COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN'S HANDBOOK

 

CHAPTER V

 

INTERIM COMMITTEE OPERATIONS

 

 

1.         DEVELOPING INTERIM STUDY PROPOSALS.

 

(a)        Importance of Interim Work.

 

It is obvious that much of the important work of a part time citizen legislature must of necessity be accomplished through its interim committees.  Ideally, these committees will take on the truly tough issues facing the state and through the course of intensive interim work, develop appropriate legislative responses.  Faced with limited time and budget, however, the interim committee process cannot operate effectively unless the committees identify, prioritize and select the most significant topics for interim study.

 

When notified by the Management Council about its meeting to consider interim studies (see Chapter II, Section 1), the committee chairmen schedule an organizational meeting at which interim topics are identified. Unfortunately, an "interim study planning meeting" held by an interim committee at the end of the legislative session sometimes follows this scenario: 

 

The interim committee meets for less than an hour during the last days of the session to plan interim studies.  This is a time when everyone is tired and ready to go home and the last thing anyone wants to do is think about interim work.  Because the Management Council is pressing for a preliminary list of study topics, the committee gives serious consideration to any issue that any individual member happens to bring up.  The proposed "studies list" developed at this meeting, then, typically involves: (1) issues only one member of the committee is truly concerned with; (2) proposals to continue previous committee studies that never got off the ground; (3) proposals to rehash legislation that failed during the current session.  In many cases, no "study" is needed, rather, this is simply a means to get committee sponsorship of an individual legislator's bill to enhance the chances for passage; (4) proposals to study broad "catch all" subjects; or (5) proposals to "monitor" some current or threatened federal program or activity which the legislature is likely powerless to affect in any event.

  

(b)        Identifying Study Topics/Issues Forecasting.

 

Identifying significant topics for interim study is one of the most important tasks facing the interim committee chairman and vice-chairman.  The following suggestions will hopefully prove helpful:

 

(i)         Begin developing a list of potential study topics as early as possible and encourage the committee to continuously review and update the list throughout the biennium.  A brief time allotted for "committee planning" would be appropriate on the agenda for each interim meeting. 

 

(ii)        Monitor innovations and "hot issues" in other states. 

 

It is true that there exist some issues worthy of study which are truly unique to Wyoming.  Likewise there are some issues which are deemed critical by states in other regions but which are of little interest in our state.  It is important to note, however, the great number of current issues and problems which Wyoming shares in common with other states, e.g., economic development, health care, worker's compensation issues, etc.  While there is a definite danger in rushing to consider every new innovation experimented with in other states, there is likewise a danger in ignoring trends and issues in other states until a crisis situation forces a consideration of those issues here in Wyoming. 

 

Numerous materials are available through LSO staff to committee chairmen interested in monitoring issues being addressed in other states including NCSL and CSG  periodic publications such as NCSL's annual "State Issues" and "State Enactments" reports.

 

(iii)       Select study topics within the logical jurisdiction of the committee.  The issue involved here is not turf battles with other committees but rather a logical division of labor with each committee studying topics within its own area of expertise.

 

(iv)       Select topics which are big enough or complicated enough to warrant committee "study."  Committees should avoid studies which constitute nothing more than a minimal review of previously considered legislation or consideration of a series of minor bills which could be handled as well by individual sponsors.  On a related note, committees should be especially wary of requests late in the year from individual legislators (seeking added impetus for their personal bills) to take over sponsorship of bills which have not been the subject of committee study.

 

 

(v)        If the committee has not already developed a list of potential study topics prior to the beginning of the session, the subject of interim work should be brought up at one of the committee's first meetings - and periodically thereafter - to encourage the committee members to begin discussing possibilities well in advance of the last days of the session.

 

(vi)       Other sources for identifying potential interim study topics include: recent decisions of the state supreme court affecting a subject area of concern to the committee; recommendations of state agencies; LSO staff recommendations.

 

(vii)      Prioritize study requests presented to the Management Council.  More often than not, interim committees request authorization to study more issues than the Council believes can be handled given the limited time and budget available. It is important, therefore, that the committee chairman clearly identify and fully explain the committee's top study priorities. 

 

In order to explain the committee's proposals and to answer questions, the chairman should make every effort to attend the Council meeting held prior to the close of the session at which preliminary decisions are made concerning interim studies.

 

 

2.         FORMAT FOR STUDY PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO MANAGEMENT COUNCIL.

 

See sample format in Appendix 3.

 

 

3.         INTERIM COMMITTEE BUDGET.

 

See Chapter II of this Handbook.

 

 

4.         SCHEDULING INTERIM WORK.

 

(a)        Getting Started.  Most committees are understandably reluctant to commence interim committee work immediately following the conclusion of a grueling legislative session. It is expected, however, that committees will begin their work early enough in the spring to ensure sufficient time for completion.  Committee chairmen should meet with their respective LSO committee staff shortly after the adjournment of the session to schedule the committee's meetings for the entire interim.  LSO staff will schedule the meeting times adopted by the chairman in a common calendar on the legislative intranet to increase the coordination of scheduling between committees.  Meeting dates will be reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis, so committee chairmen will need to review the common calendar to establish meeting dates for the committee.  Even if the committee does not schedule an early meeting, the chairman is responsible for providing sufficient guidance to committee staff to allow them to begin preliminary research on assigned study topics.

 

(b)        Determining the Number of Meetings.  The chairman must decide whether the committee's work can best be handled by a series of one day or two day meetings.  To conserve committee funds, consideration might be given to:

 

(i)         The appointment of subcommittees to study or prepare draft legislation on specific issues and to report back recommendations to the full committee;

 

(ii)        Scheduling a "long" one day meeting rather than continuing the meeting over to a second day if there is insufficient work to keep the committee busy past noon on the second day.

 

(c)        Scheduling for Early Completion.  Early in the year, the chairman should develop a tentative schedule for committee meetings as well as target dates for completing various segments of the committee's work assignment.

 

Interim committees should attempt to schedule meetings so that the target date for completing interim work is November 1, but not later than November 15th.  This is necessary:

 

(i)         To enable the LSO staff to devote adequate time to drafting individual bill requests prior to the legislative session; and

 

(ii)        To avoid last minute action on bills which have not been fully "worked" by the committee.  Meetings held late in the year often result in committee staff being delegated the task of drafting or revising committee bills with inadequate direction.

 

(d)        Determining Where to Hold Meetings.  Committees may not want to hold all of their meetings in Cheyenne for various legitimate reasons, e.g., travel distances involved for some committee members; possible savings to the  committee's budget resulting from holding meetings in a more centralized location; opportunity for citizens living in other parts of the state to participate in the legislative process, etc.  These factors might be especially persuasive in the case of a committee meeting scheduled for the very purpose of soliciting widespread public input.  On the other hand, the chairman must weigh the overall costs of holding certain types of meetings away from the capitol, e.g., requiring numerous state agency officials to travel to a location outside Cheyenne to brief the committee on various state programs might result in minor savings to the committee budget but might be very expensive to the state as a whole.

 

Chairmen may wish to consider using the state compressed video system where the meeting agenda makes its use reasonable.

 

 

5.         EXCEEDING AUTHORIZED STUDIES.

 

Committee chairmen occasionally face the question of how far the committee may go in working on an issue which has not been specifically approved as an interim study by the Management Council. 

 

The two factors limiting the exercise of the chairman's discretion in this regard involve potential impacts upon the committee's budget and upon LSO staff resources.  By statute, the Management Council is charged with establishing priorities for the use of staff time and for the commitment of funds for committee studies.  W.S. 28-8-104(b).  The Council makes its allocation of these limited resources among the various interim committees based upon the relative workload of each committee as determined at the time interim studies are initially approved.  Chairmen should be cautious of subsequently taking on unapproved studies which significantly impact this allocation by requiring additional staff time (and thereby possibly preventing the staff from devoting sufficient time to the work of other interim committees) or committee budget (which may result in the committee running short of funds to complete its other assigned studies.) 

 

On the other hand, a chairman is probably safe in allowing the committee to review issues which are not strictly related to the committee's assigned interim work but which will not require significant staff time and which the committee can handle briefly in conjunction with a committee meeting scheduled for work on approved studies.

 

Similarly, citizens or state agency representatives sometimes ask for permission to address a committee on a topic that is not one that is approved for interim study.  Nevertheless, it makes good sense to at least hear these concerns and determine if additional interim work is necessary.  If it is, the committee chairman can contact the Management Council and ask that the additional topic be added to the approved list.  The LSO will arrange to poll the Council members by phone or by letter, so waiting for a Council meeting is unnecessary.

 

 

6.         EFFECTIVE USE OF STAFF.

 

(a)        With respect to committee staffing, the LSO does perform "ministerial" type services (arranging meetings, preparing summaries of proceedings, putting legislation drafted by lobbyists or others into proper form, etc.,) as well as more "professional" services including intensive research and policy analysis.  The staff also possesses a good deal of knowledge about state government structure, finance, operations and programs which can be of significant value in assisting committees in their policy determinations.  In their role as staff, however, LSO personnel must walk a fine line in offering assistance so as to avoid even the appearance of attempting to "lead" or unduly influence the committee.  Consequently, it is the responsibility of the chairman to determine the extent to which he wishes to request and make use of available LSO staff assistance.

 

Chairmen should avoid the practice of assigning tasks to staff without appropriate direction, for example:  Interim committees on occasion ask staff to draft or redraft provisions in a committee bill to "fix" a problem brought to the committee's attention without clear direction as to the committee's intent.  On other occasions, staff have been asked to, in effect, "negotiate" between two or more opposing groups and "work out a compromise" to bring back to the committee.  In both of these instances staff is being asked, inappropriately, to perform tasks and make policy decisions that should be handled by the committee itself.

 

(b)        It is not uncommon for some committees to rely heavily upon lobbyists, state agency personnel or others to provide information or recommendations for the committee's consideration.  While there is no reason to believe that information provided by these sources is inaccurate, chairmen should keep in mind that many individuals offering "help" to the committee have a definite bias or "agenda" as to the final result they wish the committee to reach.

 

 

7.         INTERIM COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS.

 

(a)        General Guidelines.  Summaries of proceedings from joint interim committee meetings prepared by the Legislative Service Office are in the nature of a brief recap of committee action and proceedings and are not meant to be a verbatim transcript of meetings.  Reasons for this policy include:

 

(i)         Limited staff resources make preparation of a verbatim transcript impractical;

 

(ii)        Summaries in a recap format are often more useful to legislators and the public.  For example, a single issue may be addressed several times during the course of a two‑day meeting before the committee takes final action.  Arranging summaries of proceedings by topic rather than chronologically will allow the reader to locate  all discussion and action on a particular issue under a single topic heading, rather than requiring a reading of the full set of minutes to find each isolated reference to the issue;

 

(iii)       It is more important to summarize clearly the information provided to the committee than to record the precise dialogue between committee members and presenters which elicited the information.

 

(b)        Public Hearings. As in the case of the summary of proceedings, the basic policy is to provide a summary of testimony and not a full chronological transcript:

 

(i)         Information provided by each individual speaker is combined and summarized under a single entry even if the person spoke several times during the course of the public hearing;

 

(ii)        It is common practice to reference attached written statements in lieu of summarizing testimony. The chairman should announce at the beginning of the public hearing that any individual who addresses the committee but has not prepared a written statement should furnish a written summary of his testimony to the LSO within 7 days following the hearing for inclusion in the record.

 

(c)        Subcommittee Meetings.  The primary purpose of the report of a subcommittee meeting is to provide a brief recap which documents subcommittee proceedings and recommendations to the full committee:

 

(i)         Unless deemed particularly important, the report need not provide a detailed record of testimony received by the subcommittee nor specifics of subcommittee deliberations;

 

(ii)        The report may take the form of a summary of proceedings or may simply be designated as a "report" or "memorandum" of subcommittee action addressed to the full committee;

 

(iii)       Rather than preparing individual sets of summaries of proceedings for each subcommittee meeting, it is sometimes preferable to summarize in a single report to the full committee all the activities of a subcommittee which meets several times during the course of the year;

 

(iv)       A limited purpose subcommittee (e.g., a "drafting" subcommittee assigned to review a specific issue and prepare a bill draft for consideration by the full committee) normally provides an oral rather than a written report of its activities and recommendations to the full committee.

 

(d)        Approval of Committee Summary of Proceedings.  Committee summaries of proceedings are valuable as legislative history only to the extent that it is established that they accurately reflect the committee's action and consensus.  Since interim committee summaries of proceedings are prepared in the form of a recap rather than as a verbatim  transcript, it is especially important that at each meeting the committee vote to approve (or if need be correct) the summaries of proceedings of the previous meeting as constituting an accurate record.

 

Under current policy, the summary of proceedings is first mailed to the chairman or cochairmen for review.  If LSO receives no response within 10 days after mailing, the summary of proceedings is released to the public, including being made available on the legislative Web site.  LSO will make corrections as directed by the chairman/cochairmen or, upon timely notice, withhold distribution until corrections can be made.  All summaries of proceedings appear with the heading "Draft Only - Approval Pending" until the Committee votes to approve them.

 

(e)        Recording Votes on Bill Introductions.

 

It is essential that committee votes on disposition of bills are recorded.

 

8.         PROCEDURE IN ABSENCE OF A QUORUM.

 

A typical one-day meeting of an interim committee in Cheyenne or Casper costs around $6,500 if the entire committee attends.  In light of this expense, it is very important that the committee chairman remain in close contact with the committee staff to determine whether a quorum of the committee will attend to transact business or whether the meeting should be postponed or canceled.

 

If, for reasons beyond control (e.g., sudden adverse weather) an insufficient number of committee members show up to establish a quorum:

 

(a)        The chairman should discuss with staff the possibility of establishing a quorum through use of a speaker phone.

 

(b)        The chairman may designate those members in attendance as a working subcommittee and proceed to take testimony or work draft bills and report recommendations to the full committee.

 

(c)        If there is no possibility that the full committee can meet again later to take final action on proposed legislation (e.g., if there is insufficient time before the session to hold another meeting or insufficient budget) then the committee may use post card ballots to obtain the vote of absent members.  Chairmen are cautioned to use this approach only as an emergency last resort since committee members will be asked to vote on draft legislation that likely has not been fully discussed or worked by the committee.