bills/hydrate` endpoint to fetch and analyze referenced bills not currently in the DB.
+
+ - **UI Hover Previews:** Use `Radix UI` popovers in the `BriefPanel` to show snapshots of referenced legislation without leaving the page.
+
+- **Weekly Digest:** Celery beat task to dispatch 7-day summaries of followed bills via ntfy and RSS.
+
+
+---
+
+### Phase 4 — Accountability & Member Scoring
+
+_Focus: Deep-diving into legislative performance and voting records._
+
+- **Votes & Committees:** Fetch roll-call votes and committee actions from Congress.gov into a new `bill_votes` table.
+
+- **Member Effectiveness Score:** Nightly Celery task calculating scores based on sponsored bills, advancement milestones, and "bills enacted" metrics.
+
+- **Bipartisan Progress Metric (Proposed):** Enhance effectiveness scores by weighting co-sponsorship across party lines and committee movement in opposing chambers.
+
+- **Representation Alignment:** Neutral view showing how member votes align with a user’s followed topics.
+
+
+---
+
+### Phase 5 — Systemic Intelligence
+
+_Focus: Enhancing search and providing broader legislative context._
+
+- **Search Improvements:** Add filters for bill type, status, chamber, and date; implement "Search within member bills".
+
+- **Topic-Scoped Search:** Allow users to search legislation exclusively within followed topics like "Healthcare" or "Energy".
+
+- **Member Effectiveness Transparency:** Display the "Member Effectiveness" formula on profile pages to maintain non-partisan trust.
+
+
+---
+
+### Phase 6 — Desktop & Polish
+
+_Focus: Optimization for professional-grade power users._
+
+- **Desktop View:** Multi-column layout with sticky sidebars and expanded grids optimized for large screens.
+
+- **Notification Channels v2:** Expand beyond ntfy/RSS to include Discord webhooks, Telegram, and SMTP email.
+
+- **Backfill Tasks:** Automate `first_name` and `last_name` population for all member records.
+
+
+---
+
+## 🛠️ Updated Technical Implementation Details
+
+### Database Schema Updates
+
+|**Table**|**New Columns / Purpose**|
+|---|---|
+|**`bill_references`**|`source_id`, `target_id`, `context_quote` to link related bills.|
+|**`bill_notes`**|`user_id`, `bill_id`, `content`, `stance`, `tags`, `pinned`.|
+|**`collections`**|`user_id`, `name`, `slug`, `is_public` for shared watchlists.|
+|**`bill_votes`**|Stores roll-call data and results for accountability tracking.|
+
+### Enhanced LLM Pipeline
+
+The `llm_processor.py` task will now perform a dual-pass:
+
+1. **Analysis:** Generate the standard brief with citations and fact/inference labels.
+
+2. **Mapping:** Extract bill IDs found in the text and insert them into the `bill_references` table. If a target ID is missing from the `bills` table, it triggers a low-priority `hydrate_bill` task.
+
+
+### Performance Guardrails
+
+- **Selective Hydration:** The poller will only "Ghost Hydrate" referenced bills if they are from the current or previous Congress to prevent API exhaustion.
+
+- **Cached Previews:** Referenced bill snapshots for hover tooltips will be cached in Redis to minimize database hits during dashboard scrolling.
+
+
diff --git a/PocketVeto — Feature Roadmap.md b/PocketVeto — Feature Roadmap.md
index 2425b5d..50d43a7 100644
--- a/PocketVeto — Feature Roadmap.md
+++ b/PocketVeto — Feature Roadmap.md
@@ -206,9 +206,9 @@ Don’t store it server-side unless you already have user accounts and it’s pa
### Backlog item (checkboxes)
-* [ ] First-visit welcome UI (banner/card + optional toast)
-* [ ] Dismiss + “don’t show again” (localStorage)
-* [ ] CTA: Add first follow
+* [x] First-visit welcome UI (banner/card — guests only, shown on dashboard)
+* [x] Dismiss + “don’t show again” (localStorage `pv_seen_welcome`)
+* [x] CTA: Browse Bills
* [ ] CTA: Load demo data (optional)
* [ ] Link: “How it works” page/modal (optional)
diff --git a/frontend/app/page.tsx b/frontend/app/page.tsx
index e880902..ebc21a1 100644
--- a/frontend/app/page.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/page.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { TrendingUp, BookOpen, Flame, RefreshCw } from "lucide-react";
import Link from "next/link";
import { useDashboard } from "@/lib/hooks/useDashboard";
import { BillCard } from "@/components/shared/BillCard";
+import { WelcomeBanner } from "@/components/shared/WelcomeBanner";
import { adminAPI } from "@/lib/api";
import { useState } from "react";
import { useAuthStore } from "@/stores/authStore";
@@ -40,6 +41,8 @@ export default function DashboardPage() {
+
+
{isLoading ? (