Molly Ramsdell is director of NCSL’s Washington, D.C., office and oversees the State-Federal Affairs Division. She joined NCSL in 1996 and has served as staff liaison for a number of NCSL’s Standing Committees, including...

As director of facilities, Tim Lucero heads the Building Operations and Central Services departments. He came to NCSL with more than eight years’ experience working with UBS Telecommunications and Mobil Oil Corp. At UBS, he received...

The website for the Hawaii state legislature, which was redesigned and upgraded less than a year ago, earned the Online Democracy Award as the nation's top legislative website this week during the National Conference of State...

Retiring colleagues, stagnant salaries and intensifying partisanship are top concerns of legislative staffers.

Mark Wolf is a senior editor at NCSL. He edits reports, stories, webpages and other communications and covers live sessions of NCSL’s Legislative Summit, Base Camp and other events. Before joining NCSL in 2012 he wrote for newspapers.

The Florida Senate has been working hard to make its website one of the best in the country. And it paid off. The Florida Senate took home the Online Democracy Award for producing a superior legislative website, presented  this week during...

Discover the prevalence of family duos serving in other states, including siblings, spouses, and parent-child combos. Multi-member districts like New Hampshire see more of these teams, but they can happen anywhere.

Barring a last-minute compromise, the federal government will shutdown on April 9 with the expiration of the sixth continuing resolution passed for FY 2011. Without legislation to provide appropriations, the federal government cannot make or...

Being ethical goes beyond just following the law. Alaska’s code of ethics states the obvious: “High moral and ethical standards among public servants in the legislative branch of government are essential to assure the trust, respect,...

Storey serves as the Chief Executive Officer of NCSL, proudly leading an outstanding team dedicated to the legislative institution. He started at NCSL in the 1980s, holding nine different positions in the organization before being selected as CEO...

Arturo Pérez is vice president of the NCSL State Services Division, which includes the Center for Ethics in Government, Center for Legislative Strengthening, Fiscal Affairs Program, Legislative Staff Services Program and the State Tribal...

It may be Washington, but there is nothing evergreen about this story! The Washington Legislature has been honored for having a superior legislative website. It took home the award for producing an outstanding legislative website this week during...

The prescription for change offered 40 years ago in “The Sometime Governments” has run its course, but legislatures still face plenty of institutional challenges.

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) was adopted in an effort "...to curb the practice of imposing unfunded Federal mandates on States and local governments." According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), UMRA defines a...

NCSL conducted a study that counted the number of staff employed by the 50 state legislatures, looked at how that number has changed over 30 years, and found out more about their characteristics. 

A closer look at drafting legislation, a specialized form of legal writing. 

States are using the Internet in creative, innovative ways from which other states can and should benefit.

In her role as an editor in the Communications Division, Bakara Johnson supports the state-federal staff in the Washington, D.C., office by editing digital communications. Johnson has been a staff member with NCSL for over 15 years and has gained...

As web production manager, Kathy Brangoccio manages the content flow and highlights for NCSL’s website, generates analytics on website performance and provides overall assistance and training to web editors. Brangoccio has been with NCSL...