Resource Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee 2025 Winter Meeting

All NCSL Executive Committee, LSCC and NCSL Foundation meetings take place at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City unless otherwise noted.

Jan. 17, 2025 | Salt Lake A | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 1:30-3 p.m.

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. Report by NCSL CEO Tim Storey.
3. LSCC work group reports:
1. Professional Staff Association Officers.
2. Standing Committees.
3. Strategic Planning.
4. Artificial Intelligence.
4. LSCC subcommittee reports:
1. Legislative Institution.
2. Programs and Professional Development.
3. Information Technology, Social Media, E-Learning and Outreach.
4. NCSL 50th Anniversary.
5. Other business.

Legislative Institution Subcommittee

Goals and Responsibilities, Pursuant to the LSCC Bylaws

The Legislative Institution Subcommittee, in partnership with the other LSCC subcommittees as appropriate, may:

1. Develop a strategy to prepare LSCC members to perform their duties, including updating written materials and improving the orientation and mentorship programs.
2. Develop programs and materials to assist legislatures in dealing with institutional issues.
3. Serve as a repository for publications and other written materials produced by the LSCC related to institutional issues.
4. Review and update the publications and written materials described in Clause 3 on a regular basis.
5. Develop strategies and programs to promote legislative service as a career, including monitoring retention and recruitment issues impacting legislative staff service.
6. Develop strategies and programs to promote the value of both nonpartisan and partisan legislative staff in legislatures.
7. Identify, support and create opportunities to positively highlight and promote legislative staff activities and achievements to states' legislative leadership and to the public.

Staff Chair Goals, 2024-2025

1. Work with NCSL staff in the production of any NCSL 50th anniversary products to ensure legislative staff are included and highlighted as important and irreplaceable components in state legislatures and in the success story of NCSL.
2. Work with the staff chair and the IT Subcommittee to plan for the 2025 Legislative Staff Week.
3. Work with the IT Subcommittee to identify strategies to help introduce new legislative staff to NCSL.
4. Facilitate the ability of the RELACS Professional Staff Association to review and update the Legislative Litigation Toolkit accordingly with any new or updated litigation information since 2019.
5. Review the Guide for Writing a State Legislative Personnel Manual to ensure information is included on remote/hybrid work policy information and other HR issues that have developed since 2020.
6. Work in coordination with the NCSL Executive Committee Subcommittee on the Legislative Institution when and where appropriate on 50th anniversary events and endeavors.
7. Subcommittee leadership completes a report form following each LSCC meeting and submits it to the staff chair and the appropriate NCSL staffer(s) working with the subcommittee.

Programs and Professional Development Subcommittee

Goals and Responsibilities, Pursuant to the LSCC Bylaws

The Programs and Professional Development Subcommittee oversees the Legislative Staff Management Institute, the Legislative Staff Institutional Essentials program, the Young and New Professionals program, and other NCSL programs and services as appropriate. The subcommittee's oversight includes program development and evaluation, program review and renewal, selection criteria and processes, marketing efforts, and related recommendations to the LSCC. The subcommittee may:

1. Work with other LSCC subcommittees to promote the annual NCSL Legislative Summit and other NCSL programs and services.
2. Work with professional staff association officers, at their request, to review and promote professional development seminars.
3. Recommend speakers, programming and related marketing for LSCC-sponsored sessions at the Legislative Summit, including associated scheduling and program format issues.
4. Participate as appropriate to assist with other LSCC-sponsored learning opportunities.

Staff Chair Goals, 2024-2025

1. Evaluate the delivery and execution of the 2024 Legislative Staff Institutional Essentials (LSIE) program.
2. Work with the NCSL staff chair and NCSL staff regarding delivery and execution of the Legislative Staff Management Institute (LSMI) in 2024 and planning for the 2025 program.
3. Provide faculty recommendations for consideration for the Legislative Staff breakfast and the Legislative Staff University at the 2025 Legislative Summit.
4. Review 2024 NCSL Base Camp evaluations and provide programming recommendations for the 2025 NCSL Base Camp.
5. Review the database of professional development opportunities for legislative staff offered through NCSL to identify gaps and potential opportunities.
6. Review the selection rubrics and selection process for LSIE and LSMI.
7. Work with the Professional Staff Association Work Group to review the current uniform evaluation questions used for professional development seminars.
8. Subcommittee leadership completes a report form following each LSCC meeting and submits it to the staff chair and the appropriate NCSL staffer(s) working with the subcommittee.

Information Technology, Social Media, E-Learning and Outreach Subcommittee

Goals and Responsibilities, Pursuant to the LSCC Bylaws

The Information Technology, Social Media, E-Learning and Outreach Subcommittee may develop, monitor, oversee and promote the use of NCSL resources by state legislative staff. This includes:

1. Providing encouragement and assistance to NCSL professional staff associations to develop e-learning tools for the benefit of the professional staff association members throughout NCSL. Where appropriate the subcommittee shall assist professional staff associations to access resources to improve outreach, e-learning, social media and information technology programming.
2. Reviewing e-learning data reflecting participation levels and evaluations.
3. Guiding and reviewing, in partnership with the Programs and Professional Development Subcommittee, NCSL programs for state legislative staff professional education, such as:
   1. Introductory education regarding state legislatures to new and junior staff.
   2. Encouraging the participation of all staff in NCSL.
   3. Informing all state legislative staff of the value of NCSL and its programs for staff.
   4. Promoting legislative service as a career.
4. Developing outreach strategies, in partnership with the Programs and Professional Development Subcommittee, the NCSL marketing team and other NCSL outreach programs, that effectively communicate with state legislative staff and facilitate communications among state legislative staff.
5. Ensuring that electronic learning opportunities, the annual NCSL Legislative Summit, and learning and staff outreach opportunities are effectively promoted and marketed to staff.
6. Ensuring the efficacy and utility of information technology resources deployed by NCSL for state legislative staff use and that the information technology, e-learning, social media and outreach resources deployed by NCSL include a legislative staff focus and provide a benefit for legislative staff.

Staff Chair Goals, 2024-2025

1. Work in concert with other subcommittees on any NCSL 50th anniversary projects in areas that align with information technology, social media, e-learning or outreach.
2. Work with the staff chair and Legislative Institution Subcommittee to plan for the 2025 Legislative Staff Week.
3. Work with NCSL staff and relevant LSCC work groups, especially the Professional Staff Association and Standing Committee Work Groups, to evaluate the implementation of the Breezio platform and recommend improvements.
4. Develop a strategy to improve the NCSL website to allow new staff to more easily identify resources and ways to participate in NCSL.
5. Subcommittee leadership completes a report form following each LSCC meeting and submits it to the staff chair and the appropriate NCSL staffer(s) working with the subcommittee.

NCSL 50th Anniversary Special Subcommittee

Staff Chair Goals, 2024-2025

1. Work in concert with the NCSL Staff 50th Anniversary Steering Committee to create and implement 50th anniversary activities, commemorative items, and other anniversary-related program endeavors.
2. Collaborate with the Programs and Professional Development Subcommittee to facilitate a 50th anniversary-themed LSMI alumni-specific event.
3. Work in in coordination with NCSL staff to continue implementation of the Staff Chair Oral History Project, including coordination of professional video interviews at the 2025 Legislative Summit of past staff chairs, and adding new staff chair profiles each year. Develop recommendations for publication/archiving of interviews for benefit of legislative staff.
4. Work in coordination with the staff chair and the Professional Staff Association Officers Work Group to launch 50th Anniversary: Profiles in Service. The goal is to celebrate current and past staff association leaders and other legislative staff contributors to the associations by utilizing communication mediums such as newsletters, e-blasts, the NCSL website, social media platforms and/or other association communications throughout the anniversary year.
5. Support implementation of an “In Memoriam” session recognizing NCSL Executive Committee members, LSCC members and NCSL staff who passed away in the first 50 years of NCSL. The session will be held during the 2025 Legislative Summit.
6. Work with NCSL staff to review the Senior Staff Leadership Development Programs to explore 50th anniversary-specific engagement with the program.
7. Subcommittee leadership completes a report form following each LSCC meeting and submits it to the staff chair and the appropriate NCSL staffer(s) working with the subcommittee.

Professional Staff Association Officers Work Group

Goals and Responsibilities, Pursuant to the LSCC Bylaws

The Professional Staff Association Officers Work Group may:

1. Promote and assist in producing annual professional development seminars and virtual meetings for professional staff associations, including assistance in program planning and coordination.
2. Exchange ideas and share information with professional staff associations.
3. Develop strategies to support the operation of each professional staff association and communicate those strategies to the LSCC as necessary.
4. Promote professional staff association outreach and encourage involvement in professional staff association activities.

Staff Chair Goals, 2024-2025

1. Create or review the history section on each staff association webpage to update information and consider including appropriate highlights of association achievements where appropriate, etc. by December 2024.
2. Work in coordination with the 50th Anniversary Work Group, the staff chair and NCSL staff to launch 50th Anniversary: Profiles in Service. The goal is to celebrate current and past staff association leaders and other legislative staff contributors to the association by utilizing communication mediums such as newsletters, e-blasts, the NCSL website, social media platforms and/or other association communications throughout the anniversary year.
3. Work to include anniversary/celebratory related programing in upcoming staff association PDS meetings (specifically 2024 and/or 2025).
4. Work with NCSL staff and the IT Subcommittee to evaluate the implementation of the Breezio platform and recommend improvements.
5. Review implementation of the legislative staff exchange program and make recommendations for the future of the program.
6. Work with the PPD Subcommittee to review the current uniform evaluation questions used for professional development seminars.
7. Work group leadership completes a report form following each LSCC meeting and submits it to the staff chair and the appropriate NCSL staffer(s) working with the subcommittee.

Strategic Planning Work Group

Goals and Responsibilities, Pursuant to the LSCC Bylaws

1. The work group may develop, annually, a strategic plan that establishes goals and priorities which are consistent with the purposes of the LSCC, and which are to be accomplished in the following year, propose initiatives and programs suitable for accomplishing the goals and priorities, and suggest strategies for implementing the initiatives and programs.

Standing Committees Work Group

Goals and Responsibilities, Pursuant to the LSCC Bylaws

The Standing Committees Work Group may:

1. Promote legislative staff participation in the NCSL standing committees.
2. Monitor NCSL standing committee meetings.
3. Evaluate staff officer involvement and inclusion in NCSL standing committee activities.
4. Engage the standing committee staff officers at least quarterly to update the group on the activities of the LSCC.
5. Provide professional development opportunities for standing committee staff officers.
6. Develop outreach proposals, as needed, to encourage staff to serve on NCSL standing committees.
7. Relay the outreach proposals to the Subcommittee on Information Technology, Social Media, E-learning and Outreach for consideration.

Staff Chair Goals, 2024-2025

1. Work with NCSL staff, and the IT Subcommittee to evaluate the implementation of the Breezio platform and recommend improvements.
2. Identify strategies to ensure committee rosters remain current.
3. Review the effects of the recent expansion in the number of standing committees.
4. Work group leadership completes a report form following each LSCC meeting and submits it to the staff chair and the appropriate NCSL staffer(s) working with the subcommittee.

Artificial Intelligence Special Work group

Staff Chair Goals, 2024-2025

1. Evaluate the current understanding and technical capabilities of legislative staff regarding AI technologies.
2. Identify current uses of AI applications in legislative functions across various professional staff associations.
3. Identify current uses of AI in government and the private sector that may find application in the legislative environment.
4. Identify and develop specific use cases for AI applications that can improve efficiency, accuracy and accessibility within legislative processes.
5. Establish guidelines for the use of AI in legislative work to address concerns such as data privacy, bias, confidentiality and accountability.
6. Coordinate with the Professional Staff Association Work Group to gather input on current AI uses and initiatives.
7. Formulate policy recommendations based on findings to guide the integration of AI into legislative operations.
8. Produce a written document of the findings and recommendations of the work group.
9. Work group leadership completes a report form following each LSCC meeting and submits it to the staff chair and the appropriate NCSL staffer(s) working with the subcommittee.

Jan. 17, 2025 | Blue Spruce | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 9-10:30 a.m.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. Discussion of Breezio platform: Updates since Denver meeting.
1. Member engagement: Review of Denver discussion and any new issues or concerns to discuss.
2. MailChimp: Newsletters.
3. Staff association history pages: Updates.
4. Profiles in Service: Reminder and updates.
5. 50th anniversary PDS programming: Thoughts on ways to incorporate programming into 2025 PDS’s.
6. Other business.

Work Group Roster

Jan. 17, 2025 | Salt Lake E | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 9-10:30 a.m.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. Review new staff officer orientation materials.
3. Review outreach letter to staff directors.
4. Parliamentarian update.
5. Other business.

Work Group Roster

Vice Chairs

John Bjornson, North Dakota
Charlotte Carter-Yamauchi, Hawaii
Leslie Porter, Oregon
Anthony Sammons, Oklahoma

NCSL Liaisons

Molly Ramsdell (lead)
Kate Blackman

Jan. 17, 2025 | Juniper | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 9-10:30 a.m.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. Recap any current goals.
3. Brainstorm ideas to increase legislative staff involvement with NCSL (e.g., Excel With NCSL, consideration of “reviving” the legislative institution committee or track).
4. Brainstorm ideas on how to create personal touches for legislative staff, whether it’s a first-time Summit attendee or a new member appointed to a standing committee.
5. Other business.

Work Group Roster

Jan. 17, 2025 | Aspen | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 9-10:30 a.m.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. Guest presentation.
3. AI Task Force article discussion.
4. Survey review.
5. Other business.

Work Group Roster

Jan. 17, 2025 | Juniper | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. Publications.
1. Guide to Writing a Legislative Personnel Manual.
2. Legislative Litigation Toolkit.
3. 2025 Legislative Staff Week planning.
4. 50th anniversary updates.
5. Introducing new legislative staff to NCSL.
6. Other business.

Subcommittee Roster

Promoting Legislative Institutions

It has been a busy season for the Center for Legislative Strengthening (CLS). Throughout the late summer and fall, the team tackled a variety of research requests, presentations and special projects for our members. Artificial intelligence in the legislative environment continues to be a hot topic. Other topics the team handled included questions on seating of legislators, legislator demographics, legislator and staff compensation, legislative staff hiring and oversight, tied chambers and parliamentary procedure and rules. Between July 1 and Dec. 19, 2024, the team fielded 121 research requests.

In October, CLS staff presented on legislative use of AI to the Colorado Legislative Council Staff and at the international LegisTech AI in Parliaments event in Washington, D.C. Staff also provided a national perspective on the nature of legislatures at the South Carolina House Legal Continuing Education (CLE) meeting. In November, staff spoke at the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) Newly Elected Officials Convening at a session on legislative rules and parliamentary procedure. Additionally, CLS staff joined several of NCSL’s fall professional development seminars to provide sessions on AI, rules and procedures, the legislative process and to staff the Mason’s Manual Commission.

This fall, CLS published the Legislative Use of Artificial Intelligence 2024 Survey and launched a new survey in November to legislative IT directors and chief information officers to further NCSL’s understanding of the use of AI by legislatures. The 2025 session calendar on ncsl.org will be updated regularly to reflect which states are in session. CLS also released a piece on strategies to recruit top talent and a Map Monday feature on parliamentary manuals.

NCSL Base Camp

A highlight of the fall was the team’s NCSL Base Camp session, titled “State Legislatures Eras Tour,” which provided a decade-by-decade highlight reel of the major events and topics that dominated the focus of state legislatures since the birth of NCSL in 1975. As part of NCSL Base Camp, CLS staff also facilitated a session called “Leading with Civility,” featuring Emily Dickens, chief of staff for the Society of Human Resources Management, as well as “AI Tools for the Legislative Workplace.”

Currently, staff are developing session proposals for the 2025 Summit in Boston.

Training, Professional Development and Special Projects

The team wrapped up several special projects started earlier in the year, including a consulting project on staffing structures, classification and compensation and a study project regarding legislative staff collective bargaining efforts. CLS also lent its expertise on legislatures and representative democracy to a legislature working on a civics initiative for capitol visitors. Team members serve as the state liaisons to Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and are actively conducting outreach to new legislators and staff while planning for 2025 state visits.

 Personnel

Our summer and fall intern, Tobin Lindstrom, wrapped up his work on legislative interims. NCSL will publish two pieces he composed after the New Year. CLS is grateful for Lindstrom’s hard work and contributions.

Jan. 17, 2025 | Aspen | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. 2024 LSIE report.
3. LSIE and LSMI selection rubric discussion.
4. 2024 LSMI budget.
5. Summit schedule update.
6. Summit speaker update.
7. Other business.

Subcommittee Roster

Introduction

The 2024 Legislative Staff Institutional Essentials program, conducted in October and November, drew 70 participants from 28 states and the District of Columbia, 68 of whom completed the course and earned their certificates and digital badges.

The program was organized into five required modules and two bonus modules addressing the following topics:

1. Oct. 17: Module No. 1 | Legislative Institution. 
2. Oct. 23: Bonus session No. 1 | Parliamentary Procedure | Networking.
3. Oct. 24: Module No. 2 | Model Code of Conduct (featured NCSL Staff Chair John Snyder).
4. Oct. 31: Module No. 3 | Fiscal Procedures/Budgeting 101.
5. Nov. 5: Bonus session No. 2 | Emotional Intelligence | Networking.
6. Nov. 7: Module No. 4 | Clear and Connected Communication.
7. Nov. 14: Module No. 5 |Cultivating Your Craft: Principles of Being an Effective Staffer.

A closing session on Dec. 5 featured speakers from the cohort as well as remarks from Carrie Maulin, director of NCSL’s Legislative Staff Services Program, and Sabrina Lewellen, NCSL’s immediate past staff chair.

LSIE 2024 program graduates received their digital badges via Credly in early December.

Evaluation Results

The overall program evaluation asked participants 12 questions. They were:

1. Did the program meet your expectations? Why or why not?
2. How much training did you receive prior to the program in each of the five core competencies?
3. How important are the five core competencies to your career in the legislature?
4. Did this program inspire you to continue your legislative career?
5. If yes, why? If no, why not?
6. What topics or areas of legislative training would be valuable to staffers just starting their career in the legislature?
7. Did you gain insights from other states or share your insights from your state? If yes, was this new information valuable to your legislative work?
8. How should the program be carried out in the future?
9. How did you feel about the time commitment?
10. Has your participation changed your understanding of NCSL’s role or the services it provides?
11. How likely are you to recommend this program to a colleague?
12. Please provide any additional feedback.

The complete results can be found in the Evaluation Report.

Course Competencies

Participants indicated how much training they had received in each of the five core competency areas prior to participation in LSIE on a scale of 1 (no training) to 5 (substantial training).

1. Smoother + Simpler Communication: 3.0.
2. Cultivating Your Craft: Principles of Effective Legislative Staffers: 2.95.
3. Our American Legislatures: 2.91.
4. The Model Code of Conduct for Legislative Staff: 2.68.
5. Budgeting 101: 2.44.

They ranked the modules on a scale of 1 to 5 in order of perceived importance to participant careers:

1. Clear, Connected Communication: 4.59.
2. The Model Code of Conduct for Legislative Staff: 4.56.
3. Cultivating Your Craft: Principles of Effective Legislative Staffers: 4.52.
4. Our American Legislatures: 4.11.
5. Budgeting 101: 3.68.

They rated each on a scale of 1 to 5 in the optional post-module evaluations as follows:

1. Budgeting 101: 4.55.
2. Our American Legislatures: 4.50.
3. The Model Code of Conduct for Legislative Staff: 4.32.
4. Clear, Connected Communication: 4.28.
5. Cultivating Your Craft: Principles of Effective Legislative Staffers: 4.26.

Effect on Legislative Career

Participants were also asked to indicate the degree to which participation in the LSIE program made it more likely that they would continue their legislative career on a scale of 1 (no impact) to 5 (very likely). The average response to this question was 3.41, compared with a 3.4 last year and a 3.25 in 2022. Half of the participants selected either a 4 or 5. Similarly, 49% of 2023 participants selected a 4 or 5. In 2022, 43% did. Several noted that they attended the program because they were committed to the legislature long term.

Program Format

While the program in its current online format has the support of nearly 60% of respondents, another 42% would prefer to meet in person for at least some portion of the program. This differs slightly from last year’s evaluations, when about 50% felt an in-person component would be more valuable to future participants.

More than three-quarters of participants preferred the current model with five mandatory modules and two bonus sessions, one of which could be substituted for a mandatory module. This change was made based on last year’s feedback: 40% of 2023 participants recommended including an additional module for flexibility.

Net Promoter Score

Responses to the question, “How likely are you to recommend this program to a colleague?” result in a “net promoter” score. This score is considered the gold standard of customer experience metrics and allows for measuring year-over-year improvement. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 indicating the attendee is extremely likely to recommend LSIE to a colleague, 72% of attendees selected a 9 or 10, with an average score of 8.47. The net promoter score was 45, which ranks as “Great,” compared with last year’s: 26.7 (“Good”).

Participant Comments

Below is a selection of comments from throughout the evaluation:

• Because I left each module of the LSIE program encouraged about the value that my work can potentially have for legislators, legislative staff and members of the public, the program has made it very likely that I will pursue a legislative career for the long term.
• Participation in the program has given me career support I can’t find anywhere else. It’s so specific to what I do. I don’t think there is another organization that can offer this kind of career development.
• I talked with a lot of nonpartisan staff which was eye-opening as somebody who has only ever been a partisan staff member. I enjoyed hearing about what their “stressors” at work are and how they communicate differently with legislators.
• My participation in the LSIE program has broadened my understanding of the types of resources NCSL provides. I previously viewed NCSL’s role as primarily compiling data and procedures across a variety of state legislatures for informational and comparative purposes, but I now understand NCSL also seeks to provide training resources for a variety of areas of professional development for legislative staff, even including resources in subject matter areas, such as emotional intelligence, in which I had not previously received any training before beginning my employment at the legislature. Now that I know about the variety of resources and learning opportunities NCSL provides, I look forward to continuing to consult available NCSL resources and participating in NCSL events where possible so I can develop the skills necessary to become a more effective legislative staffer.
• Hearing how colleagues from other states have navigated crises, what they have relished as success and how they’ve recovered from failure has given me context for my experience.
• In the communication module, other staffers and I discussed the need to understand our target audience and always strive to use communication styles and methods that best suit the listener. I shared a method where I’ve kept a list of all the legislators I communicate with and the best methods for reaching out to them to help ensure the maximum chance of receiving a response.
• I think the value of the program comes down to the people I met, more than the material covered. Which probably seems strange. However, having the ability to talk to folks doing the same sorts of jobs was extremely energizing. It was great to hear about different approaches to the same issues and to interact with so many other energized participants.
• Participating in the program has made it more likely that I will pursue a long-term legislative career because the program made a point to both provide information that legislative staffers should have and impress upon us why having dedicated legislative staffers is so important to having a successful democracy. While the information provided was helpful in cultivating greater knowledge, the program also made me think about how important the work we do is. The program reinforced my feeling of responsibility to my community and my conviction that the impacts of the work we do go far beyond just us.
• I learned from other program participants about their varying roles. For example, some drafted fiscal notes, some were lawyers, others were legislative assistants. These are not groups I regularly interact with. I also appreciated hearing about their different communication styles. I was made aware that the way I best like to communicate is not the most common. This will help me as I communicate with my coworkers, legislators, the public and our session staff.
• It was helpful for me to commit to my goals publicly in front of other staff in the breakouts. It re-energized me.
• In the communication module I saw that people can communicate vastly differently than I do. It showed me different ways people’s brains operate and will allow me to interact with other staffers/delegates more effectively. I can take greater consideration into how they may process information differently than I do and cater my questions/answers to their line of thought.
• The breakout sessions were very valuable. This allowed me to learn what others think and do in their office. The information exchange was probably the best part of the course. It is nice to learn what other states are doing.
• The program was very motivational in that it reminded me that even though I mostly know what I’m doing now in my position, there are always ways to grow and learn new things. In completing some of the pre-work, I had to ask other staff members about different topics, and they were more than happy to explain what they do or the knowledge they had on the subject. I know I can turn to them in the future for help, guidance or information.
• I will say the model code of conduct definitely helped me focus on remembering why I am considering this long term, particularly in focusing on the value of public service.
• LSIE has made it more likely that I will pursue a long-term legislative career because it showed me the immense levels of support available for legislative staff (through NCSL or connections with other state staff) and provided a space where I was surrounded with other like-minded individuals who believe in the promise of representative government and who envision dedicating their life to public service.
• By identifying my values and goals, committing to a short- and long-term timeline towards improvement and achievement of my goals, and sharing these values and goals with other participants who were also committed to providing effective services to each of their state legislatures, I felt a sense of support and community that motivated me to move forward confidently towards my continued professional development at the State of Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau into the 2025 legislative session.
• The program bolstered my understanding of how important it is to have effective, motivated legislative staffers. It’s a great feeling to be part of the engine that runs a machine that’s so important to our country and its principles. It’s also so cool to be in such a unique role and be among like-minded, smart, creative individuals who feel the same way.
• The bill-drafting tips from another participant were great. And I’m very good at public speaking and gave someone advice on how to effectively prepare for public speaking.
• Getting to talk with people who understand what it is like to be a new staffer was great. I hadn’t realized how many different types of positions there could be in a legislature and how other states combine roles differently. It also opened my eyes to see ways that my state could do things better and made me grateful for things I did not know I was grateful for.
• I have a better understanding of the importance of legislative staff. We are a unique group of people that have very important jobs. That uniqueness was understood and celebrated in the modules.
• With every kindness, this program should likely be offered only to staff with less than two years of experience. I came into the program with a growth mindset and took away as much as possible but having worked in this position for three years now, many of the topics covered were very familiar to me. This would have been incredible if it was closer to the beginning of my career.
• I loved the course and appreciated being selected to take the course. It was lovely hearing from all the speakers and the perspective of everyone else in my cohort. Throughout the entirety of the course everyone was respectful, informed and willing to participate. Especially having people from different backgrounds, parts of the country, and different roles.

 Recommendations and Conclusion

Based on these comments and others, there are some recommendations worth considering for future iterations of this program.

• Application process:
  • Scoring rubric: I think we should consider awarding full points for years of experience to legislative staff with fewer than three years of experience. Based on comments in the past two program evaluations, I think the sweet spot for this program is new/newer staff (i.e., less than three years) rather than one to three years. I also don’t think the member state criteria is significant.
  • Statement of interest: I would recommend requiring the director’s signature on the statement of interest, which would likely increase the quality of statements and ensure the director is aware of both the application and time commitment. And I would suggest expanding the ratings scale for the statement from four points to five points.

• Curriculum:
  • Assuming the program will continue to be offered as 100% online, continuing it with a single cohort is easier on both participants and faculty. Consider condensing the program from five weeks to three weeks so that participants complete the program earlier in November. (Scheduling conflicts are more common post-election.)
  • Continue the deep dives on a couple of topics for bonus sessions, e.g., more on legislative process and procedure, decorum, bill drafting, intricacies of budgeting.
  • Incorporate more specifics on NCSL in the context of each session and/or a bonus Q&A session on how to use the NCSL website, resources, associations and staff for research and best practices.
    
    
• Marketing:
  • Should emphasis be on newer legislative staff who are also newer in their careers (versus some staff who are new to the legislature but mid-career)?
  • Breakouts: The feedback this year regarding breakouts was far more positive. I suspect this is because of these tweaks to the program this year:
    • Job-specific breakout groups following each bonus session.
    • Limited size of breakout groups: three or four participants each.
    • Limited number of breakouts: no more than three per module.
      
      
• Networking:
  • Continue communications via Breezio group throughout the year, highlighting relevant NCSL resources and opportunities.
  • Add alums to YNP list (in progress) and market the YNP reception at the Legislative Summit as an opportunity to connect with fellow LSIE alums.
  • Budget permitting, organize another in-person LSIE alum gathering at the Summit. (This year, an early meet-and-greet with coffee and donuts drew about 15 attendees from the 2022-2024 programs.)
  • Encourage participants to connect with each other on LinkedIn.

The goal of the Legislative Staff Institutional Essentials program is to encourage newer staff to continue their career with the legislature, and the evaluation results indicate this year’s program was successful in providing participants with the necessary information, tools and support–and in introducing or reinforcing the value of NCSL to legislative staff.

Jan. 17, 2025 | Blue Spruce | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. 2024 Summit recap.
3. 2024 meetings report.
4. 2025 Summit schedule overview.
5. Other business.

Subcommittee Roster

The 2024 Legislative Summit in Louisville was a true success by nearly every metric. Here are some data points on the event:

• 5,584 people registered for Summit, exceeding our goal by more than 750 registrants.
  • 808 legislators registered, with an almost even split between Republicans and Democrats.
  • 941 legislative staff registered.
  • Registrants included both legislators and legislative staff from all 50 states, D.C., and two territories.
  • 700 registrants represented NCSL Foundation sponsors.
• More than 700 attendees replied to the post-Summit satisfaction survey.
  • A whopping 84% of respondents said they plan to attend another Summit in the future.
  • 75% of legislators said they learned more about policy issues and over half of the legislators said they are considering legislation based on an idea from the Summit.
  • Over 70% of legislative staff highlighted professional development and networking as top takeaways.
• We sold 98.5% of Exhibit Hall space to 270 exhibitors.
• While we are still reconciling the books, we expect the Summit to prove a strong financial success. We anticipate expenses to be in line with budget, while we exceeded our revenue expectation by about $640,000, (hopefully) netting more than $1.5 million for the general fund.

There are a lot of folks who deserve credit for putting on such an amazing Summit, and I want to shoutout a few of them:

• The Kentucky Legislature host committee, led by President Robert Stivers and Speaker David Osborne, along with their staff leaders, Jay Hertz and Teresa Arnold, could not have been more hospitable. Their army of volunteers made everyone feel welcome, and their social events were phenomenal. They got numerous shoutouts on the Summit survey.
• Our event sponsors, including NCSL Foundation sponsors, gave us the resources to put on this growing Summit.
• The NCSL staff did a great job building an agenda of engaging sessions and a roster of top speakers.
• And of course, the guidance from you, our Executive Committee members, over the course of the last year as we heard your priorities and ideas to make Summit a success.

Of course, there are always ways to improve. We heard several comments regarding the convention center’s meals and signage, that we are looking to mitigate in Boston. Some policy sessions proved too introductory for some of our members, and we are challenging ourselves to go deeper in Boston. And as our Summit attendance numbers increase, we are looking for creative ways to help the Summit feel small, approachable and relevant.

Jan. 17, 2025 | Salt Lake A | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. Review: 2024-2025 staff chair goals.
3. Review: Special 50th edition of State Legislatures magazine.
4. Discussion: Recognition and engagement of past officers at Legislative Summit.
5. Discussion: 50th anniversary LSMI alumni event.
6. Update: Profiles in Service project.
7. Discussion: In Memoriam project.
8. Other business.

Work Group Roster

Jan. 17, 2025 | Brighton | Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City | 12:15-1:15 p.m.

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions.
2. NCSL Groups (Breezio platform) follow up and discussion.
3. Other business.

Professional Staff Association Officers Work Group

Chair: Matt Gehring, Minnesota
Vice Chair: Kirk Fulford, Alabama
Cyrus Anderson, Wisconsin
Anthony Aycock, North Carolina
Danielle Baker, Louisiana
Jacque Bland, West Virginia
Taylor Bower, Colorado
Dana Combs, New Jersey
Drew Dickinson, Virginia
Brett Ferguson, Texas
Johnathan Harris, Kentucky
Donna Robinson Holiday, Kentucky
Rob Hunt, Maine
Michelle O’Brien, Idaho
Tim Powers, Alaska
Jennifer Sebren, Mississippi
Joe Triem, Montana
Shay Wilson, Alaska

Information Technology, Social Media, E-Learning and Outreach Subcommittee

Chair: KC Norwalk, Indiana
Vice Chair: Johnathan Harris, Kentucky
Cyrus Anderson, Wisconsin
Anthony Aycock, North Carolina
Taylor Boyer, Colorado
Brett Ferguson, Texas
Terri Kondeff, Idaho
Cody Malloy, North Dakota
Cliff McCollum, Alabama
Claudia Méndez Morales, Puerto Rico
Tim Powers, Alaska
Anthony Sammons, Oklahoma
Tim Sekerak, Oregon
Will Tracy, Arkansas
Andrea Wilko, Utah
Shay Wilson, Alaska

NCSL Liaisons

Victor Vialpando-nuñez (lead)
Carrie Maulin
Molly Ramsdell
Bryan Thomas

Oct. 19, 2024 | NCSL William Pound Building | Denver

The following officers and members were present:

Officers

• John Snyder, NCSL staff chair, Kentucky
• Lonnie Edgar, NCSL staff vice chair, Mississippi
• Sabrina Lewellen, immediate past NCSL staff chair, Arkansas

LSCC Members

• John Bjornson
• Jacque Bland
• Tom Bottern
• Taylor Boyer
• Natalie Castle
• Brett Ferguson
• Miriam Fordham
• Kirk Fulford
• Matt Gehring
• Leah Goldman
• Johnathan Harris
• Aurora Hauke
• John Heining
• Rob Hunt
• Cody Malloy
• Claudia Méndez Morales
• Michelle O'Brien
• Leslie Porter
• Jill Reinmuth
• Anthony Sammons
• Anne Sappenfield
• Tim Sekerak
• Shunti Taylor
• Betsy Theroux
• Will Tracy
• Joe Triem
• Erica Warren
• Rachel Weiss
• Andrea Wilko
• Shay Wilson
• Brad Young

Staff Chair John Snyder welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending. Introductions followed.

NCSL CEO Report

Tim Storey welcomed LSCC members to NCSL headquarters and updated them on professional development meetings held since Summit. All were well attended; two associations have yet to hold theirs, LINCS and LSPA, which will be held at the NCSL headquarters building the Monday after the LSCC meeting. He thanked the Kentucky LSCC members for their support of the Summit, which saw 5,572 registrants—a 10% increase over Indianapolis that brought in strong revenue that helps to support NCSL operations. Reconciliation is ongoing, so final numbers won’t be available until the meeting in Salt Lake City in January. Legislative staff attendance at Summit increased to 941 in Louisville compared to 865 in Indianapolis. Dues payments continue to be strong, as 70% of chambers have paid currently. Upcoming for NCSL is the virtual NCSL Base Camp, which, Storey said, typically receives strong attendance from both legislative staff and legislators, with over 1,000 registered at this time.

Professional Staff Association Work Group

Matt Gehring (Minnesota) reported that the work group led with introductions and discussion of 2025 goals. The staff association history project for the 50th anniversary was discussed with updates from each group’s progress by the December 2024 deadline. Work continues, but all are on track for completion. The Profiles in Service project instructions were given to all staff associations, and they are choosing their nominations; nominees should be people not featured in other areas and who have been contributing members. This program is a vision of Sabrina Lewellen’s to recognize legislative staffers from around the country during the 50th anniversary celebration who were particularly instrumental in supporting state legislatures over the tenure of NCSL. Names will be submitted to the selection committee, and those selected will be interviewed and featured on the NCSL website along with being featured in social media posts.  

Discussion on the Breezio platform was held with topics to bring to a joint meeting today with the IT Subcommittee and NCSL IT staff. The joint meeting is an effort to identify areas of concern with Breezio and to collaborate on possible improvements. Next, two subcommittees were created to look more closely at the Legislative Staff Exchange program and the uniform evaluation questions for professional development meetings. Those two groups will meet before Salt Lake City to report at the winter meeting. An area of concern for the professional staff associations is fundraising and keeping meetings affordable. Association officers would like to continue this conversation and felt the report on the strength of NCSL’s budget could be helpful in this area.

Standing Committee Officers Work Group

Miriam Fordham (Kentucky) and Andrea Wilko (Utah) reported that the work group started off with an icebreaker activity and then reviewed the 2024-2025 goals. The first agenda item discussed was brainstorming ideas to increase engagement by creating a Breezio channel for standing committee chairs to communicate through. Keeping the current committee rosters up to date was discussed, as was establishing further committees. A staff officer survey was sent to 40 people, and 21 responded. Participant satisfaction was again 8 out of 10, the same as last year, and the average number of years of service was 12, which is a decrease from previous years. There was general satisfaction with their relationship with NCSL, but some felt there could be improvement in the relationships between legislators and officers of other committees. There is confusion about what the staff chairs do, with suggestions that they be tapped more often as speakers for meetings and/or sessions. They would like to change the timeline of appointment for these positions so that incoming chairs can meet in person at Summit. Summit statistics were summarized: 900 staff attended Summit, 495 of them are active in NCSL, and 112 of those are members of the standing committees. This provides an opportunity to engage 442 people in this area. The question of how to get more people involved was brought up as well as discussion of how to reach younger staff to get a new generation involved.

Strategic Planning Work Group

Lonnie Edgar (Mississippi) reported that the work group opened with an icebreaker and followed with a review of staff chair goals.  Using the 50th anniversary energy as an opportunity, discussion was had on how to look at the next 50 years of engagement with NCSL. How to connect with and engage younger and newer legislative staff, and how to meet their needs was a topic. The state liaison program was discussed and how to get state liaisons more involved with legislative staff in their states.

Artificial Intelligence Special Work Group

Jon Heining (Texas) introduced a presentation from NCSL’s Will Clark about the use of AI in legislative chambers with key points including data that 20% of legislative staff are using some form of generative AI in their work while 72% of offices lacked an AI usage policy. The group would like to conduct another survey that polls for AI best and worst practices.  It would also like to specifically learn from NALIT and RELACS about their experiences and concerns about job displacement, data security, and maintaining an authentic voice in writing. Current use of AI includes automated transcription, HR application filtering and real-time closed captioning, with potential uses being automating constituent feedback, drafting legislation and flagging conflicting code. Next steps for the work group are survey question drafting, engagement of private sector partners and collecting AI policies. There was also a discussion of the degree to which the use of AI-generated information should be made transparent to consumers.

Legislative Institution Subcommittee

Chair John Bjornson (North Dakota) reported that the subcommittee held an icebreaker activity and followed with a review of the previous year’s work and subcommittee goals. The subcommittee discussed NCSL’s 50th anniversary celebration and how staff associations may have incorporated that into their annual PDS’s, and how to elevate anniversary celebrations at PDS’s in the coming year. Next was discussion of Legislative Staff Week, which occurs in May, and what elements can be added to the week on top of the webinars and other existing activities. How to introduce new legislative staff to NCSL by creating a toolkit or other document—such as a one-page—as well as hosting a landing page for new staff on the NCSL website for folks to learn how to become involved, were offered as ideas. Bjornson also stressed the importance of LSCC members helping newer staff to become involved with NCSL. The last topic, and one of the largest responsibilities of this subcommittee, is to review NCSL publications. The Legislative Litigation Toolkit needs to be reviewed by attorneys, potentially from RELACS, and is in process. The subcommittee noted the need to determine how to make legislative staff across the country aware of the resources NCSL has for their use.

Programs and Professional Development Subcommittee

Anne Sappenfield (Wisconsin) reported that the subcommittee had an update from NCSL on LSMI which was held in Denver last July, with NCSL taking a lead on planning and delivery for the first time since the contract with USC ended. The budget was reviewed and while not complete, it appears revenue will exceed expenses, and any excess funds will be rolled back into the program. There was a review of the full program evaluation and discussion of faculty and/or sessions that did not rank at the highest level, and the training team will be making improvements and modifications to these areas for the 2025 program. The subcommittee also reviewed feedback on legislative staff-specific sessions and the speakers hired to speak at Summit, specifically the Legislative Staff University, Salute to Legislative Staff and the Legislative Staff Breakfast. All these sessions ranked very high and were well received. There was a report on the Young and New Professionals group and its activities at Summit, which also were highly rated.  Coming up at the winter meeting, we’ll hear a report on LSIE, and the LSMI selection process. Rachel Weiss has agreed to gather ideas for topics and speaker recommendations to consider for the 2025 Summit. The timeline on this goal is short since Summit session planning begins in December 2024.

Information Technology, Social Media, E-Learning and Outreach Subcommittee

Jonathan Harris (Kentucky) reported that the subcommittee discussed issues experienced by staff association members and their liaisons on communicating with members. Previously, there was direct communication between liaisons and their members, now those messages are directed through the communications team. The associations would like a more direct communication option between the liaisons and the members to provide more timely information sharing.  There was discussion of liaisons having access to a communication tool themselves, rather than funneling to the communications team. There was discussion of having a new staff landing page to help drive engagement toward NCSL resources. There was also discussion of each association having an introductory document to send to new staff, and there was a request to be provided with a map of the NCSL website. Requests were made to provide information on the process for onboarding new staff into the NCSL system, and discussion about automating the exchange of staff information from states to NCSL. Also discussed was using an API for that information transfer and to be provided what is possible through NCSL systems. Lastly, a request was made to verify whether the NCSL Events app requires location tracking and photo sharing to function.

NCSL 50th Anniversary Special Subcommittee

Sabrina Lewellen (Arkansas) reported that the official kickoff of the NCSL 50th anniversary took place at Summit and the subcommittee received an update on activities to date. The official 50th anniversary webpage is functional and includes a video, interactive timeline, individual profiles, important articles and a special podcast series. To date, 37 states have adopted celebratory resolutions with the goal being 56. Upcoming, there will be a commemorative edition of State Legislatures magazine, a coffee table book, and continued work on the Staff Chair Oral History Project, the Profiles in Service project and the In Memoriam project.

Snyder expressed appreciation to everyone for traveling to Denver and for their service. He also stated he is looking forward to seeing everyone at the winter meeting in Salt Lake City. Meeting adjourned.