Making it work: three tips for smoothing out the sometimes rocky relationships between nonpartisan and partisan staff.

• Author: Rose, Laura
• Position: TOOLBOX

Change is a constant among legislative staff, whose professions have evolved greatly over the past 50 years. During the legislative reform movement in the 1960s, the increase in nonpartisan staff--hired to shore up the process and provide independent research, bill drafting and budget analysis--enhanced the stature and power of legislatures vis-a-vis the judicial and executive branches.

The reform-minded Citizens Conference on State Legislatures argued, in its influential 1971 report "The Sometime Governments," that staff were necessary for a well-functioning legislature. Staff, the report stated, heighten the ability of the legislature to learn, retain, analyze and evaluate large volumes of complicated information.

When staff expansions of the 1980s involved adding more caucus and personal staff (all partisan positions), nonpartisan staff weren't so enthusiastic. Some felt threatened, others disregarded. But many have found ways to work with, rather than compete against, their partisan colleagues.

Legislative staffs vary greatly by state. At one end of the spectrum are South Dakota and Wyoming, small states that rely on a small number of central, nonpartisan staffers. At the other end are California, New York and Pennsylvania, with large partisan staffs who greatly outnumber their nonpartisan counterparts. The other states are somewhere in between, each with its own partisan-nonpartisan mix, depending on the size of the state, the frequency and duration of its legislative sessions and whether its legislature is full- or part-time.

Despite tension in a few spots across the country, partisan and nonpartisan staff have found ways to complement each other--most of the time, in most places. Knowingly or unknowingly, they have learned to do the following.

TOOLBOX

*1.*

Respect each other's roles to build trust.

Nonpartisan and partisan staff have different roles in the legislative branch; understanding that each play an important role in a functional democracy is key. Nonpartisan staff tend to have a longer policy perspective and more institutional memory. Partisan staff work to advance the policy agenda of a legislator or caucus as well as assist with constituents' requests.

For nonpartisan staff, confidentiality is vital. Unlike their partisan colleagues, nonpartisan staff don't divulge their political views or what they're working on for other legislators. Strong confidentiality practices and a statutory directive of strict nonpartisanship...