racss newsletter...(301) 970-5200 or jeanne mejeur at (303) 364-7700, x1467. nominations for the...

Spring/Summer 2003

Research and Committee Staff Section � National Conference of State Legislatures7700 East First Place � Denver, CO 80230 � (303) 364-7700

RACSS Newsletter

In This Issue:

Chair’s Column ...................... 1

Prof. Dev. Task Force .............. 2

Annual Meeting Plans ............ 2

RACSS Elections .................... 3

Award Nominations ............... 3

Int’l Task Force ....................... 3

Innovations: Oregon .............. 4

Fall Seminar Plans .................. 6

Regional Coordinators ........... 6

News From the States ............. 7

ASI/AFI Merger ................... 12

Chair’s Columnby Dave Sallach, Section ChiefLaw and Public Safety Section

Office of Legislative Services, New Jersey

The RACSS Newsletter is printed

and distributed to all RACSS members

through the

generosity of

LexisNexis.

NCSL and RACSS gratefully

acknowledge their support.

One of New Jersey’s larger car dealershas been running a series of “did youknow” radio commercials. The spotsopen with a “did you know” questionabout some obscure event or fact fol-lowed by a “did you know” what greatdeals they have on cars.

A recent commercial opened: “Didyou know that more than 1/2 of theworld’s eggplant comes from New Jer-sey?” Needless to say, that little knownfact caught my attention. Not enoughto make me rush over to the dealershipfor a car, but enough to get me to checkwith our Department of Agriculture.

When the laughter finally stopped, Ilearned that while eggplant is an impor-tant crop, New Jersey is far from the“Eggplant Capital of the World.”

Undismayed by the facts, I decidedto conduct my own eggplant survey. For-tunately, I had the perfect controlgroup—my daughter’s elementaryschool class. The results were hardlysurprising: about 55% didn’t know whateggplant was and about 40% said “Ugh.”

The remainder were amazed to learn thateggs came from plants, having always be-lieved that chickens were somehow in-volved!

Based on this survey of my daughter’sFirst Grade class, one might conclude thatNew Jersey’s citizens do not hold the egg-plant in very high regard and, therefore,will probably not be too disappointedwhen the truth comes out about our placein the eggplant world.

But what if it were true! What if wewere the “Eggplant Capital of the World!”Imagine the possibilities! For many years,the New Jersey Division of Travel andTourism has sponsored a highly successfulTV campaign. With the Jersey Shore, glit-tering Atlantic City or some other Stateattraction in the background, the Gover-nor, or some celebrity with New Jerseyroots, says: “New Jersey and you—Per-fect together.” Just imagine if we were theeggplant capital: A giant, shiny, royalpurple eggplant filling the TV screen witha voice over: “Jersey Eggplant and you—Perfect together!” On second thought....

continued on page 11

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RACSS Newsletter • Spring/Summer 2003

RACSS Chair Dave Sallach is pleasedto announce that Mary Janicki of Con-necticut and Jim Stembridge of Oregonhave agreed to co-chair RACSS’s Profes-sional Development Task Force, which wasformed last year after the NCSL AnnualMeeting.

The creation of the Professional Devel-opment Task Force will ensure thatRACSS’s programs not only will be perti-nent, timely and interesting, but more im-portantly, will meet the needs of agenciesand professionals at all levels. To that end,task force members include both manag-ers and line staff, central staff and com-mittee aides, and both veterans and rela-tive new-comers to legislative service, allof whom bring unique and valuable expe-riences and perspectives to the planningprocess.

Members of the RACSS ProfessionalDevelopment Task Force are: • Mary Janicki, Connecticut, Co-Chair

• Jim Stembridge, Oregon, Co-Chair

• Larry Barish, Wisconsin

• Sheila Mason, Kentucky

• Phil Price, Arkansas

• John Rappa, Connecticut

• Dave Sallach, New Jersey

• Denise Sims, Tennessee

• Dan Schmidt, Wisconsin

• Hannah Shostack, New Jersey

• Jim Wiles, Oregon

• Don Williams, NevadaThe charge of the task force is to

develop program proposals for the sessionsthat RACSS sponsors at the NCSL’s

Annual Meeting each summer and thosethat are offered at our Senior ProfessionalDevelopment Seminar each fall. Follow-ing review and approval by the ExecutiveCommittee, the task force will assume re-sponsibility for organizing and implement-ing its program recommendations, includ-ing planning the agenda for each programand selecting faculty.

Without a doubt, the program agendasthe task force has developed in its first yearfor both the Annual Meeting and the FallSeminar show the value of bringing manyperspectives together and involvingthoughtful and creative minds. For moredetails on RACSS programs for the An-nual Meeting, please see the article belowand for the preliminary agenda for the Se-nior Professional Development Seminar,please see page six.

RACSS Professional Development Task ForcePlans Agendas for Annual Meeting and Fall Seminar

Future RACSS Meetings

Skills Development SeminarAugust 13-16, 2003

Chicago, Illinois

NCSL Annual MeetingJuly 21-25, 2003

San Francisco, California

Senior ProfessionalDevelopment Seminar

October 8-11, 2003Portland, Maine

NCSL Annual Meetings2004-2008

2004 ........ Salt Lake City, UT2005 ........ Seattle, WA2006 ........ Nashville, TN2007 ........ Boston, MA2008 ........ New Orleans, LA

RACSS Annual Meeting ProgramsSan Francisco, California

July 21-25, 2003

Members of the RACSS Professional Development Task Force have planned a num-ber of excellent programs for RACSS members during the NCSL Annual Meeting inSan Francisco. Three to four task force members took responsibility for each of theindividual sessions to plan program content and select speakers. This promises to beone of the strongest agendas RACSS has offered and RACSS officers and task forcemembers join in inviting you to attend!

RACSS Preliminary Annual Meeting Agenda

• Staff Services: Maintaining Objectivity in a Partisan Arena Monday, July 21, 2003, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

• Managing and Updating Legislative Web Sites (with Legislative Librarians) Monday, July 21, 2003, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

• RACSS Business Meeting and Luncheon Thursday, July 24, 2003, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.

• U.S. Supreme Court Decisions Impacting the States (with Legal Services) Speaker: Richard Ruda, Executive Director, State and Local Legal Center Thursday, July 24, 2003, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

• Maximizing Collaboration with Legislative and Executive Agencies and Academia Thursday, July 24, 2003, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.


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Nominations are currently being ac-cepted for the RACSS Executive Commit-tee, which plans programs for staff sec-tion members, oversees RACSS activities,and works closely with NCSL to serve theneeds of legislative staff. The elections for2003 include openings for three directors,each serving a two-year term, and oneopening for vice-chair. The vice-chairserves a one-year term,automatically suc-ceeds to the office of RACSS Chair for aone-year term and then serves for one yearas Immediate Past Chair.

This year�s Nominating Committeemembers are Mike Nugent of Idaho, BobErickson of Nevada and Terry Andersonof Wisconsin. The Nominating Commit-tee will evaluate all nominations and selectthe slate of candidates for election at the

RACSS is seeking nominations for the2003 Legislative Staff Achievement Award.The award was established by the LSCCto permit the staff sections to recognizethose among their membership who havedemonstrated excellence in their legislativecareer and contributed to the activities oftheir staff section.

This year�s Awards Committee membersare Karl Aro of Maryland, who serves aschair, Mary Janicki of Connecticut, andJohn Pollak of Iowa. The awards will bepresented during the NCSL Annual Meet-ing in July in San Francisco.

Criteria for recognition by RACSS inbestowing the Legislative Staff Achieve-ment Award include:! Demonstrating professionalism,

competence, and integrity in servingtheir state legislature;

! Improving the effectiveness of their

RACSS ExecutiveCommittee Nominations

RACSS Business Meeting in July. Criteriainclude a candidate�s legislative experienceand past participation in RACSS activities,along with geographic balance and diver-sity on the committee.

Those interested should have theapproval of their legislature and submit aletter of nomination outlining their legis-lative experience and RACSS involvementto: Michael Nugent, Chair

RACSS Nominating CommitteeNCSL, Att: Jeanne Mejeur7700 East First PlaceDenver, CO 80230

Nominations must be received in theDenver office by Friday, May 23, 2003. Formore information, please contact MikeNugent at (208) 334-2475 or Jeanne Mejeurat (303) 364-7700, x1467.

legislative institution; and! Contributing to the work of the

Research and Committee StaffSection.

If you have a candidate you wish to haveconsidered for the award, please submityour nomination, including a brief descrip-tion of the legislative accomplishments andRACSS involvement of the individual be-ing nominated, to:

Karl Aro, chairRACSS Awards CommitteeNCSL, Att: Jeanne Mejeur7700 East First PlaceDenver, CO 80230Nominations must be received in the

Denver office by Friday, May 23, 2003. Formore information about the awards ornomination process, contact Karl Aro at(301) 970-5200 or Jeanne Mejeur at (303)364-7700, x1467.

Nominations for the 2003 LegislativeStaff Achievement Award

Last fall RACSS Chair Dave Sallachestablished an International Task Forceto enhance training opportunities andpromote information sharing betweenstate legislative staff and their interna-tional counterparts.

Working in conjunction with NCSL’sInternational Program, the primary goalsof the task force will be to identify waysof supporting NCSL international pro-grams at the Annual Meeting andabroad, increasing the profile of thoseprograms among RACSS researchers andcommittee staffers and expanding thenumber of legislative staff who can sharetheir expertise and experience with stafffrom other nations.

Hannah Shostack of New Jersey hasbeen appointed to chair RACSS’s Inter-national Task Force and so far, ninemembers of the staff section have vol-unteered to serve on the task force.

Members include:• Karl Aro, Maryland

• Larry Barish, Wisconsin• Bob Erickson, Nevada• Connie Johnson, Oklahoma• John Rappa, Connecticut• Dave Sallach, New Jersey• Dan Schmidt, Wisconsin• Jim Stembridge, Oregon• Jim Wiles, OregonSome of the task force members have

extensive international experience, par-ticipating in numerous overseas trainingmissions and hosting international del-egations, while others have never ob-served a legislature outside their homestate. Nevertheless, each brings uniqueand valuable experiences and perspec-tives to the task force that assures thegroup will realize it goals.

If you would like more informationabout the activities of the InternationalTask Force or are interested in partici-pating with the task force, please con-tact Hannah Shostack at (609) 292-1596 or RACSS liaison Jeanne Mejeurat (303) 364-7700, x1467.

RACSS InternationalTask Force Formed

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Background Briefs are a Hit in Oregonby Jim Wiles, Manager, Oregon Legislative Committee Services

Innovations in Legislative Staff Services

How do you identify and build addi-tional value in the products and servicesyou provide to the legislative process?

This is a question that is constantlydiscussed and debated on a daily basiswithin Committee Services. As the pri-mary committee support organizationfor the Oregon State Legislature, we ownthe core responsibility of staffing legisla-tive committees. However, we consis-tently ponder the question of what elsecan we be doing, what value will it pro-vide and who will use it?

This question is especially importantconsidering Oregon has the unique dis-tinction of being one of only six stateswho meet every other year. After com-pleting the six- to seven-month regularlegislative session, we are left with a 17to 18 month interim. Our staffing levelsare significantly reduced during this timeto continuing staff only, and everyone isbusy with interim committees and taskforces. However, WE WANT TO DOMORE!!!

Last year I wrote an article for thispublication on building a tactical planfor legislative staff. The tactical plan builtfor this office helped in guiding and di-recting us into understanding the day-to-day value-based projects we couldwork on in addition to committee work.Many good things came from this, butthe “stand out” project was the develop-ment of a book of background informa-tion on a wide range of issues facingOregon.

The book, which we simply call the“Background Briefs” book, is made upof over 80 two- to five-page summariesof various issues. The summaries are di-vided into ten subject areas, and are writ-ten in a non-partisan format for the ben-efit of ALL members.

The idea for this kind of book wasnot new to the Capitol. Two books hadbeen produced in prior interims, sepa-rate from each other, by the SenateDemocratic office and House Demo-cratic office (based largely on informa-tion put together by Committee Servicesstaff ). The books were meant to have asomewhat partisan flavor and were dis-tributed to caucus members only. Thosewho received them found them to be ofhigh quality and extremely useful. How-ever, they took a ton of time to complete.

Committee Services had identifiedthrough the tactical plan that this kindof book was one that we could definitelyexcel at producing. However, knowingthe other books did exist, we did notwant to duplicate efforts. This is why wewere thrilled when the House Democratsapproached us and asked if we wouldtake over their production. We told themwe would, and that we would like thebooks to be non-partisan and availableto all members. They agreed. The Sen-ate Democrats also agreed and discon-tinued their book. The BackgroundBriefs book came to life and became the“official” issues book for the legislature.

Since the design of the book was non-partisan, we needed to create a processthat guaranteed input from all interestedparties. We wanted to make certain thatwe produced a document that insuredquality in style and content, and couldbe picked up and appreciated by any-one.

Through the tactical plan, Commit-tee Administrator Judith Callens wasassigned project manager. Workingclosely with management, it was her jobto define the process and insure its properimplementation.

To get bipartisan input, Judithscheduled various meetings with staffleaders from all four caucus offices andthe leadership offices. We met and dis-cussed the purpose of the book, theprocess that we would use to produceit, what would be included, and howit would be used. Once the logisticswere determined, we built a list of top-ics that everyone agreed should be cov-ered; the list quickly grew to nearly 100items. We also identified ten subjectareas from which we could group thetopics. Where we found similaritiesand duplications, we combined. Wealso eliminated those topics that wereperceived by one party or the other astoo political.

Once done, the lists of topics werepresented to the administrators. Wediscussed the need for a two-to-fourpage summary on each topic, and triedto identify realistic timelines to com-

Innovations In LegislativeStaff Services

With this issue of the RACSSNewsletter, we begin a new series offeature articles on innovations instaff services, such as Oregon’s newBackground Briefs. If your office hascreated a new research product, de-veloped an innovative way of pro-viding services or found a new ap-proach to working with members,please consider sharing it with yourcounterparts in other states. To sub-mit an article, please email JeanneMejeur at [email protected].


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plete the work based on staff workloads.When all was said and done, 83 topicareas were assigned.

Over the next three months, each ad-ministrator worked diligently to com-plete the briefs that were assigned tothem. As the briefs came in, they wereedited, formatted and then sent to a rep-resentative for both the Republicans andthe Democrats for content editing.Again, the goal was to provide qualitybackground information on each topicwithout political bias. Once reviewed,they went back to their respective authorswhere they were updated and put into awaiting queue for final printing.

After the books were completed, cop-ies were given to the four caucus officefor distribution to legislative members.The response was tremendous. Memberswrote, called and e-mailed with positivecomments and appreciation. New mem-bers especially enjoyed the books sincethey provided a quick reference to qual-ity information on all key issues affect-ing Oregon. Books were also hand de-livered to the Members’ legislative aidesafter the regular session started. Thisdelivery method gave us the opportunityto meet each aide face-to-face and ex-plain to them the operations of Com-mittee Services.

The Background Briefs are now a flag-ship product that will be offered by Com-mittee Services on a regular basis. Fromhere on, the books will be reviewed andupdated by continuing staff so as to keepthe books current. The reviews will bedone during the legislative interims: newtopics will be added and others deleted.It is a living document that will continueto add value to the legislative body.

Copies of the briefs have also beenadded to the Legislative webpage to reacha wider audience at a minimal cost. Youcan find the Background Briefs at http://www.leg.state.or.us/comm/commsrvs/budgetbriefs2003/table_contents.pdf.

If you have any questions or wouldlike more information about Oregon’sBackground Briefs, please contact JimWiles at (503) 986-1376.

Innovations, continued Oregon 2003 Background BriefsTable of Contents

(http://www.leg.state.or.us/comm/commsrvs/budgetbriefs2003/table_contents.pdf )

Budget and Revenue2001-2003 Biennium Budget2% Surplus KickerLocal MandatesLottery RevenueOregon’s Tax SystemState Budget ProcessTimber RevenueTobacco Taxes

ChildrenAdoptionChild CareChildren’s Programs

Economy, Business and LaborEmerging Industry: High TechnologyEmployment LawFarmworker LaborInternational TradeOregon Economic and CommunityDevelopment DepartmentOregon Liquor Control CommissionOregon’s EconomyOregon’s Workforce SystemTelecommunications IndustryRestructuringUnemployment InsuranceWorker’s Compensation

EducationCharter SchoolsCommunity CollegesDatabase Initiative ProjectFunding K-12 SchoolsK-12 Education ReformOregon University SystemQuality Education ModelSpecial Education

General Government2002 Ballot MeasuresBranches of GovernmentEmergency ManagementIndian TribesInitiative and Referendum ProcessLocal and Regional Governments Program EvaluationPublic Employees Retirement SystemTerm LimitsVote-By-Mail

Health CareGenetic PrivacyHealth InsuranceHealth StatisticsMental Health/Chemical DependencyOregon Health PlanPhysician Assisted SuicidePrescription Drugs

Housing and Human ServicesDisability ServicesHousingHungerLandlord Tenant RightsSenior IssuesSystem Development ChargesWelfare Reform

Natural ResourcesAgricultureAir QualityEndangered SpeciesEnvironmental CleanupForestryLand UseOregon Plan for Salmon/WatershedsRecyclingSolid and Hazardous WastesState Parks and RecreationWater QualityWater Rights

Public SafetyCommunity CorrectionsDomestic ViolenceFelony SentencingFirearmsIdentity TheftMeasure 11Mentally Ill in Prisons/JailsPrisonsSex OffendersTort Reform

TransportationAviationBridgesFreight and Passenger RailPortsPublic TransitRoads and HighwaysState Highway Projects

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You’ve probably noticed that theRegional News is now called “News Fromthe States.” But it still takes the work ofnine dedicated legislative staff to gathernews items from their colleagues for eachissue of the newsletter. Thank you RegionalCoordinators!

New England—David Elliott CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT phone: (207) 287-1670 email: [email protected]

Mid-Atlantic—Hannah Shostack DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV phone: (609) 292-1596 email: [email protected]

Great Lakes—Terry Bergstrom IL, IN, MI, OH, WI phone: (517) 373-5634 email: [email protected]

South—Denise Sims AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN phone: (615) 741-3025 email: [email protected]

South Central—George Humphreys AR, KS, LA, MO, OK, TX phone: (405) 557-7460 email: [email protected]

Northern Plains—Dave Ortbahn IA, MN, NE, ND, SD phone: (605) 773-3251 email: [email protected]

Mountain—Kirk Mlinek AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, UT, WY phone: (303) 866-3521 email: [email protected]

West—Jim Stembridge AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA phone: (503) 986-1813 email: [email protected]

The Territories—Tony Cabrera AS, GU, MP, PR, VI phone: (670) 664-0991 email: [email protected]

RACSS RegionalCoordinators

Members of the RACSS Professional Development Task Force have done anexcellent job in planning this year’s Senior Professional Development Seminar,which is set for October 8-11, 2003 at the Eastland Park Hotel in Portland,Maine. The seminar offers an informal learning environment designed to sharpenthe professional skills of senior staff and provide ample opportunity to meet withand learn from colleagues in other states.

Brochures for the seminar will be mailed to all RACSS members in July butfollowing is a preliminary agenda. Because it is still a preliminary agenda, timesare approximate and sessions listed reflect the content of each program but maynot be the final titles; however, speakers listed are confirmed. The seminar regis-tration fee is $295.

Optional social events will be added to take advantage of Portland’s oceansetting and the beauty of a New England fall. We hope to see you in Portland!

Preliminary Agenda

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 3:00 - 5:00 ............Registration

Thursday, October 9, 2003 8:00 - 9:00 ............Registration

8:30 - 9:00 ............Welcome and Introductions

9:00 - 12:00 ..........Enhancing Communications Skills and ImprovingProfessional Interactions Presenter: Nancy Barger

12:00 - 1:30 .......... lunch

1:30 - 3:00 ............Collaborating Effectively with State Agencies andAcademia

3:00 - 5:00 ............Ethical Issues for Legislative Staff

Friday, October 10, 2003 9:00 - 12:00 ..........Sharpen Your Writing Skills to Produce More Effective

Research Reports Presenter: Stan Stenersen 12:00 - 1:30 .......... lunch

1:30 - 4:30 ............Our Biggest Messes: How We Got Into Them, How We

Got Out Of Them And What We Learned From Them evening .................Dutch Treat Dinner

Saturday, October 11, 2003 9:00 - 12:00 ..........Using the Interim Effectively, Including Agency Strategic

Planning and Marketing

RACSS 2003Senior Professional Development Seminar

October 8-11, 2003Eastland Park Hotel

Portland, Maine


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News From the States

ColoradoBudget Dominates Session

by Cathy Eslinger, Research Associate II,Legislative Council

A significant General Fund revenueshortfall and weak economy provided a chal-lenging context for Colorado’s 2003 legis-lative session. The bipartisan Joint BudgetCommittee, comprised of six legislators, wasforced to make $370 million in cuts to theFY 2002-03 state budget before working ona budget reduction package for the upcom-ing fiscal year that will total approximately$700 million.

In the midst of budget discussions, theGeneral Assembly is addressing concernsabout school choice and education funding,automobile insurance rates, the regulationof guns, and water resources. Under newlegislation, Colorado became the first stateto adopt a K-12 school voucher programsince the U.S. Supreme Court upheld theconstitutionality of state aid for tuition atreligious schools last year. The ColoradoOpportunity Contract Pilot Program willprovide financial help to eligible studentsin school districts with at least eight low-performing schools. To be eligible, studentsmust be identified as at-risk according tospecific criteria. The financial assistance maybe used by students to attend nonpublicschools, including religious schools.

Legislators are debating a higher educa-tion voucher program under which statehigher education funds will be available tostudents through savings accounts. Thesestipends would largely replace General Fundsupport to higher education institutions.

With Colorado’s no-fault automobileinsurance statutes set to repeal later this year,lawmakers are discussing ways to addressrising insurance costs and considering sev-eral measures to modify the state’s currentsystem. Legislators are debating measuresto allow a person to choose cost-contain-ment mechanisms that would reduce thecost of personal injury protection, collision,and comprehensive coverage.

The regulation of guns, a recurring issuein Colorado, was addressed during this year’s

legislative session. Lawmakers standardizedstate law concerning ownership and posses-sion of a firearm, thus preempting more re-strictive local ordinances. A second piece oflegislation passed this year requires countysheriffs to issue concealed handgun permits.

With the state continuing to confrontdrought conditions, Colorado legislators arediscussing a variety of water resource issues.Water use and water rights issues have re-sulted in proposals attempting to balancethe needs of rural and urban areas of thestate. Lawmakers are considering submit-ting a ballot question to the voters authoriz-ing the issuance of up to $10 billion in wa-ter infrastructure revenue bonds. Additionaldebate has centered on measures addressingthe approval of water supply plans and wa-ter supply agreements by the State Engineer.

HawaiiDownturn in Tourism Affects Budget

by Ken Takayama, Acting Director,Legislative Reference Bureau

As in most other states, fiscal concernspredominate this year, as legislators work tobalance the State’s biennium budget.Hawaii’s largest industry, tourism, has beenimpacted by both the war in Iraq as well asconcerns about terrorism. While these prob-lems apply to tourism industries everywhere,they are magnified in Hawaii where virtu-ally all tourists arrive by plane, and whereJapan’s ailing economy had already reducedtourist travel. Other issues receiving atten-tion during the 2003 regular session of theLegislature include:

(1) Establishment of a special tax pay-able by all residents to vest benefits in a statefunded long-term care system. A separateissue is the establishment of a long-term careinsurance state income tax credit;

(2) Proposed constitutional amendmentto divide Hawaii’s single statewide schooldistrict headed by a single board of educa-tion into seven separate districts, each headedby an elected school board;

(3) Requiring employers to allow employ-ees to use sick leave to care for a family mem-ber who is ill;

(4) Provision of emergency contraceptionto victims of sexual assault;

(5) Placing certain restrictions on theavailability of a popular tax credit targetedto the high tech industry; and

(6) Authorizing issuance of special pur-pose revenue bonds for several privateschools (after last year’s ratification of a con-stitutional amendment allowing SPRBs tobe issued on behalf of private and sectarianschools). Aloha!

IowaBudget, Staff Consolidation

by John Pollak, Committee StaffAdministrator, Legislative Service BureauIowa began the legislative session facing

a revenue shortfall of approximately $400million, or roughly 9 percent of the generalfund budget. The Governor has been work-ing with a consulting group to achieve sav-ings in many areas of government by em-ploying results-based strategies. The consult-ing group has also been working with legis-lators on how these strategies may be ap-plied as an alternative to applying across-the-board reductions to appropriations.

With the retirements in 2002 of Legisla-tive Service Bureau director, Diane Bolender,and Computer Support Bureau director,Sandy Scharf, legislative leaders appointedLegislative Fiscal Bureau Director DennisProuty as acting director of the two agen-cies and asked staff to develop options forcombining all three nonpartisan staffingagencies. Legislation was enacted in mid-April combining the three agencies into anew Legislative Services Agency and Mr.Prouty continues as director of the agency.

KentuckyBudget, LRC Staff Retirements

by Jamie Jo Franklin, Committee Adminis-trator, Legislative Research CommissionThe 2003 Kentucky General Assembly

adjourned their “short” session March 25th.Their 30-day session included the adoptionof a state budget and 160 other pieces oflegislation relating to topics such as preda-tory lending, tax credits for economic

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development, homeland security, oversightand membership of legislative committees,tobacco settlement funds and programs, andmissing children, to name a few. The statehad been operating without a budget sinceJuly of 2002 as a result of the 2002 GeneralAssembly adjourning before adoption of astate budget.

In 2003, legislators were faced with put-ting together a spending plan in the face ofeven more dire economic revenue projec-tions at both the state and federal levels thanthey had faced in 2002. But long hours andintense negotiations between the chambersand other branches of state government pro-duced a budget which funded the basic needsof the citizens of the state while continuingthe commitment of the Commonwealth tothe funding of education and the protec-tion of vital human services.

Also of note, since our last newsletter ar-ticle, LRC has seen several long-time staffmembers retire, some of whom had beenvery active with NCSL and RACSS throughthe years. They are: Peggy Hyland, LRCDeputy Director; Phil Huddleston, LRCAssistant Director; Joyce Honaker, StateGovernment Committee Staff Administra-tor; Mary Yaeger, Economic DevelopmentCommittee Staff Administrator; SandiDeaton, Education Committee Staff Ad-ministrator; and Clint Newman, Seniors,Public Safety and Military Affairs Commit-tee Staff Administrator.

LouisianaLegislature Faces Budget Decisionsby Bill Black, Economist, House FiscalThree weeks into the final regular ses-

sion of this term, the Legislature faces statictax revenue and rising costs as it considers abudget for FY 03-04. The governor’s bud-get proposal heavily favored educationalprograms, especially in higher education.However, it made deep cuts in health carespending for Medicaid and indigent care inthe state’s unique Charity Hospital system.Also, it did not fully cover costs for stateemployee health insurance and retirement.Other than education, other state agencieswould have to absorb any cost increases nextyear through belt tightening, and in somecases, reductions of employees and services.

Members of both chambers have ex-pressed a desire to make health care spend-

ing a higher priority, even if it requires scal-ing back the governor’s proposed educationpriorities. The House Appropriations Com-mittee has asked health care agencies for al-ternative budget plans that modify the mostdifficult cuts, which originally included clos-ing many state facilities for the mentally illand developmentally disabled. The Legisla-ture also hopes to reduce deep cuts proposedin Medicaid for hospitals, nursing homesand prescription drugs. Paying for these al-ternatives will require at least $100 millionmore in state funds. The Legislature mustadopt a FY 03-04 budget by June 25.

Uncertain revenue collections furthercomplicate these issues. Monthly collectionsare sluggish, even after two downward revi-sions to revenue estimates this year. The stateconstitution prohibits passing new taxesduring this regular session. A special sessionbefore this fall’s elections for a new gover-nor and legislature is considered unlikely.

MaineRevenue Shortfalls Continueby David C. Elliott, Director,

Office of Policy and Legal AnalysisAlthough about 1600 bills have been in-

troduced this session, including proposalson several controversial issues, much of theLegislature’s and newly sworn-in GovernorJohn Baldacci’s time has been devoted tobudgetary issues. State General Fund rev-enues have consistently fallen short of pro-jections since the 120th Legislature ad-journed in April 2002.

Following a Special Session of the 120thLegislature to address a projected $229 mil-lion shortfall in November, the 121st Leg-islature convened in December andpromptly passed the first of two emergencysupplemental budget bills enacted this ses-sion to address further shortfalls in the cur-rent fiscal year. On March 27th the currentservices portion of FY 04-05 budget wasenacted, followed three weeks later by thesecond supplemental budget of the sessionmaking additional cuts for the rest of thecurrent fiscal year. The FY 04-05 currentservices budget made approximately $1 bil-lion in cuts over the biennium.

All of the budget bills enacted so far thissession have been enacted as emergencymeasures. Public hearings on the so-calledPart 2 budget for FY 04-05 began May 5th.

Usually the Part 2 Budget bill is for new orexpanded services in the coming biennium.This year it will deal primarily with about$48 million in additional cuts that areneeded in the coming biennium.

This session is expected to conclude inlate May or early June with a number ofhigh profile issues still due for consideration,e.g. health care, tax policy, school funding,governmental restructuring and economicdevelopment. Interim study or a SpecialSession is possible on some of the issues.

MarylandStaff Smooth Transition for Leadership

by Lynne Porter, Executive Assistant,Department of Legislative Services

The 417th Session of the Maryland Gen-eral Assembly occurred against a backdrop,the likes of which had not been seen in theState in 36 years—a new Republican gov-ernor, Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., and a majorityDemocrat Senate and House of Delegates,many of whom were serving their first termsas legislators and as legislative leaders. Withfew current legislative members or leadershaving any institutional memory or experi-ence with a Republican on the “secondfloor,” the newfound powers and responsi-bilities were dizzying and, perhaps, a littleoverwhelming. Coming off the heels of anelection year, the General Assembly also re-turned with one of the largest turnovers inlegislative history. Although the legislatureremained largely Democratic, there was al-most all-new leadership in both chambers.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller,Jr. won reelection to his leadership position,hands down, having already served 16 yearsas Senate President, but he was faced withhaving to put together a brand new leader-ship team—having to appoint all new chair-men to the Senate’s four standing commit-tees and new floor leadership—as a resultof vacancies occurring in the Senate leader-ship team through retirement and someunexpected general election losses. Changesin leadership in the House started from thetop down with Speaker Michael E. Busch’sselection as the leader of that body and hisappointment of several new chairmen andother legislative leaders after the formerspeaker, Casper R. Taylor, Jr., lost his gen-eral election unexpectedly.


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Lack of knowledge about routine proce-dures and protocols characterized many ofthe first steps of the new administration andlegislative leaders. This deficit, however, gaveour staff the opportunity to guide new lead-ers and their staff in procedures and proto-cols and impart the institutional and sub-stantive-issue knowledge necessary to ori-ent new members and insure the smoothrunning of the legislative session. Especiallynoteworthy was the loan to the new Repub-lican administration of staff from the topechelon of fiscal expertise in our department.We take that as real testament to our gener-ally recognized professionalism, objectivity,and respect for the nonpartisanship of ourstaff. Maryland’s experience serves as yetanother excellent example of the value ofnonpartisan staffing, particularly in timesof change and uncertainty.

MissouriHouse Nixes Governor’s Tax Hikes

by Darrell Jackson, Director, House ResearchAs of the date of writing this news item,

the Missouri General Assembly has threeweeks left in the regular session. The bud-get has dominated the session. The gover-nor proposed a budget requiring three-quar-ters of a billion dollars in new revenues(mostly tax increases). The House has re-fused to go along with the tax increases and,charging the departments with refusing toassist the legislature in making the neces-sary cuts, passed a budget allocating onlylump sums to the executive departments andcutting them about 15% from current yearappropriations. The Senate has passed a tra-ditional line item budget with large cuts andis considering only a small portion of rev-enue increases urged by the governor. Thissets up a scenario of threatened vetoes ofthe budget and a special session called topass the budget.

Other policy issues have not been for-gotten. The Republican majorities in theHouse and Senate, the first concurrent ma-jorities for the party in over a half century,have passed bills revising worker’s compen-sation laws, limiting liability law suits, re-quiring advance consent for abortions, au-thorizing concealed firearms, distributinggaming revenues to the schools on a perpupil basis, reforming foster care, and in-creasing accountability in transportation.

The Democratic governor has indicated thatsome of these bills will be vetoed when theyreach his desk. Battle lines are being drawnfor the gubernatorial election next year.

The budget situation will affect the op-erations of legislative staff. It appears thatour budgets will be reduced 15% for theupcoming year. Out-of-state travel will notoccur, so we will not see you in San Fran-cisco. It will be the third year without sal-ary increases and vacancies may not be filledin some areas. Layoffs will occur in the ex-ecutive departments; it remains to be seenwhether they can be avoided in our branch.

NebraskaTaxes and Borrowing Fill Budget Gap

by Kate Gaul, Research Analyst,Legislative Research Division

Like so many other states, Nebraska isfacing its worst economic times in more thana decade and talk of what to do about it isdominating the 2003 legislative session. Thetight timeframe and tough decisions neededto address the state’s $761 million budgetshortfall have prompted speculation whethersenators will need a special session immedi-ately after adjourning sine die on June 2.The state’s Constitution requires a balancedbudget.

The Appropriations Committee recom-mendation now taking shape leaves a gapof $360 million to be made up with tax in-creases or borrowing from earmarked cashfunds, proposals anathema to the Governorand many legislators. The Governor’s bud-get proposal calls for no tax increases, ex-cept on cigarettes, and a 10 percent cut tomost state agencies. Since releasing its pre-liminary 2003-05 budget recommendationson February 27, the Appropriations Com-mittee has actually restored funding to pro-grams once slated for steep cuts or outrightclosing after agency heads and the generalpublic weighed in during the committee’sbudget hearings.

Additionally, the Education Committeehas advanced a proposal that would reducestate aid to education by less than theGovernor’s proposal and allow school dis-tricts to increase property taxes to make upfor the loss.

On the money-raising side, the RevenueCommittee is considering several propos-als. One would simply raise current tax rates;

how much would depend on the size of thegap to be filled after the AppropriationsCommittee makes its spending recommen-dations. Another would expand the sales taxto more goods and services, make perma-nent last year’s 2.2 percent income tax in-crease, and address the growth in state aidto education. Yet a third proposal wouldexpand the sales tax to all goods and ser-vices except food and medicine, but lowerthe sales tax rate to 2.8 percent.

NevadaAll Eyes on the Budget Deficit

by Patrick Guinan, Senior Research Analyst,Legislative Counsel Bureau

In 2003, the Nevada Legislature facesperhaps its most daunting challenge in re-cent memory - how to erase a current $300million deficit that is projected to rise to$700 million over the upcoming 2003-2005biennium if the bleeding is not stopped.Certainly, Nevada’s budgetary problems arenot unique, with a vast majority of otherstates projecting similar shortfalls. What hastaken some in the Legislature by surprise,though, is Republican Governor Kenny C.Guinn’s nearly $1 billion tax proposal aimedprimarily at big business, and funded in largepart by a new gross receipts tax.

With a 2/3 majority vote required fromboth houses for any tax measure to be en-acted, Nevada’s 72nd Legislative Session isgenerating some unusual pro- and anti-taxalliances that cut across party lines. Whilesome Democrats who typically oppose theGovernor have embraced his tax plan, manyanti-tax Republican legislators, traditionallyallies of the Governor, have openly chal-lenged the plan, with several offering alter-nate proposals of their own. Heated debateis likely to continue right up to the 120-daysession limit, and it may well be that Ne-vada will see its third special session in asmany years if a compromise cannot bereached before the Legislature adjourns sinedie on June 2.

With massive budget shortfalls comedeep cuts in funding, and representatives ofeducation, social service programs, and stateagencies have spent a great deal of time tes-tifying in committee hearings as to why theirgroups simply cannot afford any furtherbudget reductions. Nevada’s LegislativeCounsel Bureau is not immune to the state’s

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financial concerns either and, despite hav-ing already cut costs wherever it could, theBureau is preparing for possible further re-ductions in non-essential travel as well as adiminished ability to staff interim commit-tees or provide the kind of comprehensiveconstituent services on which legislators re-cently have come to rely.

Significant other items that have man-aged to draw attention away from the bud-get, if only for brief periods, include severalanti-terrorism measures, a host of bills onmedical malpractice generated partly in re-sponse to legislation coming out of the 2002special session on the topic, and a diversegroup of bills seeking to address a statewidecrisis regarding defective construction. Asthe session enters its final four weeks, how-ever, legislators and staff will work hard toclear the way for what promises to be animpressive last minute display of budget-re-lated pyrotechnics.

OklahomaStaff Retirements and Reorganization

by George Humphreys, Director,House Research

The budget remains the central focus inOklahoma state government. Significantspending cuts are anticipated. The Senatehas joined the House in putting a travelfreeze in place for legislative staff.

This year may bring about some of themost significant personnel changes affect-ing legislative staff in Oklahoma in manyyears. Several changes involve staff leader-ship positions in the Senate. Jan (Young)McMullen, the Director of Committee Stafffor the Oklahoma Senate will be retiring thisfall from the state after 21 years of Senateservice. She and her husband are lookingforward to returning to Washington State.After newly-elected Governor Brad Henrytapped Senate Staff Director Connie Irbyas a Tax Commissioner, former NCSL stafferTony Hutchison’s (who received excellentearly training on the Oklahoma House staff )scope of responsibilities on the Senate staffwas expanded with a new position entitledDirector of Operations and Planning. Fi-nally, Robert Thompson was promotedfrom the committee staff to the Senate Gen-eral Counsel post.

As an observation, the professionalizationof the Legislature that enabled staff in Okla-homa to embark on legislative staff careerswill lead to a new phenomenon — staff re-tirements. Where formerly legislative staffjobs were entry-level state government jobs,there are a considerable number of staff inboth houses who were hired just before orafter the Oklahoma House of Representa-tives and Senate adopted an in-house staff-ing structure 22 years ago. Some of them,as in the case of Jan McMullen, will becomeeligible to retire and may retire just as termlimits (passed first in Oklahoma) finally be-comes a reality in 2004.

PennsylvaniaBudget Twists and Great Sadness

by Mike Gasbarre, Assistant Director,Local Government Commission

Pennsylvania’s FY 2003-04 budget cameoff in record time when it was passed by theGeneral Assembly and signed into law onMarch 20, 2003, by Governor Ed Rendell.Although funding state government for an-other year, expenditures were kept to a mini-mum of $21 billion with many state depart-ments receiving a ten percent across-the-board cut.

In an unusual twist, the budget was en-visioned by the Rendell Administration asBudget Number 1, meant only to satisfyconstitutional requirements that he proposea balanced budget by March 4. However,the General Assembly, seizing an opportu-nity to avoid the customary deadline pres-sure of the June 30th end of the fiscal yearextended deliberations, passed the budgetnotwithstanding the Governor’s objections.In return, the Governor on March 20 line-item vetoed the entire $4 billion appropria-tion for education in an effort to force theLegislature into considering Budget Num-ber 2, which he introduced on March 24.Among other things, the Governor, in thelatter proposal, is advocating an increase inthe state personal income tax from 2.8% toapproximately 3.75%, raising taxes on beer,utilizing funds from the tobacco settlementfor additional programs, and placing slotmachines at racetracks. He further proposesto reduce school property taxes by an aver-age of 30% statewide (although not allschool districts would see property taxes

decreased by that amount), provide for state-financed pre-school, full-time kindergarten,small class sizes, a tutor program for strug-gling students, and money to further reducedisparities between wealthy and poor schooldistricts. He is also requesting a $2 billionbond issue to fund economic developmentprojects to help communities create jobs, topay for site acquisition for business and in-dustry, and to offer venture capital to entre-preneurs and developers. Although publiclywilling to compromise on his proposals, theGovernor reportedly has threatened a sec-ond veto of the education expenditures con-tained in his second budget if the GeneralAssembly fails to adopt his proposals.

The Commonwealth suffered a great losswhen House Speaker Matthew J. Ryanpassed away on March 29 as a result of com-plications from stomach cancer. Ryan, aHouse member for 40 years, was noted forhis charm, graciousness and great Irish wit.Although considered a tough negotiator onbehalf of his Republican caucus, he was con-sidered a friend by Legislators, presided overHouse sessions with fairness and was espe-cially admired by legislative staff. SpeakerRyan was instrumental in creation of theCapitol Preservation Committee, which wasestablished in 1982 to foster the preserva-tion of the state capitol building in Harris-burg, and in restoring historic artifacts anddocuments. In an event not seen sinceAbraham Lincoln in 1865, Speaker Ryanwas accorded the honor of lying in state inthe Capitol Rotunda. On April 15, JohnPerzel of Philadelphia, the former MajorityLeader, was elected Speaker of the House tosucceed Ryan.

South DakotaTax Hikes Balance the Budget

by Dave Ortbahn, Principal ResearchAnalyst, Legislative Research Council

Going into the 2003 Legislative Session,many were expecting an exciting sessionsince we had a new governor and many newlegislators in leadership positions. There wasan expectation of an influx of new ideas anda reappearance of old ideas that could notget past the former governor. However, thebudget and the lack of revenues to fund ittook the wind out of the sails of many ofthese ideas before they could get very far.


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Trying to maintain the status quo becamethe biggest struggle of the session. In theend, a balanced budget was probably thebiggest piece of legislation passed. An in-crease in the tax on cigarettes and an excisetax on the gross receipts of wireless and cel-lular telecommunications companies werepassed to help balance the budget. Propos-als by the Governor to increase the tax onsmokeless tobacco products and on alcoholicbeverages did not pass. An across-the-boardincrease in the wages for state employees oftwo percent was approved. The Governorhad requested a three percent increase.

A health insurance risk pool was one ofthe ideas that died during the session pri-marily due to the lack of a funding source.However, with individual health insurancecarriers leaving the state there remains a greatdesire both in the Legislature and in the ex-ecutive branch to find a mechanism that willmake it more desirable for carriers to remainin the state. There has been talk already of aspecial session sometime in late summer orearly fall to address this situation.

For the interim, it looks like a good por-tion of the activities of our research staff willbe in assisting in the education of the manynew legislators. Most of the interim com-mittees that have been selected will be gearedtowards collecting background informationand a number of issue memorandums, tobe written by the staff, are planned for thissummer.

TennesseeLottery Legislation Moves Forward

by Denise Sims, Director, House ResearchAs committees prepare to close down,

Tennessee legislators face a number of keybills. Our research staff has been busier thanusual following amendments and research-ing similar legislation in other states.

Last November, Tennesseans voted to al-low a change in the state’s constitution re-leasing the prohibition on a lottery. Duringthe months that followed, lawmakers re-viewed systems in other states, traveled onfact-finding missions, and held a numberof meetings discussing options. As commit-tees moved into gear after the start of thelegislative session, our analysts followed eachproposal and amendment to the main lot-tery bills. The lottery legislation is beingconsidered in three areas: implementation,

scholarship and regulation of professionalfundraising. The initial lottery proposal wasbased on the Georgia model, with fundsgoing to higher education.

At the request of the Governor, state de-partments and agencies were asked to trimbudgets by a much as nine percent. At is-sue is a $61 million cut in state-shared taxes,money that the state sends back to cities andcounties. House and Senate response hasbeen varied. As the session progresses, anumber of proposals countering the recom-mendations are expected.

There are a number of other issues fac-ing this 103rd Assembly, but lawmakersanticipate an earlier end of the session thanin the past two years. Meanwhile, our re-search staff continues to assist leadershipwith these and other bills.

UtahDistrict Reports a Hit With Members

by Connie Steffan, Research Analyst, Officeof Legislative Research and General Counsel

A new publication of the Utah Office ofLegislative Research and General Counselis a big hit with legislators. Policy AnalystsJoseph Wade and Mark Andrews and Re-search Assistant Mark Steinagel produced a55-page report for each legislator showingthe demographic characteristics of the resi-dents within the legislator’s voting district.Using multicolor charts, maps, and datatables, the demographics of each voting dis-trict are depicted and compared to the de-mographics of surrounding voting districtsand those of the state’s population. Amongthe demographic characteristics described ineach report are age, race, birthplace, citizen-ship, household size and type, income, edu-cational attainment, employment by indus-try, and commuting methods and times. TheOffice is currently in the process of trans-ferring the data in the reports to an onlineformat that will be easily accessible to thepublic.

In the General Session ending March 5,2003, the Utah Legislature crafted a FY2004 budget that is 0.29% less than the FY2003 budget. The FY 2004 budget carriesforward budget cuts made in FY 2003 andincorporates minor revenue enhancementsaccomplished by extending the sales tax tocable and satellite services, increasing taxeson alcoholic beverages, and imposing a new

tax on hazardous waste facilities and pri-vately-owned non-hazardous solid waste fa-cilities. Bucking the downward trend in ap-propriations were the budgets for PublicEducation, up 1.96%; Higher Education,up 4.68%; Health, up 9.15%; and Envi-ronmental Quality, up 7.96%.

The governor has indicated that he maycall the Legislature into a special session thissummer to sell the Workers CompensationFund of Utah. The Fund’s tax exempt sta-tus and ties to state government are deter-rents to expanding its business out-of-state.Studies are being conducted on the termsand conditions of a potential sale.

Chair’s Column, continued

RACSS and you, however, are perfecttogether. As a legislative researcher or com-mittee aide, RACSS is your professionalorganization. It exists to help people likeyou and me—professional legislativestaff—be more effective. Over the years,RACSS has sponsored training sessions tohelp us foster and refine the communica-tions, interpersonal, research and analyti-cal skills that are a central part of our everyworkday; presented wide-ranging profes-sional development programs; and offeredissue-focused round tables. RACSS is anetwork for the exchange of informationand ideas among professional legislativestaffers. It is our professional organization.

Interested in getting involved? Thereare three openings on the Executive Com-mittee that have to be filled this July. Notready for the Executive Committee rightnow? What about volunteering to serveon our Professional Development TaskForce? The task force develops programproposals for our sessions at the NCSLannual meetings and the RACSS’s seniorskills seminar each fall.

To be successful and effective, profes-sional organizations must serve the needsand interests of their members. What doyou want from RACSS? What would make“RACSS and you—Perfect together?” Getinvolved!


The recent restructuring of NCSL’s com-mittee organization provides new oppor-tunities for legislative staff participation.Last summer, NCSL merged the Assem-bly on State Issues (ASI) and Assembly onFederal Issues (AFI) into a single bodyknown as the Standing Committees.

Formerly, the AFI committees developedpolicy to support NCSL’s Congressionallobbying agenda, while the ASI commit-tees served primarily as a mechanism forinformation exchange between states andfor training. Staff participated fully in theASI committees but only legislators couldserve on the committees of the AFI.

The merger of the ASI and AFI com-mittees breaks down the artificial separa-tion between federal and state issues, elimi-nates the overlap in jurisdiction betweenthe two sets of committees and allows leg-islative staff to participate in every phase

of committee work, with the exception ofvoting on policy. The reorganization rec-ognizes staff ’s important role in interpret-ing and implementing federal policy.

Typical work products of the commit-tees will include books, Web pages, sessionsat the Annual Meeting, Power Point pre-sentation files, and the adoption of policystatements, which become the basis forNCSL’s Congressional lobbying program.

The new committee structure serves asa complement to the staff section structure.While staff sections are organized by pro-fessional discipline, such as fiscal analysis,legal services, clerks, and so forth, the stand-ing committees address policy areas, suchas transportation, education, banking, orenergy. For more information on the newNCSL Standing Committees, visit NCSL’swebsite at http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/standcomm.htm.

NCSL

STANDING COMMITTEES • Agriculture and Rural Development • Budgets and Revenue • Communications, Technology and

Interstate Commerce • Economic Development, Trade and

Cultural Affairs • Education • Energy and Electric Utilities • Environment and Natural Resources • Financial Services • Health • Human Services and Welfare • Labor and Workforce Development • Law and Criminal Justice • Legislative Effectiveness and State

Government • Redistricting and Elections • Transportation

NCSL Merges ASI and AFIInto the NCSL Standing Committeesby Steve Miller, Chief, Legislative Reference Bureau, Wisconsin

Research and Committee Staff SectionNational Conference of State Legislatures7700 East First PlaceDenver, CO 80230

racss newsletter...(301) 970-5200 or jeanne mejeur at (303) 364-7700, x1467. nominations for the...

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