National Conference of State Legislatures

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States.[1]

National Conference of State Legislatures
AbbreviationNCSL
MottoThe Forum for America's Ideas
Formation1975
Typenon-governmental organization
Location
Executive Director
Tim Storey
WebsiteNCSL.org

Background

According to their website, the mission of the Conference is:

to advance the effectiveness, independence and integrity of legislatures and to foster interstate cooperation . . . especially in support of state sovereignty and state flexibility and protection from unfunded federal mandates and unwarranted federal preemption. The conference promotes cooperation between state legislatures in the U.S. and those in other countries. . . . [and] is committed to improving the operations and management of state legislatures, and the effectiveness of legislators and legislative staff. NCSL also encourages the practice of high standards of conduct by legislators and legislative staff.[2]

NCSL maintains an office in Denver, Colorado and Washington, D.C.

Eight Standing Committees, composed of legislators and legislative staff appointed by the leadership of the legislatures, serve as the central organizing mechanism for NCSL members. Each Committee provides a means by which state legislators can share experience, information, and advice on a variety of state issues ranging from policy to management.

Committees meet together twice each year at the NCSL Capitol Forum and NCSL's Legislative Summit to adopt state-federal legislative policies that will ultimately guide NCSL's lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. These committee meetings also serve as an opportunity for states to network and establish flows of information as well as experience-based suggestions from other states. In addition to the NCSL Capitol Forum and the Legislative Summit, NCSL builds the state legislative community by hosting various web seminars, leadership meetings, and access to relevant websites and online documents throughout the year.

Issues spanning multiple committee jurisdictions are managed by NCSL's Task Forces. Unlike the permanent Standing Committees, Task Forces are created for a specific period time and aim to develop positions on highly complex and controversial issues such as immigration reform and welfare. Task Forces are composed of 20 to 30 legislators and legislative staff who are appointed by the NCSL president or staff chair.

Day-to-day operations of the organization managed by its Executive Director, Tim Storey.[3] The organization is led by a legislator who serves as its president and by a legislative staffer who serves as staff chair. Twenty years after its founding, NCSL was led in 1994 by its first female president, former Congresswoman Karen McCarthy. Its first African-American president, Rep. Dan Blue, served in 1998–99. The 2019–20 president of NCSL is Representative Robin Vos of Wisconsin, and the staff chair is Martha Wigton of Georgia. Each year, NCSL's presidency alternates between legislators of the Republican and Democratic parties.

The NCSL is considered part of the 'Big Seven', a group of organizations that represent local and state government in the United States.

Past NCSL presidents and staff chairs
  • 2019–20 – Speaker Robin Vos and Martha Wigton
  • 2018–19 – Senator Toi Hutchinson and Jon Heining
  • 2017–18 – Senator Deb Peters and Chuck Truesdell
  • 2016–17 – Senator Michael Gronstal, Senator Dan Blue and Raul Burciaga
  • 2015–16 – Senator Curtis Bramble and Karl Aro
  • 2014–15 – Senator Debbie Smith and Peggy Piety
  • 2013–14 – Senator Bruce Starr and Tom Wright
  • 2012–13 – Speaker Terie Norelli and Patsy Spaw
  • 2011–12 – Senator Stephen Morris and Michael Adams
  • 2010–11 – Senator Richard T. Moore and Tim Rice
  • 2009–10 – Senator Don Balfour and Nancy Cyr
  • 2008–09 – Speaker Joe Hackney and Gary VanLandingham
  • 2007–08 – Representative Donna Stone and Sharon Crouch Steidel
  • 2006–07 – Senator Leticia Van de Putte and Steve Miller
  • 2005–06 – Senator Steve Rauschenberger and Susan Clark Schaar
  • 2004–05 – Delegate John Hurson and Jim Greenwalt
  • 2003–04 – Speaker Martin Stephens and Max Arinder
  • 2002–03 – Senator Angela Monson and Gary Olson
  • 2001–02 – Senator Steve Saland and Ramona Kenady
  • 2000–01 – Senator Jim Costa and Diane Bolender
  • 1999–00 – Representative Paul Mannweiler and John B. Phelps
  • 1998–99 – Representative Dan Blue and Tom Tedcastle
  • 1997–98 – Senator Richard Finan and Anne Walker
  • 1996–97 – Representative Michael Box and Russell T. Larson
  • 1995–96 – Senator James Lack and Alfred "Butch" Speer
  • 1994–95 – Representative Karen McCarthy, Representative Jane L. Campbell and Ted Terris
  • 1993–94 – Senator Robert Connor and John Turcotte
  • 1992–93 – Representative Arthur Hamilton and Donald Schneider
  • 1991–92 – Senator Paul Bud Burke and Terry Anderson
  • 1990–91 – Speaker John Martin and William Russell
  • 1989–90 – Representative Lee Daniels and Patrick O'Donnell
  • 1988–89 – Senator Samuel B. Nunez Jr. and Betty King
  • 1987–88 – Senator Ted Strickland and John Andreason
  • 1986–87 – Representative Irving J. Stolberg and Sue Bauman
  • 1985–86 – Senator David Nething and Dale Cattanach
  • 1984–85 – Representative John Bragg and Leo Memmott
  • 1983–84 – Senator Miles Ferry and John Lattimer
  • 1982–83 – Assemblyman William F. Passannante and Joe Brown
  • 1981–82 – Senator Ross Doyen and Robert Smartt
  • 1980–81 – Representative Richard Hodes and Patrick Flahaven
  • 1979–80 – Speaker George Roberts and David Johnston
  • 1978–79 – Senator Jason Boe and Arthur Palmer
  • 1977–78 – Senator Fred Anderson and Robert Herman
  • 1976–77 – Speaker Martin Olav Sabo and McDowell Lee
  • 1975–76 – Representative Tom Jensen and Bonnie Reese
  • 1975 – Senator Kevin B. Harrington and Eugene Farnum

Committees

NCSL has 8 standing committees whose membership consists of state legislators and staff:

  • Budgets and Revenue
  • Communications, Financial Services, and Interstate Commerce
  • Education
  • Health and Human Services
  • Labor and Economic Development
  • Law, Criminal Justice and Public Safety
  • Natural Resources and Infrastructure
  • Redistricting and Elections

These committees establish policy positions and coordinate lobbying efforts in Washington DC.

Task forces

NCSL uses task forces to complement the work of the 8 standing committees. Composed of legislators and legislative staff, task forces are temporary and deal with issues that cut across the jurisdictions of multiple standing committees. Currently, there are 8 task forces:

  • Agriculture
  • Cybersecurity
  • Energy Supply
  • Immigration and the States
  • Innovations in State Health Systems
  • Insurance
  • International Relations
  • Military and Veterans Affairs
  • State and Local Taxation

Policy positions

In the most general terms, NCSL works to enhance the role of states in the federal system. NCSL opposes unfunded federal mandates and federal preemption of state authority, providing state legislatures with the flexibility to implement policy solutions. NCSL supports enactment of the Main Street Fairness Act, which would simplify existing sales tax collection laws. The Act would grant states the authority to require all sellers, including online merchants, to collect sales and use taxes, generating billions of dollars of tax revenue for state governments.

Events

NCSL organizes two annual events for the general membership:

  • NCSL Capitol Forum
  • Legislative Summit (Annual Meeting)

The Legislative Summit is the largest of these events, partly because it occurs in the summer when state legislatures are in recess. Its location varies year to year. The NCSL Capitol Forum alternates between Washington D.C. and a location that varies year to year.

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See also

References
  1. Nugent, John D. (2006). "Federalism in America: An Encyclopedia - National Conference of State Legislatures". Center for the Study of Federalism. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017.
  2. "NCSL - About Us". National Conference of State Legislatures. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020.
  3. "Tim Storey Named New Executive Director of NCSL".
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