5 things clerks and secretaries want you to know.

• Author: South, Holly

Parliamentarians are the guardians of the gavel, protectors of the legislative process. They are the clerks, secretaries and their staff who juggle several roles to provide the knowledge, service and guidance legislators need to do their jobs well. They shepherd bills through the legislative process, record all chamber proceedings and advise legislators, including leaders, on parliamentary procedures.

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Although the ways they are elected, the size of their staffs and their duties vary, clerks and secretaries all have a deep appreciation and respect for the legislative institution, pride in their ability to use their parliamentary expertise to help members, and a strong sense of civic duty.

Devotion to the legislature and commitment to public service are what draw these professionals to this work despite the stress and the long, irregular hours. Not everyone can do this job. But for those who can, who are in chambers day in and day out, who watch the process and see how hard legislators can work to get something accomplished, it's what one clerk called, "kind of in spiring."

Here's what they want you to know.

1 We don't run the place-but we make the place run.

We are experts on procedure--from interpreting chamber rules and tracking bills to compiling the calendar and journal--documenting each step of the legislative process. This requires us to be extremely organized, to expect the unexpected and to "go with the flow."

Our staffs often describe us as the legislature's COOs or architects or even first responders because of our central role and the guiding hand we provide in our chambers.

Every morning we prepare a script and an agenda, which serves as a road map for the day. It includes the orders of business to be addressed, the bills to be processed and the messages to be handled from the other chamber or the governor.

And every evening, after the chamber adjourns, in at least 30 states, it's our job to record in the journal, as accurately as possible, every action taken that day. The journal must then be proofed and published so it can be viewed by legislators and the public.

2 We are passionate about the process.

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We shepherd legislation through the process, from introduction to enactment. We are essentially the traffic controllers as legislation moves through our chamber and, if passed, goes on to the other chamber or the governor. Whether a bill passes or not, we must store, engross (amend)...