Why NCSL?

• Author: Pound, William T.
• Position: Q & A - National Conference of State Legislatures - Interview

William T. Pound, executive director of NCSL, sat down with three officers of NCSL to discuss their views on the importance and effectiveness of NCSL now and into the future. Oregon Senator Bruce Start (R) is NCSL's president. New Hampshire Speaker Terie Norelli (D) is NCSL's immediate past president. Michael Adams, director of strategic planning in Virginia, is a former staff chair of NCSL.

William Pound: What do you find most special, most attractive about NCSL?

Terie Norelli: NCSL is the organization that deals with only state legislatures-not with governors, not with local municipalities or other branches of government. It is just for state legislatures. And I also think it's really special that NCSL is the voice of state legislatures in Washington, D.C.

Bruce Starr: It is the bipartisan organization. It is clearly defined by its balance. That's what really makes it special. And you mentioned the voice of the states. It is critically important. There is no other organization that has as much staff and as much focus upon the states' perspective when dealing with members of Congress or the executive branch.

Michael Adams: NCSL is the only organization that includes legislative staff in its mission. It is vitally important that legislative staff have a place to connect to each other and to understand that their statehouse isn't the only one tackling a certain set of circumstances, a certain set of issues, a certain environment that can exist and catch you by surprise. So staff's investment in the success of this organization should not be underestimated.

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Pound: What are some of our most successful programs or greatest successes in the last year or two?

Adams: The staff at NCSL play such a critically important role supporting legislators across the country. As the states have faced budget constraints, NCSL staff fill a void in our ability in our own capitols to have all the research that is necessary in grappling with the challenges we are facing as states. They are a resource that just doesn't exist anywhere else and that piece is incredibly valuable, particularly when you look at the fiscal condition of the states in the past few years.

Norelli: And NCSL has done that without raising state dues in four years. So at a time when state legislatures are cutting back funds, we have continued to provide a high level of resources to state legislators, to legislative staff. In essence, this organization is an extension of...