Starting on the right foot.

• Author: Feustel, Bruce
• Position: TOOLS OF THE TRADE - Orienting legislators

The capitol can be an intimidating place. That's one of the first lessons freshmen lawmakers learn. But if orientation programs are done right, it's not the only one.

New legislators need to be effective right from the start, dealing with constituent demands and learning about the tough policy, taxing and spending issues they are about to face. Nearly every state offers an orientation program, and here are seven steps from the people who plan them to get those new members up to speed.

1. AVOID OVERLOAD Don't provide so much information that new members' eyes glaze over.

   "I constantly have to think about what they [new members] need to know and when they need to know it," says Wendy Madsen, who coordinates Wyoming's orientation. "We include only what they need in an orientation session."

   Splitting the orientation program into different segments helps. Many states hold a short "nuts and bolts" session soon after the election to put legislators on the payroll, teach them how to set up their office and hire staff, and show them where staff agencies are located. A second workshop closer to the session may concentrate on legislative procedure and include a mock committee hearing and floor session. Subsequent sessions can address state finances, education, health care or ethical legislative conduct. The key is splitting up the training to minimize information overload.

   "As staffers, we're trained to think and worry about the details," says Mary Quaid of Louisiana. "When you plan new member orientation, you have to resist that impulse and realize that new legislators will learn those details later on."

2. USE VETERANS New legislators pay great attention to experienced legislators. Often the most popular orientation session is a panel of second-term legislators on the topic, "What I Wish I Had Known When I Started in the Legislature."

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   "Current legislators will tell them what they really need to know," says John Yaeger of New Mexico's Legislative Council. "Sometimes, as staff, we have to be more reserved."

3. GET COMFORTABLE John Pollak of Iowa's Legislative Services Agency says to plan activities that get new legislators comfortable in the Capitol, with staff and with each other. In Iowa, the new legislators are divided into small groups for Capitol tours. Freshmen meet staff in various agencies and spend time with their fellow freshmen.

   "It's like the first day of school, but it is important for them to see how they're going to...