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Minutes of the
ASLCS Executive Committee
ASLCS Fall Meeting
Baltimore, Maryland
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
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Call to Order
President Norman Moore called the meeting of the Executive Committee of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries to order.
Quorum
Members present:
Norman Moore, President
Bruce Jamerson, President-Elect
JoAnn Hedrick, Secretary-Treasurer
Ann Cornwell, Immediate Past President
Carmela Bills, Associate Vice-President
Laura Clemens, Elected Principal
Dowe Littleton, Elected Associate
Patsy Spaw, Appointed Principal
Jeannine Wood, Appointed Principal
Tara Perkinson, Appointed Associate
Ann Marie Sweeney, Appointed Associate
NCSL Staff present:
Natalie O’Donnell
Approval of Minutes
Carmela Bills moved that the minutes of the July 22, 2004 Executive Committee meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah be approved. Jeannine Wood noted that the last sentence on page six of the minutes in the Roster Committee report needs to be corrected to read as follows: “In was also suggested that a supplement be published after the 2004 Professional Development Seminar to include the new officers, executive committee members and committee rosters and that the Roster published in 2005 include this information for both 2003-2004 and 2004-2005.” The motion was seconded by Laura Clemens and unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer’s report was presented by JoAnn Hedrick. She reported that as of September 20, 2004, the balance in the ASLCS Dues Account is $38,378.96. This amount includes deposits of dues payments of $975.00 and disbursements of $4,368.81 since July 22, 2004. Patsy Spaw moved to adopt the Treasurer’s report as reported and Dowe Littleton seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Treasurer’s Report
ASLCS Dues Account, as of September 20, 2004
2004 Annual Professional Development Seminar – Baltimore, Maryland
Balance as of July 16, 2004: $41,772.77
Total Deposits: $975.00
Subtotal: $42,747.77
Less Disbursements: $4,368.81
Balance as of September 20, 2004: $38,378.96
Total Deposits for 2004 Dues since July: $975.00
Disbursements
8/4/2004
Diane Bell: $590.76
Airfare for travel to Meeting
8/17/2004
Steven T. James: $1,530.35
Reimbursement for Travel to Iqaluit for CATS Annual Meeting
8/17/2004
Norman Moore: $1,380.45
Reimbursement for Travel to Iqaluit for CATS Annual Meeting
8/17/2004
Treasurer of Virginia: $867.25
Reimbursement for Carmela Bills toTravel to Iqaluit for CATS Annual Meeting
Total disbursements since July 16, 2004: $4,368.81
Old Business
Logo Items
President Norm Moore reported that Donna Doyle had ordered the pin maps as approved by the Executive Committee. The manufacturer was not able to supply them in time for the start of this Professional Development Seminar. They may be ready for shipping by Friday and, if so, President Moore will request that they be sent overnight so that we can make them available for attendees to purchase during this Seminar.
ASLCS Account Summaries
Natalie O’Donnell, NCSL staff liaison to ASLCS, reported that the balance in the ASLCS Shared Profits account is $11,970.45 after an interest payment of $227 as of September 16, 2004 and that the balance in the Special Meetings fund as of the same date is $50,186.75. Natalie further reported that the following sums are expected as additional deposits to the Special Meetings fund: $11,000 from Mary Monahan’s office, $10,000 from the Maryland House, $10,000 from the Maryland Senate, $6,000 from LexisNexis and $3,000 from International Roll Call.
The budget for this Professional Development Seminar was reviewed and, with 240 current registrations, it is anticipated that the meeting will end up with a profit of about $10,000. We will not have a hotel attrition fee and we will have enough profit to pay for the NCSL overhead costs.
Associate Exchange Program
Pursuant to the Standing Order requiring an evaluation of the Associate Exchange Program, Joe Blough, Chair of the Support Staff Committee, reported that the Associates who had participated in the Exchange Program to date had found the experience to be valuable and he recommended that the Program be continued. He also suggested that the Standing Order regarding reimbursement for participants in the Exchange Program needs to be clarified. Tara Perkinson moved to make the Associate Exchange Program permanent. The motion was seconded by JoAnn Hedrick and unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Laura Clemens suggested that the Executive Committee should be proactive in recruiting Associate Members to participate in the Exchange Program. Bruce Jamerson agreed with the suggestion that the Standing Order regarding reimbursement should be clarified. Laura Clemens moved to forward a request to the Bylaws and Standing Orders Committee to make recommendations to the Executive Committee regarding the wording of Section III H in the standing orders. The motion was seconded by Carmela Bills and unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Jeannine Wood moved that the Executive Committee send a letter of support to all Members of the Society encouraging Associates to apply for the Exchange Program soon after the applications are sent out by the Support Staff Committee. Principals should receive carbon copies. The motion was seconded by Carmela Bills and unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Legislative Staff Management Institute
President Moore reported that Gwen Bailey had attended the LSMI and that a request for 50% of her tuition had been received from the Virginia Senate. Ann Cornwell moved to approve payment of this amount. The motion was seconded by Dowe Littleton and unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Publications Standards Special Committee
George Bishop, Chair of the Special Committee on Publications Standards, brought a recommendation before the Executive Committee regarding the Publications Standards for the Legislative Administrator. This recommendation would delete the committee meeting minutes and rosters of committee membership from the web site editions of the Administrator. The recommendation further states that annual reports from each Standing Committee would be included in the last issue of the year which is the hard copy edition.
There was much discussion and many concerns were expressed about the timeliness of posting committee meeting minutes on the website and the fact that many of them simply are not there. If the minutes are not included in the web versions of the Administrator, some may be lost. Natalie O’Donnell apologized to the Executive Committee for not being aware of the fact that it is her responsibility to get the minutes posted to the website when she receives them. She also explained that NCSL has recently converted to a new operating system and there are problems with formatting documents she receives to make them “web-ready”. She also had to rely upon other NCSL staff members to do the actual posting.
Ann Cornwell moved that the proposed changes to the Publications Standards be adopted. The motion was seconded by Dowe Littleton. The vote by show of hands resulted in Ann Marie Sweeney, Tara Perkinson, Dowe Littleton, Ann Cornwell, Bruce Jamerson and JoAnn Hedrick voting to adopt the motion and Carmela Bills, Norman Moore, Laura Clemens, Jeannine Wood and Patsy Spaw voting against the motion. The motion was adopted by a vote of 6 yes, 5 no.
Dowe Littleton suggested that, at the Committee Chairs Transition Meeting later this week, the importance of forwarding committee meeting minutes to Natalie in a timely manner be stressed to the new committee chairs. An announcement will also be made at the Business Meeting, when committee reports are made.
New Business
Proposal for Staff Section Megameeting
President Moore expressed his opinion that a megameeting of NCSL staff sections is not a viable option for the ASLCS. There was general consensus among the members of the Executive Committee. Ann Cornwell moved that Norm report back to Nancy Cyr, Chair of a LSCC subcommittee exploring the idea of a megameeting, that the ASLCS is not interested in participating in a megameeting. The motion was seconded by Carmela Bills and unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Reimbursements
Carmela Bills had prepared a photo montage to be presented to ANOMAC as a gift. The cost of framing it was $273. It was too large to take on the plane to the meeting and it was necessary to ship it via Federal Express. Bruce Jamerson graciously offered that the Virginia House of Delegates would pay the shipping costs. Ann Cornwell moved that the Treasurer of Virginia be reimbursed for the $273 framing cost. The motion was seconded by Dowe Littleton and unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Jeannine Wood, Co-chair of the Roster Committee, reported that the cost for printing 450 copies of the Roster was $6,686 and that the Idaho Senate expended $620.56 on postage to mail the Roster. Laura Clemens moved that we pay these bills. The motion was seconded by Ann Marie Sweeney and unanimously adopted by voice vote. Ann Cornwell also requested that the number of Rosters that are printed annually be reviewed.
President Moore reported that the cost of printing the Legislative Administrator was $2,200 plus tax. The Arizona House paid the postage for mailing the Administrator. Carmela Bills moved to pay the bill for printing. The motion was seconded by Dowe Littleton and unanimously adopted by voice vote. Diane Bell suggested that we should inquire about whether any states are able to print the Roster and Administrator in-house to cut down on printing costs.
Jeannine Wood stated that the Idaho Senate had paid for mailing out the initial forms requesting information for the Roster.
President Moore reported that he had expended $1,250 on President’s gifts. Ann Cornwell moved to approve the expenditure of $1,000. The Standing Order states that up to $1,000 can be spent for this purpose. Ann Cornwell withdrew her motion. Ann Cornwell moved to approve up to $300 for expenses incurred above the $1,000 noted in the Standing Order. The motion was seconded by Carmela Bills and unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Other Business
2006 Annual Professional Development Seminar
President Moore had received a letter from the Lieutenant Governor of Texas supporting Patsy Spaw’s bid to host the 2006 Annual Professional Development Seminar. Jeannine Wood moved that the 2006 PDS be held in Austin, Texas. The motion was seconded by Ann Marie Sweeney and unanimously adopted by voice vote.
For the Good of the Order
President Moore thanked the members of the Executive Committee for their service this year and announced that it been a personally rewarding year for him. Carmela Bills thanked President Moore for his service to the ASLCS.
Additional Reimbursement
President Moore gave his receipts to the Secretary-Treasurer for travel to the ANOMAC meeting. Patsy Spaw moved to reimburse him. The motion was seconded by Ann Cornwell and adopted by voice vote.
Adjournment
With no further business to come before the Committee, Ann Cornwell moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Bruce Jamerson. The meeting was adjourned without objection.
Respectfully submitted,
JoAnn M. Hedrick
Secretary-Treasurer
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