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Minutes of the Inside the Legislative Process Committee  ASLCS Fall Meeting Scottsdale, Arizona Thursday, September 11, 2003

The meeting of the Inside the Legislative Process Committee was called to order by Chair Claire Jesse Clift at 1:50 p.m. on Thursday September 11, 2003.  Members present at the meeting were:

Claire Clift, NV, Chair	Mary Jo Mongelli, NV, Vice Chair
Mardi Alexander, TX	Diane Keetch, NV
Jane Atkinson, VA	Karen Kuhlmann, CO
Paul Campos, WA	Patty Lung, VA
Marilyn Eddins, CO	Scott Maddrea, VA
Polly Emerson, TX	Tara Perkinson, VA
JoAnn Hedrick, DE	Dianne Whitaker, VA
Mona Heustis, CO

Also in attendance:

Brenda Erickson, NCSL

Tara Perkinson explained the topics the previous committee had surveyed.  These topics will be e-mailed to the committee members by Brenda Erickson along with a list of other possible topics the previous committee considered but did not choose. The list will also include topics from prior surveys that may need to be updated.

Brenda explained that the results of the previous committee surveys would be published by January, 2004, and available to principals, and that NCSL will sell the survey to others upon request.

Recommendations by Brenda:

• Shorter survey
• Fewer topics

Discussion followed about the possibility of printing fewer compiled documents and doing more electronic publications, possibly using Listserv for the survey, trimming the survey to two items with ten pages and the possibility of using a second binder.

Suggested topics for possible consideration:

• Passing of bills out of committee, do all bills have to be reported?
• Supreme Courts= intervention into the Legislative Process.

A tentative schedule of committee activities was discussed. The Chairman asked members to e-mail their suggestions for survey questions by the Winter Meeting in Oklahoma so the committee can finalizing the questions at that meeting. A draft will then be sent to the Committee for their approval by the end of March, 2004, so that the survey can be mailed by June 1, 2004.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m.