by Karl Kurtz
How many legislative internship programs have been cut because of the current budget situation? This was a recent information request that led me to survey state legislative internship coordinators--a list that includes both legislative staff coordinators and university-based coordinators.
I received 22 responses to the survey from 18 states. Thirteen states reported no change in their internship programs, four said that they had cut either the number of interns or the stipends they are paid, and one reported an increase in stipends in a university-based program.
Five of the respondents commented that student interest in their internship programs was up in recent years, presumably because of the difficulty of finding jobs and the recognition that internships can provide a leg up in getting a job.
Of the 13 programs that reported no changes, three of them said that it was because they don't pay any stipends to interns, so there is nothing to cut. My favorite comment in this category came from a university professor who runs an internship program on a campus that is about 90 miles from the state's capital:
My interns never have received a stipend, so the budget situation is irrelevant for them. Indeed, they pay a fee so I can rent vans from our motor pool to get them to the capitol. If anything, member interest in having these interns is up a bit.
That's true dedication, both by the professor who drives the interns to the capitol two days a week and the students who have to pay a fee to volunteer their services to the legislature.
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