August 1974 The National Legislative Conference, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the executive committee of the National Society of State Legislators vote to disband and create the National Conference of State Legislatures.

September 1974 The Executive Committee of NCSL selects Earl S. Mackey, previously executive director of the National Legislative Conference, as the executive director of the new organization.

November 1974 The Executive Committee of NCSL selects Denver as the headquarters for the new organization, while maintaining a strong office of state-federal relations in Washington, D.C.

Jan. 1, 1975 NCSL is officially formed. Massachusetts Senate President Kevin Harrington is president of NCSL and Michigan Fiscal Agency Director Eugene Farnum is staff chair. The NCSL staff consists of 25 people in the Washington and Denver offices combined.

January 1975 NCSL publishes Volume I, No. 1 of State Legislatures Today (later to become State Legislatures magazine) as a two-color, eight-page magazine.

1975 NCSL establishes a state liaison system, where staff members oversee direct relationships with state legislatures and their leaders.

1975 The NCSL Executive Committee approves the formation of the Leadership Staff Section of NCSL, with the pre-existing American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries, the Legislative Research Librarians, the National Legislative Services and Security Association, and the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society operating as professional organizations of legislative staff within NCSL.

1975 NCSL holds a Seminar for Legislative Leaders in Washington, D.C. President Gerald R. Ford, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and other top administration officials attend.

Oct. 7-10, 1975 The first annual meeting, now called the Legislative Summit, takes place in Philadelphia, drawing 1,573 attendees.

1976 NCSL, the National Governors Association, and the Council of State Governments open the Hall of the States, a joint office and venture of the three organizations in Washington, D.C.

July 1, 1976 NCSL begins receiving direct appropriations from the states. In the first year, NCSL receives appropriations from 46 states. In the second, all 50 states appropriate funds to support NCSL.

1976 A federal grant allows NCSL to begin training state legislatures. From that small beginning, NCSL now annually, with a staff of around four people, serves more than 11,000 state legislators and staff.

1977 The National Association of Legislative Fiscal Officers is created and joins the NCSL family of “staff sections.”

September 1980 President Jimmy Carter hosts a reception on the White House lawn for NCSL members.

July 27-31, 1981 In Atlanta, Ronald Reagan becomes the first sitting president to speak at an NCSL annual meeting.

1982 The Legal Services Staff Section is created as a forum for legislative staff attorneys.

1982 NCSL receives funding to establish a Children’s and Families Program.

October 1982 The Foundation for State Legislatures is created to allow the private sector to support NCSL services and strengthen the operation of legislatures overall.

July 26-31, 1987 William Pound becomes the second NCSL executive director, replacing the original chief, Earl S. Mackey.

1989 The first edition of Mason’s Manual is published by NCSL. Paul Mason, a California Senate parliamentarian who had published the book since 1935, transfers rights to the organization.

1989 The Legislative Staff Management Institute is created for senior legislative staff members and those on track to leadership positions.

July 27-Aug. 1, 1992 Arizona House Minority Leader Art Hamilton becomes the first Black legislator elected as NCSL president, more than 10 years after New Jersey Assembly Deputy Director Robert Smartt was chosen as staff chair.

Aug. 30, 1993 The website domain www.ncsl.org is purchased, as the world enters the Internet age. From these humble beginnings, the NCSL website now averages 10.7 million pageviews annually.

1994 NCSL’s electronic database, LEGISNET, created for the exchange of policy information for state legislatures in the late 1970s, becomes available on a bulletin board system that evolves to an online product on a new tool called the Internet.

July 1994 Missouri State Rep. Karen McCarthy serves as the first woman president of NCSL. In November, she wins a Congressional election and Ohio House Assistant Minority Leader Jane Campbell assumes NCSL leadership.

August 1999 NCSL celebrates its 25th annual meeting in Indianapolis, unveiling the tagline “For 25 Years: The Forum for America’s Ideas.”

Feb. 2, 2000 U.S. President Bill Clinton is the keynote speaker at a silver anniversary NCSL event in Washington, D.C., to support The Trust for Representative Democracy, an initiative to educate students about government, democracy, and the role of state legislatures.

July 16-20, 2000 Republican nominee George W. Bush is a keynote speaker at the NCSL annual meeting in Chicago. He would go on to win election as president that year.

2001 NCSL’s Statewide Ballot Measures Database launches and provides information on all statewide ballot measures in the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

Oct. 3, 2001 NCSL breaks ground on a new office building, breaking a cycle of renting space for its staff and operations.

Nov. 7, 2001 The TV show, “West Wing” makes a reference to the NCSL annual meeting in San Antonio, which was held earlier in August. In the episode, the president presses the vice president to make a speech there.

Aug. 5-9, 2007 NCSL holds its largest annual meeting in Boston, registering more than 9,700 attendees. For the first time, the meeting is billed as the Legislative Summit.

2008 NCSL unveils the Juvenile Justice Legislation Database, which allows access to state legislation on juvenile justice including prevention, disposition options, sentencing and reentry.

2010 The American Democracy Game is created as an online resource for students built on the theme “representative democracy works.” It continues to expand and is named the 2021 Game of the Year by the Creative Child Magazine Awards Program.

July 25-28, 2010 In a prime example of bipartisanship promoted by NCSL, U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi address attendees of the 2010 Legislative Summit in Louisville, Ky.

2011 The State Elections Legislation Database is introduced, capturing legislation in all states related to elections administration. It has expanded to include bills about absentee voting, primaries, registration and voting systems.

May 2012 The first meeting of the Quad Caucus is held in New Orleans, formally bringing together The National Asian Pacific American Caucus of State Legislators (NAPACSL), The National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL), The National Caucus of Native American State Legislators (NCNASL), and the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL).

2012 NCSL creates the Child Support and Family Law Legislation Database to capture state legislation on custody and visitation, enforcement, guidelines, parentage and other key issues.

2015 NCSL celebrates its 40th anniversary, including fulfilling its 250,000th information request.

Summer 2016 The Leaders Program unveils a unique training program in Normandy, France, centering on the leadership lessons of D-Day. This experiential program is for a small delegation of top legislative leaders to strengthen their understanding of leadership through studying the history and heroism displayed on June 6, 1944.

May 2017 NCSL initiates the first annual Legislative Staff Week to celebrate the estimated 30,000 employees that support state legislatures across the country. The event allows legislators and staff to send “shoutouts” to colleagues and other staff and is filled with special programming to put a spotlight on those who serve the legislative institution.

June 21, 2018 The U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of South Dakota v. Wayfair, allowing states to require remote businesses to collect and remit applicable sales tax on online purchases. The decision was the result of a 19-year effort by NCSL to allow states to make their own tax policy regarding taxation of online sales.

July 15, 2019 Tim Storey becomes only the third leader of NCSL in its nearly 50-year existence, with a new title of chief executive officer. The North Carolina native started working as an intern for NCSL in 1989, where he soon become the nation’s top media source for elections and redistricting.

Aug. 8, 2019 International superstar Dolly Parton speaks at the NCSL Legislative Summit to discuss her Imagination Library program.

Jan. 17, 2020 In addition to NCSL’s popular “Our American States” podcast, NCSL creates a comprehensive podcast on the history of state legislatures, called “Building Democracy: The Story of Legislatures.”

2020 For 45 years, State Legislatures magazine has covered state legislatures and policy issues like no other publication. The organization moves to one to two print magazines per year while using the new online platform, "State Legislatures News," to provide immediate content to its members.   

September 15, 2020 The first NCSL Base Camp, an online program designed for legislative staff, is launched to provides policy expertise and training while travel for most staff is banned in most states. The popular program remains part of NCSL’s regular meeting schedule.

Aug. 16, 2023Football legend Peyton Manning shares his thoughts on leadership, teams and personal experiences to a packed house at the 2023 Legislative Summit in Indianapolis.

Dec. 5, 2023NCSL announces a partnership with “A Starting Point,” which will result in a nonpartisan series demystifying state legislatures and public policy. It will offer explainer-style video content and lawmaker conversations about the significant issues states will address next year.

August 2024NCSL announces the celebration of its 50th anniversary at the Legislative Summit in Louisville, Ky., and that events will culminate with the 2025 Legislative Summit in Boston.