Save the Date! - Registration is coming soon!
2025 RELACS Professional Development Seminar - Madison, Wisconsin - Oct. 5-8
This year's meeting takes place in Madison, Wis., at the Madison Concourse and at the state Capitol and aims to bring together participants to hear new information, learn important skills, build relationships and take away new tools and ideas to enhance the effectiveness of state legislatures.
Sessions of Interest will include: a summary of relevant Supreme Court cases, legal writing, perspectives from the editor of The New Yorker magazines, ethics: government attorneys representing the institution, committee staffing, electronic discovery, intergenerational communication in the legislative workplace, employment law, generative AI for research, grammar rules to live by, ADA: rules from DOJ and Title 2 and more!
RELACS Legislative Staff Achievement Award Nominations
Each year, RELACS offers an opportunity for legislative research, legal, editing and committee staff to be recognized for their work. The RELACS Awards Committee is seeking nominations for 2025.
The Legislative Staff Achievement Awards are given annually to RELACS members who exhibit a high degree of professionalism, competence, and integrity in serving the legislature and contribute to the work of RELACS. The Legislative Staff Achievement Awards are given annually to RELACS members who exhibit a high degree of professionalism, competence and integrity in serving the legislature and contribute to the work of RELACS. Submit a nomination here. The deadline to submit a nomination is Friday, May 9.
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:
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Many RACSS members, especially attorneys who staffed committees and conducted legal research or served as legislative counsel, also participated in LSSS.
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Many active LSSS members, usually attorneys, were also committee staff but missed networking opportunities with peers who served committees.
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Strong overlap existed in subject-area expertise among drafting attorneys, committee counsel and legal researchers.
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LSSS included legislative editors and proofreaders and had developed a training track for these staff. Similarly, research editors sought training and networking opportunities.
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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.
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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).
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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:
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Conducting committee meetings via Zoom.
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Paperless editing technologies developed during the pandemic.
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Emergency powers and legislative oversight.
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U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
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The ADA's impact on accessible legislatures.
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Adapting written reports for online viewing.
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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.
Application opens March 3 for the Legislative Staff Management Institute
July 9-16
National Conference of States Legislatures Headquarters | Denver
NCSL's premier leadership and management development program, the Legislative Staff Management Institute, will be held July 9-16 in Denver. This program is intended for senior-level legislative staff and staffers on their way to such positions. The curriculum focuses on both self- and social awareness, which are foundational elements of being an effective leader. The week starts with introspective programs and experiences and shifts midweek to focus on group dynamics and challenges unique to the world of the legislature.
Throughout the seven-day program, participants' perspectives are challenged in both content and delivery. While the "home base" is NCSL's headquarters building, a variety of educational and networking experiences take participants outside of the classroom setting.
The Legislative Staff Management Institute is intended for senior-level legislative staff and staffers on their way to such positions. Acceptance is competitive as the program size is limited. Applications will be accepted until Friday, April 11.