Research, Editorial, Legal and Committee Staff

Are you a legislative staff member looking to expand your network, enhance your skills, and stay updated on the latest legislative issues? Look no further! The Research, Editorial, Legal and Committee Staff association offers a vibrant community of peers dedicated to supporting and advancing legislative staff work nationwide.

If you are a legislative staff person with legal, committee, research or editing responsibilities, you're already a member and have access to:

• Networking Opportunities: Connect with colleagues from different states, share ideas and forge valuable relationships.
• Professional Development: Take advantage of workshops, seminars and resources tailored to legislative staff professionals.
• Legislative Insights: Stay informed about emerging legislative trends, best practices and policy developments.

Join RELACS!

1. Create an NCSL Profile: Click here to create your NCSL profile if you do not already have one.
2. Express Interest: click on the envelope on the left side of this screen to let RELACS know you are a legislative staff member eager to get involved.
3. Confirmation and Onboarding: Your NCSL liaison will reach out to confirm your membership and guide you through any onboarding processes.

For inquiries or assistance, feel free to reach out to RELACS Liaison, Kae Warnock.

Article I: Name

The name of this staff association is the Research, Editorial, Legal and Committee Staff (RELACS) of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Article II: Purposes

The purposes of this staff association are to:

A. Provide a national forum to recognize the contributions of research, editorial, legal, and committee legislative staff to the legislative process.

B. Provide professional development opportunities for these staff and conduct a professional development seminar for all staff (in-person or remote) individually or in conjunction with other NCSL staff associations.

C. Improve the quality and effectiveness of staff services to state legislatures, including committee staffing, legal work, bill drafting, code revision and publishing, editing, policy analysis, and research.

D. Enhance communication and information sharing among these staff through electronic communication, a newsletter, seminars, and other means of communication.

E. Offer a forum for discussion of how these staff can better serve their legislatures.

F. Promote participation by members of the staff association in the activities of NCSL.

Article III: Staff Association Membership

Membership in RELACS is limited to legislative staff. A person employed by a member legislature of NCSL to provide research, editorial, legal, and committee staff services is a member of the staff association. Members include committee staff, attorneys, paralegals, code revisors, editors, researchers, policy analysts, and others who are engaged in bill drafting, code revision or statutory publication, legal research, administrative rules review or compilation, litigation, topical and general research, policy analysis, legislative committee staffing and other relevant services to a member legislature.

Article IV: Executive Committee

A. The executive committee of the staff association is composed of the chair; vice-chair; immediate past chair; editor of the staff association newsletter; and eight directors.

B. The executive committee shall meet at least twice each conference period. The executive committee may meet at the call of the chair during the NCSL Legislative Summit, at the staff association professional development seminar, or in conjunction with other NCSL meetings or at such other times as a majority of the voting members of the executive committee shall agree. The executive committee may conduct its meetings by any means that allow all members to simultaneously communicate with all other members whether in-person or remote, including by telephone, video conference, or any similar method. A majority of the members of the executive committee constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

C. The executive committee shall:

D. The executive committee shall strongly encourage members of the staff association to apply for membership on the NCSL Executive Committee.

Article V. Officers

A. The officers of the staff association are the immediate past chair, chair, and vice-chair.

B. The chair serves a term of one conference period.

C. The vice-chair, who is also the chair-elect, is elected and serves as provided in article VI and becomes the chair in the next conference period. The vice-chair shall serve as the chair of the staff association awards committee.

D. The immediate past chair serves a single conference period term, which may be in addition to the two-term limit for directors.

E. The chair and vice-chair, or their designees, shall serve as the representatives of the staff association on the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee (LSCC) of NCSL and shall participate in the activities and projects of the committees of the LSCC to which they are assigned. If the chair or vice-chair is unable to attend a meeting of the LSCC, then the chair may appoint a member of the staff association to attend the meeting and represent the staff association.

Article VI. Nominations, Elections, and Vacancies

A.  No later than 90 days prior to the staff association business meeting, the chair shall appoint a nominating committee consisting of the immediate past chair who shall serve as chair of the nominating committee, the vice-chair, one director, and two other staff association members. The nominating committee shall select a slate of nominees, which it shall present at the staff association business meeting for the consideration of the membership. If the immediate past chair is unable to serve, then the executive committee shall appoint another person to chair the nominating committee.

B. The vice-chair is elected for a term of one conference period and automatically succeeds the following conference period to the office of chair to serve as chair for a term of one conference period.

C. Directors are elected for a term of two conference periods and may be re-elected for a second consecutive term. To the extent practicable, the eight directors must represent staff who provide research, editorial, legal, and committee services and who are members of the staff association, including committee staff, attorneys, paralegals, code revisors, editors, researchers, and policy analysts engaged in bill drafting, code revision or statutory publication, legal research, administrative rules review or compilation, litigation, topical and general research, policy analysis, legislative committee staffing, and other relevant services to member legislature.

D. If a vacancy arises in the office of chair, then the vice-chair shall assume the office of chair and serve the remainder of that term as acting chair. The acting chair shall then succeed to the office of chair the following conference period. If a vacancy arises in the office of vice-chair for reasons other than the vice-chair advancing to serve as acting chair, then a vacancy is created in the office of chair for the next conference period. In this case, the nominating committee must nominate a candidate for chair as part of the slate of nominees for the next conference period.

E. If a vacancy arises in the office of vice-chair, then the executive committee shall appoint a person from among the directors to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. However, the appointment is only as acting vice-chair, and does not include the chair-elect. At the next staff association business meeting, the acting vice-chair is eligible for election as chair, if there is a vacancy in the office of chair, or as vice-chair for the ensuing conference period.

F. If a vacancy arises in the office of director, then the chair, with the approval of the executive committee, shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term.

G. If vacancies arise in both the offices of chair and vice-chair, then the executive committee shall appoint from among the current directors and the immediate past chair an acting chair and an acting vice-chair, who shall serve the remainder of the terms. The acting chair and acting vice-chair are eligible to run for their respective offices at the next election and must be included on the slate presented to the membership at the next staff association business meeting.

H. If a member of the staff association is appointed to fill a vacancy as a director on the executive committee and the remainder of the term is one conference period or less, then the member remains eligible for election to two consecutive full terms. If the remainder of a term to which a member is appointed as a director is greater than one conference period, then the member is considered to have served one full term and is eligible for election to serve one additional term.

Article VII: Staff Association Business Meeting; Voting; Amendment of Bylaws

A. The staff association shall hold its staff association business meeting in conjunction with the NCSL Legislative Summit, or in conjunction with another meeting (in-person or remote) as deemed appropriate by the executive committee. The chair shall preside at the staff association business meeting, and the chair of the nominating committee shall conduct staff association elections. In the absence of the chair, the vice-chair shall preside.

B. Legislative staff who are eligible for membership in the staff association are eligible to vote. Business that requires approval of the staff association requires approval of a majority of the staff association members attending the staff association business meeting.

C. An amendment to these bylaws requires a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting during the staff association business meeting at which the amendment is presented. The amendment must be submitted to the executive committee at least 30 days before the staff association business meeting at which it is to be considered for the purpose of review and the executive committee’s recommendation to the staff association.

D. The members of the staff association shall be notified of proposed amendments to the staff association bylaws through the staff association newsletter, on the staff association web page, on listservs, or through e-mail announcements to all members on the membership list. The notification shall be provided at least 15 days before the staff association business meeting and must include a copy of the current bylaws and of all proposed changes. The staff association must consider all amendments that are properly submitted and noticed as provided in this article at the staff association business meeting. Unless otherwise stated, approved amendments to the bylaws take immediate effect.

E. The executive committee may call a special meeting of the full membership to take up issues relating to the amendment of bylaws at the staff association professional development seminar.

F. The staff association’s conference period begins on adjournment of the staff association business meeting and continues until the adjournment of the following staff association business meeting.

Adopted 8/11/2016; amended 8/1/2022.

The Cultivation of RELACS

By Wendy Jackson and Kae Warnock

A seed

In 1975, a group of dedicated legislative legal services and research staff planted a seed for what would become the Research, Editorial, Legal, and Committee Staff Association. This initiative began with the NCSL Special Committee on Legislative Staff Organization, which aimed to develop training programs and professional networks for legislative staff. This committee, which met for two years, helped NCSL develop staff training programs and professional networks, including what were at that time "staff sections."

Roots

By 1976, the Legal Services Staff Section was established to support all types of legal staff, including attorneys, legal researchers, and bill drafters. Initially, LSSS held a few seminars in the mid-1970s and adopted bylaws in 1982. However, not until 1987 did they launch a long-standing annual program focusing on senior bill drafting seminars in collaboration with universities. These seminars continued for a decade before expanding to cover a broader range of topics.

In 1977, the General Legislative Services Staff was created to provide a professional network for researchers, legislative analysts, and committee staff. By 1983, GLSS was renamed the Research and Committee Staff Section. The formation of RACSS was inspired by a growing tradition of informal meetings among legislative council and agency directors at the NCSL Annual Meeting. RACSS adopted bylaws in 1979 and began formally presenting programs at NCSL meetings. By 1994, RACSS started holding annual professional development seminars.

Stems

By 1998, LSSS and RACSS began holding joint meetings every few years. It became clear that many attendees, particularly lawyers who worked as drafting attorneys or committee staff, were members of both groups.

In 2004, legislative editors, who had found a home in LSSS, held their first professional development seminar. By 2012, LSSS and RACSS started cohosting annual meetings, offering separate training tracks for legal staff, committee and research staff, and editors. The similarities in their programming led officers to consider forming a combined association.

As joint meetings became more regular, the overlapping needs and areas of both groups became apparent. The costs of holding separate in-person meetings were also becoming unsustainable, and both groups shared the same NCSL liaison. This led to serious discussions about merging the two associations.

The chairs and vice chairs of the two groups were four women dedicated to making certain their staff associations were strong and prepared for the future. Part of building that strength turned out to be a strong commitment to create one staff association designed to serve all members: researchers, editors, attorneys, and committee staff. Throughout 2015, the officers met frequently to discuss operating costs, the framework for a merged association and the foundational document, the bylaws.

Leaves

Before the merger could be presented and voted on by the executive committees of LSSS and RACSS, and then by the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee, one crucial task was to draft bylaws to represent the merged membership. This involved ensuring that the new executive committee members would have roles that fairly represented the entire group. The bylaws also needed to include provisions for transitioning from two executive committees and four LSCC members to one executive committee and two LSCC members. The founders of RELACS meticulously worked through more than 15 drafts before finalizing the document for adoption.

Once the bylaws were finalized, the founders presented them along with a formal rationale for the merger to their respective groups and then to the LSCC. Key points of the rationale included:

• Many RACSS members, especially attorneys who staffed committees and conducted legal research or served as legislative counsel, also participated in LSSS.
• Many active LSSS members, usually attorneys, were also committee staff but missed networking opportunities with peers who served committees.
• Strong overlap existed in subject-area expertise among drafting attorneys, committee counsel and legal researchers. 
• LSSS included legislative editors and proofreaders and had developed a training track for these staff. Similarly, research editors sought training and networking opportunities.
• LSSS and RACSS had been cohosting successful professional development seminars every year since 2012 and every two to three years for more than a decade prior.
• Despite successful joint meetings, RACSS had not seen a significant increase in registrations in five years, while meeting costs had risen. A merger would facilitate joint program planning and marketing, reducing meeting overhead costs by $2,500 per year (as of 2015).
• Although the two groups shared the same NCSL legislative liaison, the merger would not affect the staffing but would present several efficiencies.

The founders circulated a survey to all LSSS and RACSS members to gather feedback on the merger, which was overwhelmingly positive. They also engaged in conversations with key members of both groups to seek advice and ultimately gain support.

The Blossom

In early spring 2016, the executive committees of LSSS and RACSS approved the bylaws changes and merger. By May 2016, the full LSCC had also approved these changes and agreed to the merger. Finally, in August 2016, at the first annual business meeting of RELACS, the bylaws were adopted, and the name "Research, Editorial, Legal, and Committee Staff Association" was officially codified. The enthusiastic slogan "RELACS, we got this!" was also embraced.

Pollination

Since 2016, RELACS has hosted seven professional development seminars across the nation. Although in-person meetings were paused in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RELACS adapted by offering over a dozen webinars. These webinars covered a range of topics, including:

• Conducting committee meetings via Zoom.
• Paperless editing technologies developed during the pandemic.
• Emergency powers and legislative oversight.
• U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
• The ADA's impact on accessible legislatures.
• Adapting written reports for online viewing.
• How to read and evaluate research.

Wendy Jackson is administrative services manager at the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. Kae Warnock is a senior policy specialist at NCSL.

The RELACS Executive Committee represents its membership of research, editing, legal, bill drafting, code revision and publishing, policy analysis, and committee staff.

Committees

Program Planning Committee

The committee identifies session content and activities for RELACS sessions at the NCSL Legislative Summit, the fall Professional Development Seminar and webinars. This committee also locates speakers, and conducts other tasks that contribute to the success of the Research, Editorial, Legal, and Committee Staff meetings and webinars.

Chair Rich Olsen (West Virginia)

Vice Chair: Matt Duehning (Oklahoma)

PDS Host State Chair: Anne Sappenfield (Wisconsin)

• Anne Sappenfield (Wisconsin)
• Lexi Stangl (Minnesota)
• Matt Duehning (Oklahoma)
• Jessica Zeh (Kentucky)
• Tamara Pharrams (Alabama)
• John Morsey (Hawaii)
• Brian Fuller (Wyoming)
• Pierce Lively (Colorado)
• Jimmy Entriken (Alabama)
• Shawn Marie Storey (Georgia)
• Daria Afshar (Massachusetts)
• Jeff Mann (Michigan)

RELACS Report Editorial Board

The Editorial Board reviews article submissions for The RELACS Report and encourages legislative staff to submit articles.

Chair: Gisele Tolbert (Tennessee)

Vice Chair: Brenda Van Dyck (Minnesota)

• Jace Klepper (Texas)
• Shawn Marie Story (Georgia)
• Lara Disney (Idaho)

Strategic Planning Committee

Engage in a strategic planning exercise for RELACS: With the goal of furthering the purposes of our association as stated in the bylaws, what are our modern values? where do we see our association headed in the post-pandemic work environment? What kinds of programs or opportunities do we want to prioritize? What is the best, sustainable use of our RELACS revolving account to further these values and program goals?

Chair: Mark Cutrona (Delaware), Wendy Jackson (Wisconsin) co-chairs

Vice Chair: Lexi Stangl (Minnesota)

• Anne Sappenfield (Wisconsin)
• Jon Heining (Texas)
• Brandon White (Kentucky)
• Doug Himes (Tennessee)
• Othni Lathram (Alabama)
• Brian Heinze (Georgia)
• Jennifer Jackson (Texas)
• Jessie Pringle (Kansas)

Special Committee Best Practices for Professional Development Seminars

Compile institutional knowledge related to professional development seminars for use in future planning, including customary expectations for content and the responsibilities and expectations of host states.

Chair: Brett Ferguson (Texas)

Vice Chair: Betsy Howerton (Georgia)

• Matt Gehring (Minnesota)
• Wendy Spinks (Texas)
• Jimmy Entrekin (Alabama)
• Rachel Letzing (Wisconsin)
• Elizabeth Taylor (South Carolina)

Young and New Professionals Engagement Committee

Develop recommendations for ways to engage young and new RELACS staff including (these are just illustrative examples): a "40 under 40"-type recognition list; strategies designed to allow YNP staff to develop expertise and visibility through collaborative projects with senior staff (for example, by presenting a topic together at a PDS); and other strategies to encourage staff to feel invested in RELACS and be willing to grow into future leadership positions within the association.

Chair Misty Mason Freeman (Oregon)

Vice Chair: Angie Morgan (South Carolina)

• Kelly Leonard (Washington)
• Jessica Zeh (Kentucky)
• Brian Fuller (Wyoming)
• Julie Humberstone (Utah)
• Pierce Lively (Colorado)
• Matthew Hodgson (Texas)

Nominations

This committee seeks nominations to the RELACS Executive Committee from the full membership. Nominees must have support from their leadership or director in order to serve. The Nominations Committee reviews nominees and selects a slate of candidates for election at the NCSL Legislative Summit each summer.

Chair: Erica Warren (Kentucky) Vice Chair: Matt Gehring (Minnesota)

• Jamie Shanks (Tennessee)
• Brian Heinze (Georgia)
• Mark Cutrona (Delaware)

Awards

This committee seeks nominations to receive the annual Legislative Staff Achievement Award (LSAA). This committee also may choose a recipient to receive a special commendation award. Recipients are presented their awards at the RELACS Business Meeting at the NCSL Legislative Summit.

Chair: Matt Gehring (Minnesota) Vice Chair: Jessie Pringle (Kansas)

• Julie Humberstone (Utah)
• Brandon White (Kentucky)
• Katelin Punelli (DC)