Report NCSL 2022 Annual Report

NCSL Officers/CEO Letter

This annual report outlines the accomplishments of your organization, the National Conference of State Legislatures, over the past 12 months, fiscal year 2022. Perhaps the most notable accomplishment was the pivot from a world of very few meetings to one where we are nearly back on the schedule we had prior to the pandemic. NCSL is also in strong fiscal shape and making strong progress in building a previously unfilled reserve balance.

We hope you will take the time to carefully review the statistics and summary of how the conference supported legislatures this year. The quality and commitment of the NCSL staff shines through in this annual report. We are grateful for the way they served legislatures during this challenging year and for the many ways that NCSL helped legislatures operate effectively and efficiently.

Here are a handful of highlights:

• The first NCSL Legislative Summit since 2019 was rescheduled twice and then held in Tampa, Fla., with 2,867 attendees from 50 states and four territories. NCSL Base Camp also returned with more than 900 attendees from all states and territories, and Washington, D.C.
• The NCSL Leaders’ Center hosted four major leaders’ programs—two annual Leadership Symposiums, an Executive Leadership Education Program and an Emerging Leaders Program—attended by 165 leaders.
• More than 56 staff from 28 states and Guam attended the Legislative Staff Management Institute, and 104 participants from 39 states, Washington, D.C. and American Samoa completed the five-week Legislative Staff Certificate Program.
• The expanded NCSL Legislative Training Institute completed 104 professional development sessions with more than 5,300 legislators and legislative staff participating.
• Passage of the federal American Rescue Plan Act highlighted NCSL’s influence in Washington. NCSL impacted the legislation in 2021 and then worked with U.S. Treasury Department officials to develop rules expanding state flexibility in using federal funds in 2022.
• NCSL State Liaisons visited with legislators and staff across the country. In all, NCSL State Liaisons visited 38 states and territories and met with more than 1,400 legislators and staff.
• NCSL launched State Legislatures News and published more than 530 articles spotlighting legislators, staff and the work we do. New features were created, including “Across the Aisle,” focusing on bipartisan success stories; “My District,” which highlights legislators with unique districts; and “Staff Snapshots,” which spotlights state legislative staffers.
• The NCSL website was visited more than 19 million times, and we acquired 4,339 new followers across social media platforms.

Thank you for your interest in this report. We thank all of you for your service to your state, and look forward to hearing from you during the next year as we continue to work to strengthen our institutions.

—Tim Storey, NCSL chief executive officer; Speaker Scott Saiki, Hawaii speaker of the House and NCSL president; Speaker Scott Bedke, Idaho speaker of the House and NCSL president-elect; J.J. Gentry, South Carolina Senate Ethics Committee counsel and NCSL staff chair

Providing Bipartisan Policy Research, Tracking and Reports 

NCSL tracks policy across more than 1,400 issue areas in the states and territories, a core function of NCSL.

NCSL’s State Policy Research Division and Fiscal Affairs Program identify trends and unique policy approaches, then publish nonpartisan web resources. These include policy reports and searchable databases covering a wide variety of issues and incorporating pending and enacted state legislation. In FY 22, the NCSL website received more than 19 million page views, NCSL’s 60 databases received more than 533,000 page views, and NCSL staff wrote and published 61 policy reports and 69 policy briefs.

NCSL staff also applied their extensive policy knowledge when responding to research requests from legislators and legislative staff. Oftentimes, these requests involve more complicated or extensive analysis than what is available on the NCSL website. Legislators and staff rely on NCSL to complete these customized requests in a timely manner. In FY 22, NCSL staff completed more than 2,000 research requests that provided unbiased, comprehensive information and allowed legislators and staff to learn from other state approaches.

FY 22 Highlights

• The NCSL Fiscal Affairs Program created a database—with 92,212 page views and counting—tracking state legislative allocations of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The Fiscal Affairs Program also released a series of briefs to provide a closer look at state spending of federal fiscal relief funds in education, government operations, health, housing, economic development and infrastructure.
• The Center for Results Driven Governing, an NCSL center working in partnership with The Council of State Governments and The Policy Lab at Brown University, planned and hosted timely legislative staff work groups that focused on evaluating ARPA-funded projects, including strategies for collecting and using data and performance measures in the budget and policy process. This important work gave legislative staff the opportunity to learn from each about how to meet the ARPA evaluation requirements.
• The NCSL Health Program organized office hours and resources related to how states are using, and can use, ARPA dollars to improve public health. This service was pulled together quickly in response to sharp demand from legislators and staff, allowing members to learn from one another and share perspectives and progress.
• The NCSL Employee, Labor and Retirement Program conducted numerous technical assistance and research requests on employer vaccine mandates in fall 2021 when legislatures were exploring this issue. 
• When legislators and staff had questions about the housing crisis, the NCSL Children and Families Program responded to many research requests and produced policy briefs, podcasts and educational sessions.
• Most state unemployment insurance systems were stressed by the pandemic. The NCSL Employment, Labor and Retirement Program helped support states with research, technical assistance and reports as they explored using ARPA funds to improve unemployment insurance systems, replenish trust funds and pay back federal loans.
• Three of the top five most viewed NCSL webpages in FY 22 were resources created by the NCSL State Policy Division:
• • 280,397 views: States With Religious and Philosophical Exemptions From School Immunization Requirements
  • 277,753 views: 2022 State Primary Election Dates and Filing Deadlines
  • 242,817 views: State Medical Cannabis Laws

Delivering Trusted Testimony, Technical Assistance and Training 

Governed as a bipartisan organization, NCSL staff respect the diverse perspectives within legislatures and are committed to providing objective, fact- and evidence-based information to inform the policymaking process.

Legislators and staff frequently call on NCSL’s policy experts to provide unbiased technical assistance or testimony on public policy issues in their capitols. In FY 22, NCSL State Policy Research Division and the NCSL Fiscal Affairs Program completed 29 technical assistance requests reaching 490+ legislators and staff, and delivered committee testimony 40 times, reaching more than 765 legislators and staff.

NCSL also designs and delivers high-level, legislative-specific professional development training on a wide range of topics and skills. The NCSL Legislative Training Institute travels to state capitols to deliver timely skills training unique to legislators and legislative staff. The NCSL Leaders’ Center serves as a hub that assists legislative leaders in facing the challenges of managing the institution, crafting the best possible public policy, creating consensus out of dissension, communicating with Congress and key administration officials, and protecting and promoting the legislative institution. And, with a dedicated Legislative Staff Services program, NCSL is the only organization with staff professional associations for people with similar legislative jobs in IT, fiscal, research, security and more. Convening like-minded legislative staffers who serve similar functions allows for unmatched training opportunities.

FY 22 Highlights

• The NCSL Energy Program testified to a legislative committee on advanced nuclear reactors explaining other state approaches regulating small modular reactors.
• The NCSL Education Program testified before legislative education committees several times, including facilitating a day-long event with members of a joint education committee, the governor, members of the state board of education and the commissioner of education.
• The  NCSL Legislative Training Institute completed 104 professional development sessions, both virtually and in-person, on topics ranging from extraordinary leadership to writing to caucus strategic planning to ethics. More than 5,300 legislators and legislative staff participated in these trainings. 
• The NCSL Legislative Training Institute created several new trainings this year, including “Bursting Your Bias Bubble,” “Remote Management,” “Staff Versatility” and “Strategic Planning for Legislatures.” These trainings are designed to help strengthen the legislative institution by demonstrating how legislators and legislative staff can work more effectively and efficiently.
• In conjunction with the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee, the NCSL Legislative Staff Services program created an infographic depicting how legislative staff can Excel With NCSL, whether it’s advancing in their career through becoming a respected subject matter expert, refining and perfecting skills in a specific staff role or advancing in a leadership position.
• The Legislative Staff Management Institute, NCSL’s premier training program for legislative staff in management positions or on their way to managing, received more than 80 applications; 56 legislative staff from 28 states and Guam were accepted, attended and graduated.
• The Legislative Staff Certificate Program, a five-week online course for staff newer to the legislature, received more than 150 applications; 104 participants representing 39 states, Washington, D.C., and American Samoa were accepted and earned a certificate in legislative staffing by completing the course.

Following a challenging time of international exchanges during the pandemic, the commitment to international partnerships, as prioritized in NCSL’s bylaws, was stronger than ever in FY 22. To elevate this work, NCSL engaged in a rebrand of the NCSL International Program and formally launched the NCSL Institute for International Cooperation. Long-term partnerships resumed exchanges, including Germany and Israel, and several new partnerships formed, including Mexico and Argentina. And, as part of the relaunch, NCSL created the Institute for International Cooperation network, which greatly expands international access to all legislators and legislative staff who wish to learn more. The network provides NCSL members with increased in-person and virtual programming.

Working for State Legislatures in Washington, D.C.

NCSL is the voice of state legislatures in Washington, D.C. As a respected, effective and influential advocate for states, NCSL is a formidable lobbying force. As state lawmakers continued to grapple with the unforeseen impacts of the COVID pandemic, NCSL continued advocating on behalf of states’ interests in Washington.

FY 22 Highlights

• A number of NCSL’s infrastructure priorities were included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA): 90% of highway funding being provided directly to states via core formula programs; significant increases in funding for clean and safe drinking water through state revolving funds; and the large investments in the nation’s electric grid, cybersecurity and broadband. These priorities are based on policy developed by NCSL Standing Committees and adopted by the conference. 
• NCSL’s initial IIJA virtual briefing was attended by over 400 participants, including legislators and staff from 49 states and Washington, D.C., and NCSL Foundation sponsors. NCSL also provided numerous virtual briefings for individual state legislatures on the IIJA, including seven briefings for different Minnesota committees on its provisions and implementation. 
• NCSL worked quickly to avoid rescission of ARPA funds. NCSL championed the removal of a provision to rescind funding states were to receive in their second tranche of Coronavirus State and Local Relief Fund payments to use as a “pay-for” for some of the $15.6 billion in emergency funding for the pandemic.
• NCSL was in regular contact with Treasury Department officials as they developed the final rules regarding the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund—the part of ARPA that delivered $350 billion to state, local and tribal governments to support response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. NCSL advocated for improved state flexibilities in the final ARPA rule, including: 
  • Broader set of uses available to respond to the pandemic’s public health and economic impacts on households, small businesses and others, including capital expenditures.
  • Major simplification for recipients through the $10 million revenue loss standard allowance.
  • Greater flexibility in addressing challenges with broadband access, affordability and reliability.
  • Addition of numerous eligible water and sewer infrastructure investments.
  • Broader eligibility for workers who can receive premium pay without additional justification.
• NCSL worked with the U.S. Treasury to obtain official notice that the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program as established in ARPA “does not prevent a State or Territory’s legislature from engaging in the process of allocating and expending SLFRF funds in accordance with applicable law.” 
• Improvements to intergovernmental coordination and consultation is a bedrock issue for NCSL. NCSL staff worked to have NCSL and the other national organizations representing state and local governments listed as stakeholders to be consulted with under an amended version of the Improving Intergovernmental Cooperation and Reducing Duplication Act of 2022, which is expected to be introduced in the near future. The bipartisan legislation requires the Office of Management and Budget to publish a strategic plan to “improve cooperation between and support greater harmonization, effectiveness and the burdens and costs between the federal government and state, local, territorial and tribal governments.” Under the bill, state, local, territorial and tribal entities would have the option “without being coerced or required” to use capabilities only available to the federal government.

Connecting, Convening and Communicating With Members

All states are unique and face their own challenges, but legislators and legislative staff benefit when they connect and learn from other states’ experiences and approaches.

With that in mind, NCSL plans and hosts unique convenings where legislators and staff share knowledge and ideas which ultimately help them enact informed laws and policies and improve their constituents’ lives. Whether online or in person, NCSL’s meetings provide a platform for bipartisan discussions on the nation’s critical issues.

NCSL connects with legislators and staff year-round through strategies designed to build awareness of the organization’s services. The communications sent through NCSL’s print, digital and social media channels are complemented and reinforced by the outreach conducted by NSCL State Liaisons (NCSL staff assigned as a point of contact for every state) and the State Coordinators (legislators who serve as NCSL’s ambassadors in their chambers).

FY 22 Highlights

• NCSL Base Camp 2021: NCSL Base Camp brings together policy experts on a wide range of topic areas to educate policymakers and staff in an immersive, online setting. After a strong first appearance in 2020, NCSL’s signature online event returned in 2021 with more than 900 participants, largely legislative staff, from all states and territories and Washington, D.C. Base Camp has proven to be a highly impactful way for legislators and staff to benefit from policy and professional development sessions without requiring a trip to the airport.
• NCSL Legislative Summit: After a pandemic-forced 2020 cancellation, NCSL staff and members were thrilled to bring back the Legislative Summit in 2021. With the pandemic persisting in summer 2021, the decision was made to shift the meeting from Chicago in August to Tampa in November. With new strains of COVID-19 surfacing in the fall, attendance was about half of a typical Summit, with 2,867 attendees from 50 states and four territories. The legislators, staff and others who completed the Summit survey gave the event even higher marks than the very popular 2019 Summit in Nashville.
• The NCSL Leaders’ Center hosted four major leaders’ programs—two annual Leadership Symposiums, an Executive Leadership Education Program and an Emerging Leaders Program—attended by 165 leaders.
• Every 10 years, state legislative districts are redrawn after completion of the census. The NCSL Elections and Redistricting Program hosted a national seminar in July 2021 on redistricting with attendees from 38 states who learned from each other and the nation’s best minds on redistricting law and practice. NCSL’s “Redistricting Law 2020,” published in late 2019, was an invaluable resource for states as they navigated this complex, constitutionally mandated process.
• In October 2021, the NCSL Criminal and Civil Justice Program partnered with the National Center for State Courts to convene their first invitational meeting since the pandemic: The Young Adults in the Justice System Multi-Branch Meeting brought together teams of legislators and judges from eight states. The event achieved significant goals, including fostering important bipartisan connections between legislators—within teams and across states—and with the judiciary branch.
• The NCSL Health Program hosted five meetings in June 2022 on priority issues for legislators working on health issues. More than 100 legislators from across the country connected on maternal and child health, opioid overdose, health care costs and coverage, public health and other health priorities.
• The NCSL Transportation Program brought legislators and staff together with national road usage charging (RUC) experts in June 2022. Both groups left with new insights into the varied state efforts regarding RUC.
• The NCSL Legislative Staff Services program sponsored three in-person staff professional development seminars (sharply fewer than in pre-COVID years) with 224 staff in attendance. They also organized 20 online seminars with more than 2,175 in attendance.
• The NCSL State Policy Research Division held 40 in-person invitational policy meetings attended by more than 2,175 people and 34 policy webinars attended by more than 4,560 people.\
• The NCSL Leaders’ Center wrote many personal profiles of top leaders and articles on leadership races and positional duties. Additionally, the team produced a book with detailed biographies of all top leaders.
• With most capitols opening back up to the public for the 2022 legislative session, NCSL State Liaisons were eager to hit the road and visit with legislators and staff across the country. In all, NCSL State Liaisons visited 38 states and territories and met with more than 1,400 legislators and staff.
• Each year NCSL and the professional staff associations recognize individuals, offices and agencies who support and further the work and mission of legislative institutions across the nation. The 2021 Legislative Staff Awards included:
  • Fifteen outstanding current and former legislative staff, along with five legislative agencies, received the 2021 Legislative Staff Achievement Awards.
  • The Georgia General Assembly received the 2021 LINCS/NALIT Online Democracy Award, presented to a legislature for making its website democracy friendly.
  • Eleven legislative staff agencies and executive branch agencies received the 2021 Notable Document Award from the Legislative Research Librarians.
• Legislative Staff Get Ready for Session Week in December 2021 featured two staff-focused webinars reaching 481 legislative staff on the topics of answering research questions and presentation skills, and several State Legislatures News articles. The Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee debuted a new resource outlining how legislative staff can Excel with NCSL.
• NCSL’s 2022 Legislative Staff Week, May 2-6, served as a way to celebrate and recognize legislative staff and their many contributions to their legislature. The campaign included a “shoutout” element as a method to recognize staff, and during this fifth annual week, the Legislative Staff Week webpage received more than 3,590 visits and 789 shoutouts to recognize legislative staff from 46 states and two territories. In addition, more than 200 legislative staff registered for a webinar titled, “It’s Magic: How to Bring Rituals to Work in Turbulent Times,” and State Legislatures News published online articles about employee engagement, workplace wellness and other topics relevant to legislative staff.\
• The two largest-ever issues of State Legislatures magazine were published this year, with the summer issue focused on the future, including how the past informs the future when it comes to the legislative institution, the new voting landscape, the power of technology, the changing workforce and redistricting. The winter issue was fiscal-themed, with stories on historic relief funds and spending strategies for states, pandemic-related issues, cutting criminal justice budgets, cannabis and banking and cryptocurrency. The winter issue was a Platinum Award Winner, the highest level, in the 2022 MarCom Awards and earned a second place EXCEL Award from the Software & Information Industry Association (SIAA), considered the premier awards program honoring association media.
• Legislators and legislative staff now have a new resource to learn about issues and trends in legislatures. In FY 22, NCSL launched State Legislatures News (SLN) and published more than 530 articles spotlighting dozens of legislative staffers and legislative leaders, as well as myriad stories on policy topics ranging from election security to education to rural health. The editing team created two recurring features, “Across the Aisle,” which gives an in-depth look at bipartisan success stories, and “My District,” which focuses on Q&As with the leaders of a particular place, giving them a chance to highlight the elements that make their districts special. SLN has also spotlighted hundreds of legislative staffers in the “Staff Snapshots” feature.
• A new podcast featuring NCSL CEO Tim Storey launched during the year with 10 episodes of “Legislatures: The Inside Storey” released, featuring interviews with “Brain Rules” author John Medina, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter, the negotiators of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland in 1998 and former legislative leaders Mike Haridopolos and Peter Groff, among others. The “Our American States” podcast continued covering key policy issues, updates on federal actions on the states, elections and redistricting, and institutional issues. Both podcasts reached an estimated audience of 55,000.
• NCSL remains one of the media’s most trusted sources for policy information, with more than 42,600 media mentions across print, broadcast and online outlets.
• Staying informed on issues is critical to legislators and legislative staff. NCSL’s online subscription center offers many ways to gain knowledge and stay connected to NCSL updates and policy information. In this reporting period, NCSL distributed 348 organizational newsletters and 187 NCSL program (policy-focused) newsletters. More importantly, NCSL’s overall email open rate (measuring audience’s interest) increased by 8% in the past 12 months.

Advancing NCSL Internal Operations

While many NCSL staff worked tirelessly to support members directly, others worked with the same passion to strengthen and improve NCSL’s internal operations. From IT and facilities to human resources and more, there were countless priority projects in FY 22.

FY 22 Highlights

• NCSL’s new association management software, Fonteva, was launched in December 2019. COVID changed the world drastically three months later. All in-person meetings were canceled resulting in a delay in truly testing Fonteva’s full functionality. The 2021 Legislative Summit in Tampa provided the first opportunity to explore, problem-solve and execute a large meeting using Fonteva. It was successful thanks to many diligent NCSL staff.

NCSL transitioned to a new and improved human resource and payroll system, Paycom, in FY 22. NCSL’s Human Resources, Finance and Accounting teams successfully launched Paycom and provided training for all staff. Paycom has a better system interface and has proven to be easier to navigate and use than the previous system.

Ensuring Exemplary Finance and Accounting Practices

Responsible for ensuring the efficient financial management and financial controls necessary to support all business activities, NCSL’s finance and accounting department is key to the organization’s ability to carry out its mission.

FY 22 Highlights

• The Finance and Accounting team welcomed Alex Alavi as the new chief financial officer in January 2022 following the retirement of the previous CFO, Mary Wild, after 14 years of dedicated service. Alex brings extensive experience in financial analysis, budgeting, risk management, internal controls, investments, employee benefits, grants, information systems and process improvement. The team also added a finance manager to oversee revenue and a grant accountant to support NCSL’s federal and private grants. 
• NCSL’s annual audit was successful with a clean opinion issued. NCSL’s general fund ended FY 22 with a surplus resulting in NCSL having a positive fund balance and establishing a rainy day reserve. Dues collections were very strong, with 49 states, Washington D.C., and all territories paying dues. The Legislative Summit in Tampa also exceeded financial projections. The FY 2023 budget was approved at the spring Executive Committee meeting with a projected surplus of about $400,000.

NCSL 2021-25 Strategic Plan Progress

This plan sets a vision for the organization’s future while also providing a framework to guide organizational discussions and budget decisions. The plan was launched in summer 2021, and NCSL staff immediately began implementing key objectives. Strategic plan progress is highlighted below.

Launched NCSL Legislator Demographic Survey

The latest data is key to understanding how legislatures function and who works there. NCSL regularly surveys legislators, gathering up-to-date member data and examining changes in legislator demographics over time. The most recent NCSL Legislator Demographic Survey was launched in FY 21. The data will be analyzed in FY 23.

Provided Legislative Training for NCSL Staff

For the benefit of NCSL staff, the Legislative Training Institute provided more than 20 internal presentations, conducted trainings on the keys to effective presentations and consulted on external presentations prior to delivery.

Launched Legislative Video Resource Center

Launched in 2021, the VRC is a collection of recorded NCSL policy and professional development webinars in a platform that is easily searchable by category and topic. This new platform allows members to conveniently access NCSL’s library of high-quality content.

Created Tailored Training for Legislative Staff Leaders

In a joint effort with the NCSL Legislative Staff Services Program, the NCSL Leaders’ Center created specialty programming for an affinity group of staff serving in roles from chiefs of staff to leadership. Nineteen leadership chiefs attended the inaugural program and participated in subsequent virtual collaborations. A second in-person program is scheduled for summer 2022.

Enhanced State Liaison Program

NCSL staff researched and proposed a modified approach to the current state liaison system. The new approach involves hiring a full-time state liaison directly serving several states and will be implemented in early FY 23.

Created Strategy to Monitor State Engagement

An initial strategy and system for monitoring state engagement, based on several data points, was developed in FY 22 and will be refined in the next fiscal year.

Established New Brand Color Palette

NCSL staff consulted with a branding firm in spring 2022 and the resulting new brand color palette will be rolled out in FY 23.

Retired Negative Funds and Created Reserve Fund

NCSL successfully retired the negative fund balance and created a reserve fund in FY 22.

Increased Revenue from Advertising Sales

NCSL hired a new advertising sales specialist in spring 2022 who immediately began bringing in advertising revenue for the organization, including selling more NCSL web ads.

The NCSL Executive Committee approved a strategic plan that will guide NCSL for the next three years. With the guidance of the committee and the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee, those goals will be met. Moving forward, NCSL staff will build upon the significant accomplishments of FY 22, continually innovating and improving strategies to ensure legislators and staff receive the information, training and support needed to succeed in their roles. From trusted policy research, unbiased committee testimony and legislative-specific professional development to gathering legislators and staff for one of a kind online and in-person meetings, the organization's commitment to the legislative institution remains steadfast.