By Martha Salazar

It was 50 years ago—March 4, 1967—when  Indiana lawmakers passed a bipartisan measure and the governor signed into law HB 1005, establishing the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) and the Legislative Council to oversee the work of the LSA.

The agency provides technical support and services such as bill drafting, committee staffing, research, document processing, fiscal analysis, program evaluation, publication of legislative documents, technology services and other information to the General Assembly as needed.

Hoosier historians will note that the agency was established the same year Richard Hatcher became the state's first black mayor when he was elected in Gary and the Indiana Pacers were born as a franchise in the old American Basketball Association.

Over the past 50 years, Legislative Services Agency staff has grown from 25 to 99 bringing many years of experience to the table.

A quarter of the staff has served for more than 20 years and more than half have served for more than 10 years. A few staff members have served for more than 40 years, learning skills necessary to publish handbooks, the Indiana Register and the Indiana Administrative Code.

Others have been integral in learning the skills needed for printing bills, the Acts and the Indiana Code. Five individuals and two teams within LSA have received legislative staff achievement awards from NCSL.

Legislative Services Agency staff has drafted an average of 7,289 bills, amendments, motions and committee reports in each of the last six years. In 2016 alone, the agency conducted analysis for and prepared 2,429 fiscal notes.

The creation of the Legislative Council 50 years ago, provided for bipartisan membership, and increased its authority from an advisory body to an agency with authority to appoint and oversee staff and perform other administrative functions for the General Assembly. The staff was given a separate name from the Legislative Council in 1978.

Since its inception, emphasis has been placed on nonpartisanship in LSA. The act authorized "the service and administrative agency of the General Assembly to assist it in the performance of its constitutional responsibilities as a separate and independent legislative branch of state government."

Martha Salazar is a program principal in NCSL's Institute for State Tribal Relations.

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