The Thicket at State Legislatures

The Man who Links the Academy and the Legislature

by Karl Kurtz

In my 40 or so years of observing, studying and hanging out with legislators and legislative staff, I have found a great many of them whom I admire and look up to.  Somewhere near the top of my list would be Minnesota's John Brandl, who, better than anyone else I know, has been able to combine a career in the legislature and public life with "the academy," as he is fond of calling his 30-year affiliation with the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.

For 15 years, 1990-2004, John was director of the Legislative Staff Management Institute, an executive management program for senior legislative staff cosponsored by NCSL and the Humphrey Institute.  He and I were partners in this enterprise.  John, a professor of economics who served for 12 years in the Minnesota Legislature, was the person who made LSMI "jell" (an inside joke that one class will recognize).  He had a unique ability, through personal warmth, scholarly rigor, public policy perspective and hard-knocks political stories, to bring together our disparate classes of senior legislative staff from all across the country.

One of John's favorite stories is about how much he liked working in both academic and political life because one of these jobs could relieve the burdens of the other:  "When I got tired of the politics, the backstabbing and the nastiness of my job, I would leave the campus and go over to the capitol and get a new lease on life," he would say.

Lori Sturdevant of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote a marvelous column this past weekend, "The professor of policy," about John.

John is currently battling a recurrence of stomach cancer that first surfaced a year ago.  The Humphrey Institute held a dinner to honor him tonight.  I would have liked to have been there but couldn't.  Instead I share these few thoughts in The Thicket about an admirable man.  The roughly 300 legislative staff who experienced LSMI under John join me in wishing him good courage and keeping him in our prayers.

The Legislative Staff Management Institute has since moved to Sacramento under the cosponsorship of the University of Southern California and Sacramento State University, but we honor our 15 year history with the faculty of the Humphrey Institute, none moreso than John Brandl.

Wikis Make Gains in Government and Legislatures

by Pam Greenberg

Wikis are slowly finding a place in government and in state legislatures. Wikis allow users to add and edit content on a web page, taking advantage of the idea that a collective wisdom will create a better result.  Utah Representative Steve Urquhart's Politicopia, which we highlighted in 2007, was the first state legislative policy wiki. It created a place for citizens and legislators to discuss a number of policy issues facing the Utah Legislature. But wikis are also being used within and across government agencies. For example, Intellipedia is the U.S. intelligence community's wiki. California has a best practices wiki, where state employees can submit best practices in information technology, customer service, human resources and other areas.

Now, legislative technology staff in Idaho have developed Legipedia, a wiki that initially replicated a printed manual that is given to legislative attachés (session-only legislative staff) each year. The manual has instructions for new attachés about how to use the various computer applications within the legislature. The goals for the wiki were to reduce printing and distribution costs, expand the amount of information available to users, provide a faster and easier way to find information, and to "put the documentation process in the hands of the people actually doing the work so they can update the instructions to reflect the best way to handle tasks." The project was highlighted in a National Association of Legislative Information Technology newsletter article in Winter 2008, with a follow-up article in Summer 2008.

Tim Russert, ex-Legislative Staffer

New York Senate staffer Jeff Wice reported this little known fact about Tim Russert in a posting in the blog, Capitol Confidential:

...Tim Russert served as counsel to the Assembly Railroads Subcommittee in 1976. This was right after law school and before he went to work with me in the Moynihan Senate campaign. His chairman was Vincent Graber. Tim’s greatest and proudest accomplishment was to arrange a train trip with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to save Grand Central Terminal’s historic status from development.

Of course, Tim returned to Albany several years later to work for Governor Cuomo in a much more public role.

After posting this item, we received the following elaboration from Jeff:

LaFleur is Flourishing

by Meagan Dorsch, Pam Greenberg, Janna Goodwin

A big congrats to Robbie LaFleur, Director of the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, who has been named recipient of the 2008 Peter S. Popovich Award.

In case you are not familiar with this award, it is given each year by the Minnesota Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists to “the person or organization that exemplifies the fight for First Amendment Rights.” SPJ will present the award to LaFleur on Thursday, June 12 in St. Paul.

A little bit of Minnesota background for everyone...this award is named for the late Peter S. Popovich. He is described as a champion of open government during his years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, as the chief judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals and as the chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The Minnesota Coalition on Government Information nominated LaFleur because “for nearly a decade Robbie has been Director of the Legislative Reference Library, the special library that serves members and staff of the Minnesota State Legislature. Though her primary clientele is the Legislature, Robbie has distinguished herself by always bearing in mind and addressing the needs of the public, including investigative journalists who are steady customers at the LRL.”

LaFleur also served as the committee chair of The National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Research Librarians Staff Section from 2002 - 2003. In 2005, LaFleur also served as an at-large member on NCSL's Online Democracy Award Committee.

Congrats Robbie LaFleur!

Good Leadership or Good Looking?

by Meagan Dorsch

I love funny emails and I think the funniest one to date arrived yesterday in my in-box.

A blog called Elected Hotties wanted to let me know that I still had time to vote for one of the hottest legislators in the Utah House of Representatives. Don't worry everyone! Voting has just started for both men and women. Next week, Elected Hotties will judge the members of the Utah Senate, and after Utah, Elected Hotties is coming to vote on members of your legislature!

I had to check out this website. The site's tag line alone ("just another way to get to know your elected officials...the hot ones anyway") made me laugh out loud and take 15 minutes out of my day to explore the webpage. My favorite part is the scrolling pictures of the "winners so far." When you log on (because I know you will) put your mouse over a picture. HA!

This website transported me back to 1985 when I was cutting pictures out of Teen Beat and Tiger Beat magazines. I began to wonder if this is the 2008 version of the magazines for legislative junkies? Can we print their pictures and put them up on our office walls?

There is a conversation in the blogosphere about the Elected Hotties website. We want to hear your two cents.

What Happened at NCSL's Spring Forum?

By Meagan Dorsch and Michelle Blackston

How can states address their educational capacity for training nurses? What effects do immigration raids have on families and how can child welfare agencies be prepared? Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case from North Carolina during its next term that could dramatically change the rules for 2010 redistricting for all states.

These are just some of the sessions held last month at NCSL's Spring Forum in Washington, D.C. This year, more than 600 state legislators and legislative staff were able to attend. 

Listen and enjoy over 12 different sessions highlighting federal and state policy issues ranging from health care and REAL ID to the 2008 Elections.

If You're Bored with Analyzing Bills...

...try a little humor.  This from Steve Wiegand's column in the Sacramento Bee today:

The lot of a committee consultant is not an easy one. He or she must slog through mounds of bills, study the contents, and then make them understandable for even legislators and journalists.

So one appreciates the little gems of humor that now and then make their way into a bill analysis. Like the one prepared by Senate Local Government Committee analyst Brian Weinberger for AB 1856. The bill would allow the Elsinore Water District's board of directors to hold its public meetings outside district boundaries in order to accommodate larger crowds.

Weinberger headed his "comments" section of AB 1856's analysis "Horseshoes, hand grenades and public meetings," and wrote "regardless of the admonition that 'close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,' the Elsinore Water District ought to be permitted to conduct its board meetings close to the District's boundaries."

Admirable work. And as his Shakespeare-minded colleague Peter Detwiler points out, restrained, too: Weinberger could have referred to the small SoCal town of Elsinore as a "hamlet."

Bill Russell Day in Vermont

by Karl Kurtz

The Vermont General Assembly recently honored Bill Russell, the longtime director of its Legislative Council who has announced his retirement at the end of this legislative session, by declaring May 1 to be "William Russell day."  Bill was Staff Chair of NCSL in 1990-91 and has been a good friend for a long time.  Here's the text of the resolution:

H.C.R. 332

House concurrent resolution honoring William Paul Russell’s extraordinary legislative staff service and declaring May 1, 2008 as “Bill Russell Day” in the general assembly

Offered by:  All members of the House

Offered by:  All members of the Senate

Whereas, in 1913, the legislature enacted Act 14 providing for the governor to appoint, and the senate to confirm “two men of legal training and practice, who have had legislative experience” to serve as the revisers of bills presented to either branch of the legislature, and

Whereas, this institutional organizational arrangement has since evolved into the legislative council as it exists today and as provided for in Title 2 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated, and

Whereas, in 1972, the general assembly exercised wise judgment when it hired William Russell, a graduate of Cornell University and Georgetown University Law School, to serve as director and chief counsel of the legislative council, and

Whereas, Bill Russell’s special gift was his appreciation and understanding of the legislature’s role in our system of government and his strong command of its intricate rules and procedures, and

Using Technology to Improve Constituent Communication in Algeria

by Meagan Dorsch

I am excited to be in Algeria with an NCSL delegation to share experiences with members of parliament and staff on how to use technology to communicate better with the public and the media.

One of the challenges of cross-cultural communication about legislative strengthening is figuring out what ideas work best in different countries.  For example, Virginia Delegate Kristen Amundson and Ric Cantrell of the Utah Senate staff gave an overview of the technology tools they use in their legislatures. Both highlighted features like blogs and podcasts, tools that parliament members were familiar with but had never used. Ric did a terrific interactive session with the Algerians on how to set up and begin writing a blog from beginning to end.  The audience was really engaged and enjoyed these sessions, but they expressed concern that if they offered this type of technology to the public, it would not be used.

We learned that of Algeria's 34 million people, only about 1.9 million own a computer. But 28 million Algerians own a cell phone. And it is projected that by the year 2010, Algeria will have 36 million mobile phones--more phones than people! This is why Ric's second presentation on "text blasting" resonated so well with our audience.

Ric and the Utah Senate started "text blasting" five months ago with a small Utah company, Vox Partners. Anyone can sign up as a subscriber to receive a short text message sent out by Ric's office about things that are going on in the legislature. Ric demonstrated this process by importing the cell phone numbers of everyone in our NCSL delegation into his Vox website. He typed in a message, sent it off, and 8 seconds later we all received his message. When our ringers went off inside the workshop, the Algerians' eyes lit up! Ric told the crowd that Utah is beginning a movement by using this form of technology, but if Algeria picks it up, they could truly become a pioneer!

You can read all about the members of our delegation and our experiences--even how I regretted my choice of shoes to take on the trip--in a blog that we set up specially for our delegation, Algiers 2008. But I also want to share a few other highlights here in The Thicket.   

District Offices for Legislators

by Brian Weberg and Karl Kurtz

District offices, on the model of Congressional district offices that handle constituent casework and other district matters, are rare in state legislatures. When legislators are in their districts, most of them conduct their legislative work from home or from their business. 

However, in legislatures like California, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, district office operations rival their Congressional counterparts in terms of scope of operation, staffing and outreach.  In Texas, for example, state senators may operate several district offices in their geographically large election districts with an average population of nearly 700,000.  There are nine states, mostly the largest population states, that provide district offices for all members (see map--click to expand).

In another 13 states funding is provided to legislators to support their work in the district and they can decide whether to spend it on this purpose or some other.  For example, Tennessee state law says, "Each member of the general assembly shall be paid a monthly expense allowance of $1,000 to provide for expenses necessitated in connection with the member's official duties when away from the seat of government including, but not limited to, telecommunications, office, secretarial and other assistance incidental expenses." (Tennessee Code Annotated 3-1-106(f))  A few Tennessee legislators use these funds for formal district offices, but most work out of their homes or places of business.

The remaining 28 states do not provide district offices to legislators.   For analysis of why some states provide districts and others don't, read below the jump.

Changing Perceptions of Public Access

by Gene Rose

State governments are often accused and criticized in the media for blocking access to records and information. A pair of legislative staffers in Oklahoma are doing their best to change that perception.

Oklahoma Senate Communications Director Malia Bennett and Senate Department of Information Systems Director John Warren earned a special public award for innovations that give the public greater access to the activities of the Senate. The award, given by Freedom of Information Oklahoma, recognizes organizations that enable and thwart public access to records. The winners of this year's awards were summarized by this article in the Oklahoman.

Bennett and Warren were given high marks for the Senate's Web site, streaming proceedings of Senate deliberations and posting votes in real time.

In a press release issued by the Oklahoma Senate, Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan said, "Our communications and information systems departments have been proactive and innovative in developing a variety of features to provide the public with greater access to the business of the Senate. This is a well-deserved honor for our staff." Senate Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee echoed those remarks, said, "We are proud that they have been honored with this award. The Senate will continue working to find new and innovative ways to provide the public with government information.”

Photo of Oklahoma Capitol dome by Eric Oxendorf.

Long Time Legislative Auditor Set to Retire

by Bob Boerner

According to The Associated Press State & Local Wire, the Treasure State is losing the long-serving legislative auditor to retirement.  Montana's legislative auditor since August 1985, Scott Seacat, will retire on June 30, 2008.

Mr. Seacat is the third legislative auditor in Montana history since the office was created in 1967 and is the longest-serving.  He has worked in the Legislative Audit Division for 32 years and headed it for 24 years.  He estimates that audits over the past 32 years have saved Montana taxpayers more than $350 million.  The Montana Legislative Audit Division does independent financial audits and performance audits of state government agencies and programs.

A total of 45 state legislatures, including Montana, have established these specialized evaluation offices to help state legislators meet their critical oversight responsibilities.  There are only three directors who have served longer than Mr. Seacat.  George Schroeder, in the South Carolina Legislative Audit Council, has served as Director since November 1975 and Jim Nobles, in the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, has served as Legislative Auditor since 1983.  And, John W. Turcotte was Executive Director of the Mississippi Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation Expenditure Review (PEER) from 1978 to 1995, Director of the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) from 1996 to 2003 and Director of the North Carolina Program Evaluation Division since June, 2007.

California Legislative Analyst Liz Hill to Retire

by Karl Kurtz

The Sacramento Bee today reports "Longtime California legislative analyst announces retirement." 

Talk about legislative lions!  Elizabeth Hill, 58, began working in the Legislative Analyst's Office in 1976 and became its head in 1986.  She is the second-longest serving legislative fiscal officer in the country (behind Wisconsin's Bob Lang) and one of the most influential, innovative and respected staffers in the country.

Liz was given one of NCSL outstanding legislative staff achievement awards in 2006.  Here is the citation:

This award is given in recognition of Liz Hill's outstanding career of achievement and excellence in supporting the work of the California Legislature.

Liz has had a 30-year career in California state government. She joined the Legislative Analyst's Office in 1976, and after working in several policy areas became California's Legislative Analyst in 1986.  The analyst is elected by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, a 16 member bipartisan committee.

As legislative analyst, Liz serves as a nonpartisan fiscal advisor to both houses of the California Legislature and oversees the preparation of annual fiscal and policy analyses of the state budget and its various programs. Her office also has the responsibility for preparing impartial analyses for all initiatives and constitutional measures qualifying for the statewide ballot. The office currently has a staff of 49.

Liz has also been an active member of the Western Legislative Fiscal Officers' Association and the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices.  In 1997, she was recognized as a “Public Official of the Year” by Governing Magazine and she was a 2005 recipient of the National Public Service Award from the American Society for Public Administration and the National Academy of Public Administration.

We previously featured the work of her office in "California's Unique Legislative Analysis of the Governor's Budget."

Richard Huddleston, Chief Clerk of the Oklahoma House

by Karl Kurtz

Richard Huddleston, Chief Clerk of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1976 to 1983, died last week.  Here is an obituary from The Oklahoman.  Caroline Dennis, director of committee staff for the Oklahoma Legislature and the one who called this story to our attention, said of Huddleston, "He was one of the people most responsible for developing the legislative staff in Oklahoma and modernizing the whole process here." A resolution passed by the Oklahoma Senate today, provides specifics on his role as an institution-builder:

WHEREAS, during his tenure, Richard L. Huddleston’s leadership guided the House of Representatives into the modern era, including such reforms as the first election of the House Speaker by the members of that body rather than by appointment of the Governor, the first reapportionment of legislative districts, the end of the regular practice of using the Committee of the Whole and the end of the annual practice of covering the House clock to extend the session beyond the time set for sine die adjournment; and
WHEREAS, as the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, Richard L. Huddleston was responsible for designing the structure of the independent House staff and the hiring of the employees for that first staff, and he was personally responsible for encouraging and fostering the careers of many successful House employees who later became leaders in their professions, in politics, in public administration, in higher education and in private business....

Brian Weberg's use of the term "legislative lion" in the previous post to describe a veteran North Carolina staffer applies equally to Richard Huddleston.

Terry Sullivan Retires in North Carolina

by Brian Weberg

This week, for the first time in 36 years, the North Carolina Legislature is operating without Terry Sullivan in its employment.  Another legislative lion has retired.  Terry worked at the research division all those years and served as its director for most of them.  He guided his nonpartisan agency though some pretty tough political times, always keeping a low personal profile while fostering confidence in his staff from Democrats and Republicans alike.  Being the quiet and deferential man that he is, Terry probably does not invite any of the attention that his retirement has garnered.  I expect, however, that being named Tar Heel of the Week by The News & Observer probably put a smile on his face. 

At 62, Terry has spent half his life at the Legislature.  His is a kind of public service that seems more and more rare these days.  Terry's departure, of course, is representative of the exodus of veteran staff directors taking place in legislatures across the country.  We have speculated on this trend and what it means for agencies like Terry's research group.  Who will follow in his example? Will we see people join this kind of nonpartisan public service who are willing to work behind the scenes for so many years, confident enough in their contribution that they can live without their 15 minutes of fame? 

But enough with the search for deeper meaning in all of this.  Today while Terry Sullivan dreams of upcoming adventures in other parts of the world, we simply want to thank him for his dedication, contribution, loyalty and kindness in service to his state, his legislature and to the cause of representative democracy.  Safe travels, Terry....

No Legislative Web Site? Back to the Stone Age

by Pam Greenberg

Asked what it would be like if his Legislature's Web site went out of business, Utah Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble said, "It would be back to the stone age."

You don't often see news articles focusing on legislative websites or the staff behind them, but a recent Salt Lake Tribune article praises the Utah Legislature's Web site and gives credit to the legislative staffers behind it.  The article calls Utah's website "inexorably essential to the lawmaking process" with its "live audio of every committee meeting in the building…e-mail updates for anyone who wants to follow a bill on its way to becoming a law…and cross-referenced hyperlinks to every bill, every legislator, every hearing, every vote."   

One of my favorite aspects of the site is how you can look up a bill and then listen to or watch the relevant excerpts from archived debates.  They're also offering subscriptions to downloadable podcasts.

The article quotes a local ISP provider who also praises the site, but urges that they provide more opportunities for direct democracy features, such as allowing citizens to comment on a bill (something the Nevada legislature does in its online opinion polls).  But the Utah Legislature also has already done some ground-breaking work in this area: one example is the online town meeting it held back in August 2007. 

The article ends by noting that the state will be hosting a group from Montana to see their system that provides for push-button publishing of audio files.  That's typical of Mark Allred, who is quoted in the article, and who is always generous in sharing his time and considerable expertise with other states. 

Not your Average Intern

by Larry Morandi

How would you like to have an intern whose resume includes former member of the legislature, former chief of staff to a speaker and former chair of a commission on strengthening the legislature?  If you're Oregon Rep. Karen Minnis, you have such an intern.

Nearly all states operate legislative internship programs.   What is most striking about them is their variety.  While focusing on college undergraduate and graduate students, some provide academic course credit, others do not.  Most are unpaid and part-time, but some include paid "fellows" that serve full-time for a year.  What stands out most about Oregon's program this year is one particular intern—Gary Wilhelms. 

If the name sounds familiar to legislative junkies, there's a reason for it.  Gary served as a state representative from 1973 to 1979.  He was chief of staff to former House Speaker Karen Minnis earlier this decade.  He also co-chaired the Public Commission on the Oregon Legislature which recommended the current special "annual" session, a "test-drive" for future annual sessions that voters would have to approve (see "Oregon Special Session Upheld by Court").

Now retired at 70, Gary still lacked one thing—a college degree.  So he enrolled in the distance-education program at Eastern Oregon University.  His daughter, Angela (chief of staff to the current House Republican Leader), suggested he intern during the special session.  He works on Representative Minnis' staff three days a week and will complete his assignment by writing a paper that compares his observations of the session with the goals of the commission.  Gary plans to graduate two years from now.  With all that experience, who knows what's next.

Gift of Kidney now Legal in Alaska

by Brian Weberg

The way has been cleared for a legislative staffer in Alaska to donate her kidney to an ailing legislator.  The Thicket first reported this developing story last week.  Yesterday, Governor Sarah Palin signed legislation eliminating the limit on the value of compassionate gifts to legislators.  Staffer Susan Stancliff was found to be a transplant match for Representative Richard Foster, but the procedure would have violated the existing $250 limit on compassionate gifts.  In signing the bill, Governor Palin called Stancliff an Alaskan hero (we agree!).  Foster, who continues to recover from a stroke, is hoped to be strong enough for the procedure by April.  Stay tuned....

Are Public Employee Salaries and Benefits Out of Line with the Private Sector?

by Ron Snell

On February 1, USA Today reported on the substantial and growing gap between average compensation in the public and the private sectors.   A little bit of analysis, though, suggests that the claim is highly misleading.

It's true that if, like USA Today, you compare average public employees' compensation with average private sector compensation – meaning the average of everyone in one category or the other – you see a startling difference.  Average employee compensation is 50 percent higher in the public sector than in the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Table 1.  Average Compensation, Private and Public Sectors, September 2007

	Average Hourly Salary	Average Hourly Benefits	Total
Private Sector	$18.42	$7.66	26.09
Public Sector	$26.26	$13.24	39.50

Averages, of course, bring together a lot of disparate information.  For the private sector, the CEO of Microsoft is lumped with the guy who flips burgers at McDonald's, and for the public sector, the director of your state medical school is averaged with the lady who flips burgers at the Capitol Cafeteria—if it hasn't been contracted out.  When the numbers are broken apart by what people do, they look different.

Table 2.  Average Compensation, Private and Public Sectors, September 2007,

By Category of Employment

	Average Hourly Salary	Average Hourly Benefits	Total
Private Sector Professionals	$33.02	$13.80	$46.82
Public Sector Professionals (education and legal)	$33.88	$14.06	$47.94
Private Sector Service Employees	$11.09	$4.61	$15.70
Public Sector Service Employees	$18.45	$12.29	$30.74

As table 2 shows, salaries and benefits for professionals vary only a little between the public and private sectors, with public employees having a 2.4 percent advantage.  That matters a lot in any comparison.  The employees I count as professionals in Table 2 – instructional employees in K-12 education and higher education plus judicial and legal employees --  make up 35 percent of all public employees (and this excludes other professionals working for governments, for whom there's no good count).   This very high percentage of professionals in the public sector, as compared with the private sector, weights average public sector salaries toward the high end.

The Gully Washer

by Brian Weberg

It has been a few years now since I have been down into the canyons of southern Utah to explore the wonders hidden deep in the tributaries of the Escalante River.  It's a wondrous place rich in history, remarkable in geography and unpredictable in behavior.  If you have not traveled U.S. Route 12 from Torrey to the town of Escalante, well, I can only recommend you do it when you can. 

One thing you learn early (or better learn) is that things can change fast down in the slots that carve their way to the river.  Hurricane Wash probably owes its name to this fact.  Sometimes rain can start to fall miles and miles up-canyon, building onto the flats above and funneling together from a thousand small trickles into a torrent that rams down through the narrow canyons, taking everything with it except the ubiquitous tamarisk that bend downstream but do not break, resembling the back of a porcupine with quills all pointed one way.  Hiking upstream against them can be backbreaking, tedious work.  My colleague Tim Storey can elaborate if you want more illustration. 

Now comes a trickle of a different sort, but one that may build into streams to become a real gulley washer for state legislatures.  As Karl Kurtz reported in a previous post to The Thicket, the old guard staff are beginning to leave.  The leading edge of the baby boomer generation is entering retirement.  Witness the departure at the end of 2007 of John Olsrud, long-time director of the Legislative Council in North Dakota.  He was in that job when I started at NCSL over 27 years ago.  And in Vermont, they currently are hiring to replace retiring Bill Russell, Legislative Counsel and director of the nonpartisan staff there for decades.  He was there when I started here, too. 

John and Bill represent a unique moment in the evolution of state legislatures.  They come from the great legislative reform movement of the 1960s and 70s which elevated the concept and practice of nonpartisan staffing to an almost religious cause.  And they also embody the idea (somewhat novel a few decades ago) that legislative staffing could be a great, life-long career--one both professionally satisfying and personally meaningful. 

The nonpartisan workplaces that John and Bill are leaving are peculiar and unique in the world of work.  Believers voluntarily check their passions at the door, guided by a philosophy that places their work product and the legislative institution above their own interests.  In essence, they sacrifice part of themselves to something larger.  The institution.  The process.  The law.  Gather with a group of veteran nonpartisan staff and get them talking about the value of their nonpartisan status.  Feel the almost religious fervor of these followers.  Feel the dedication and the loyalty.  Nonpartisanship is the prime directive; the legislative institution is the master.      

But what now?  Will the next generations believe?  Who will replace the Olsruds and Russells and their legion of followers?  What will happen when the gulley washer hits?  Are we ready?  Indications are that Gen X and Gen Y employees have different ideas about work and about their legislative careers.  Will they make the sacrifice?  Will they believe?  What can legislatures do now to recruit and retain the dedicated people they will need on board in five or ten or 15 years?  Who will lead?  Will nonpartisanship survive?  Or is it an idea born of the last reform movement but not part of the coming one?

When you backpack down into the canyons of the Escalante it's important to pick a campsite each evening in a place with an escape route to higher ground.  Some faint lightening or distant thunder can keep you up at night, listening for the sound of rushing water.  It's also helpful to have a map covering alternate routes because the path you plan may not be the path you get to take.  For many state legislatures, the distant thunder is audible.  The gully washer is predictable.  Time to get out the maps and head for higher ground.

Photo by the.voyager, courtesy of Flickr.

Morality in a Digital Age

by Gene Rose

Two journalists' thoughts on morality and communications return me to a reoccuring question I struggle with -- are state legislatures prepared to meet the challenges of communicating in the Web 2.0 age?

The New York Times columnist David Pogue was astonished recently when he couldn't find a question to college students about copyright protection that "would trigger these kids' morality alarm." By asking questions ranging from making safety copies of DVDs to downright illegal downloads of movies, he found that students living in the new digital age are used to acquiring free content and have few qualms about getting the digital content they want by any means necessary.

Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus asked some similar questions to students, but focused more on online newspaper content. Again, he found that students are so used to getting free online news articles that paying a fee for them struck the students as a crazy idea. His larger point is that journalism needs a better business model to