Change ahead for legislative staffs.

• Author: Weberg, Brian

Growth in state legislative staff appears to be ending. Staff agencies are now being asked to do more with less.

When California voters approved Proposition 140 in 1990 and sent hundreds of legislative staffers in search of new employment, they also provided punctuation to an important moment in the history of legislative staff development. For decades legislative staffing had enjoyed growth and relative prosperity. But things changed, and the 1990s may mark a new beginning for state legislative staff agencies and for legislative staff.

In the halcyon years of legislative staffing, "change" meant expansion, specialization, decentralization and professionalization. Today change means rethinking, restructuring and retooling. Fiscal constraints, of course, lead the list of reasons for this shift. But the national mood for change and efficiency in government also have had their impact. Like other public and private organizations, legislative staff agencies are being asked to prove their value and to do more with less.

Proposition 140 mandated a 40 percent reduction in the budget of the California Legislature, eliminated the jobs of several hundred legislative staff and may cause the demise of two key legislative agencies--the Office of Legislative Analyst and the Office of Auditor General. According to an NCSL survey of legislative staff directors, California's draconian measures are unique. In fact, while growth appears taboo, few other legislatures have significantly decreased their workforce. Salaries are frozen in some states, but many legislatures continue to provide cost-of-living or other pay increases. Few states have tampered with employee benefit packages and furlough programs, and early retirement offerings are rare. However, most legislatures have severely limited or prohibited staff travel. Outside California, legislatures are cutting costs--but not their full-time staff.

The NCSL survey revealed a more fundamental trend in legislative staffing. Staff directors in 26 states indicated they have undertaken "a significant re-examination" of their operations. The scope of these efforts ranges widely from complete organizational reassessments to more limited, cost-motivated evaluations. In most cases, however, staff are rethinking their relationship to their key clients and setting new priorities for future operations. They are thinking strategically.

Oregon's nonpartisan Legislative Administration Committee staff offers a good example...