NCSL's Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee (LSCC) 

Appendix A:  Criteria for New Staff Section Organization

The Committee hereby recommends the following criteria for new staff section organization:

1) In order to create new legislative staff sections, requests for such section creation must be received from at least twenty (20) legislatures engaged in the section function. The persons involved in the function of the proposed section must be legislative branch employees. Requests for section formation must be in writing, signed by the person initiating the request in each state, and his supervisory authority. The Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee shall review and verify the information provided in any application.

2) The application of any group wishing to be recognized as an NCSL staff section shall be reviewed by the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee. If the Committee favorably reviews and approves such applications, it will forward the application with its recommendation to the NCSL Executive Committee.

3) Criteria to be applied to each application by the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee shall include at least: (a) the anticipated impact of the new section on NCSL staff services: (b) whether the legislative function of a proposed section is of a continuous nature; and (c) whether the proposed section has a professional career orientation.

4) After initial screening, the proposed section shall submit by-laws that are consistent with general NCSL rules, procedures, and terminology to the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee for their review prior to final action and submission to the NCSL Executive Committee.

5) In order for two or more sections to merge, a majority of each section must approve such action. Each state shall have an equal vote in deciding the issue.

6) The Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee encourages the professionalization of legislative staff and the participation by all legislative staff in appropriate staff sections.

(Adopted July 1979)