They're over here from over there! (foreign dignitaries visit the US to scrutinize their democratic functioning)

• Author: Gordon, Dianna

The fax arrived seconds ago...15 provincial officials from Lower Grand Fenwick will arrive in the Capitol tomorrow. Their goal: Viewing representative government in action via the workings of the state legislature.

Hellllp! the anxious staffer assigned to hosting these vistiors may yelp. What do they eat? What's acceptable? What's unacceptable? How do I act? Does anyone know English? And what do they want to know about legislation? Are their interests in the fiscal area? Do they want to know about taxes? Revenue? Expenditures? Staffing? What do they want, and who can tell them about it?

It's going to be a fast trip to the library and a night of cramming on the quaint quirks of Fenwickian culture. And tomorrow it will be a frantic race to line up legislators, professors and other experts for briefings and seminars.

Shared Dilemma

Playing host to dignitaries from other lands has become a situation more legislative staffers face as the walls come tumbling down in former Soviet bloc countries, and representatives from fledgling governments come calling on states to absorb the ideals or just the ideas of democratic government and capitalist entrepreneurship.

Because volunteer organizations often set up the programs for international visitors, the call to arrange time and tours at the legislature may come only a short while before the delegation is on the Capitol steps.

Unlike some staffers, JoAnn Hedrick, clerk of the Delaware House, had months to prepare for an official visit from Estonia. Still, there were problems that had to be solved before the delegates arrived.

"Fortunately, we have quite a large Estonian community in the state. We were in touch with those people, asking them to host suppers, provide places to stay and generally help with the visit," she recalls. Also pressed into service for talks and briefings were individual legislators and University of Delaware professors.

Special Offices Set Up

In states like California and Kentucky such delegations arrive frequently enough that special international relations offices have been set up. In Maryland, a staff person helps coordinate activities for foreign visitors.

"I think if a state is interested in setting up such an office, they should first assess the number of visits and the degree of other international activity in their state," says Susan Foreman, California's director of federal and international relations. "We have a large consular corps based in California and that adds considerably to the work of our office. In addition, due to our multi-ethnic population, our constituents are more concerned and involved in international activities than more homogeneous populations may be."

In the last three years, her staff has handled an annual average of more than 600 dignitaries representing 50 to 60 foreign countries. Maryland averages up to 500 international guests a year. And Kentucky's Office for Federal and International Relations, established in 1992, played host to approximately 120 overseas visitors in the last seven months.

"Even if there aren't a lot of visits, I think it would be advisable to have someone on staff who can handle the protocol involved with visiting dignitaries," Foreman says. "The people who come to see your legislature in action are generally diplomats. They don't want to be a problem, and the worst thing you can do is make them feel like they're imposing by doing such things as shuttling them from person to person or leaving them standing around in the hallways."

No, it's probably not exactly politically correct to leave a high-level diplomat cooling his heels in the lobby as harried staff people wonder what to do with him.

Foreign Interest Grows in Interior

Several years ago, when foreign delegations visited the United States, they normally gravitated toward New York City, the financial center of power, or to Washington, D.C., the political fulcrum.

It's a different story now.

Statistics from 1991 show mounting international interest across the nation. Although coastal states, such as Florida, Texas and New York, have a track record of diverse international activities and of hosting large foreign delegations, official visits are no longer confined to those areas. An informal NCSL survey--there are no central points of entry and most states don't have exact numbers--indicated such states as Wisconsin were attracting the attention of foreign officials. Visits by several foreign delegations also were logged by states like South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Washington.

"The sheer volume of government officials coming to the United...