Legislative chambers have gone from places where proposed bills were stacks of paper on desks and people could only witness the proceedings in person to places where everything is online and streaming.
Panelists at a session on the legislative institution at NCSL’s 2024 Legislative Summit in Louisville see upsides and downsides to these changes, and acknowledge they are part of something that is constant in statehouses—the need to adapt to the times. Moderator Raúl Burciaga, the recently retired director of New Mexico’s Legislative Council Service, led the discussion on how the changes are affecting public access, decorum and overall operations.
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers says the changes have helped citizens understand legislators’ work—and how to hold them accountable.
“When I got to the Senate, most people didn’t even know I was in session and didn’t read about it. But now they see us in real time.”
—Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers
“When I got to the Senate, most people didn’t even know I was in session and didn’t read about it. But now they see us in real time,” he says, adding that the constant eye on the proceedings helps them maintain a professional demeanor. He recounts the story of long-ago Kentucky lawmakers who didn’t like a bill. “They let loose a turkey on the floor to say the bill was a turkey,” Stivers says with a chuckle. “That doesn’t go over very well today when somebody can be videoing that.” He says even if those moments aren’t really disrupting the work, they can make constituents doubt that lawmakers take their jobs seriously.
On the other hand, he notes how social media users can take quotes out of context and share edited videos or audio that distort the facts, which can be difficult to reign in.
“When you get what is a three-second sound bite that is just a piece of a two-minute speech that’s disseminated and taken totally out of context and can get so far, so fast—that becomes dangerous, in my opinion,” Stivers says.
Cyrus Anderson, the Wisconsin Senate deputy sergeant-at-arms, brought along the 1903 Wisconsin Blue Book, a biannual resource started in 1853 as a manual for legislators. A rule for a sergeant-at-arms delivering messages to members was to “refrain from throwing any paper balls, darts, or other missiles, move lightly across the chamber, and demean themselves respectfully towards every member and officer of the house.” Anderson says it gives perspective on the state of decorum today. “So maybe it’s not so bad. Maybe we’ll be OK.”
And even though that edition is antiquated, he can relate it to today. For instance, it says the sergeant-at-arms controls access to the chamber. In the early 1900s, that meant the doors; now, it can mean phones, laptops and video cameras.
“We have committees that are now doing Zoom meetings, and they just want to have it open to the public,” Anderson says. “And that’s a very huge vulnerability as far as when we’re thinking about what type of things are going to be coming in through that doorway and then be part of the official proceedings of the Senate. It’s something that we have to be very mindful of.”
The panelists agreed that AI is another technological challenge. They worry it can run amok if people aren’t prepared and rely on it uncritically.
“I think what we should do is embrace it, get trained on it and make sure our staff is trained so that we can be more efficient,” says Lori Mathis, head of the Maryland Legislature’s Division of Administrative Services.
Some Traditions Survive
All these changes raise questions about decorum, but the panelists say some traditions remain strong.
“We have held firm that there should be appropriate attire, coat and tie on the Senate floor,” Stivers says. “And we have adopted rules that you are to argue the issue, not the personality, and you’re not to direct things toward the individuals.”
Panelists agree that legislative staff are key to the strength of the institution, both how it moves into the future and how well it understands its history, since staffers’ tenures tend to outlast many lawmakers.
In Maryland, human resources, finance, technology and facilities was merged into the division headed by Mathis.
“We all band together, and it’s a better collaboration,” she says. “If you don’t have that in your state, I’m telling you that it works.”
Staffing issues have evolved, she says. “I can tell you currently there’s a bigger emphasis on mental health, work-life balance.” The state increased its budget to improve staff retention, and it has codified parental leave and expanded remote work opportunities.
Stivers says it’s vital to serve staff needs. “If we don’t take care of staff, we get poached. If you don’t give staff appropriate pay and a quality workplace, you’re not going to keep them. You’ve got to be competitive in today’s market.”
Anderson says he realized after working in the Wisconsin Legislature for some time that the institution depends on strong staff. “It’s reliant on the people who are participating in it to make it true,” he says. “And I have a responsibility there, too, just as well as everyone else that’s working for the Legislature.”
Emily Ronco is a policy specialist in NCSL’s Center for Legislative Strengthening; Kelley Griffin is the host and producer of NCSL’s “Across the Aisle” podcast.