The Legislative Service Office (LSO) is the permanent, non-partisan central staff office of the Wyoming Legislature. LSO was created by the Legislature in 1971 by Act of the Forty-First Legislature, Chapter 113, Session Laws of Wyoming. The LSO commenced operations on March 1, 1971. Policies, rules, and regulations governing the general operations of the LSO and its relationship to legislative committees and individual legislators are made by the Management Council, composed of 10 legislators primarily in leadership positions. The LSO director is employed by, and subject to the direction of, the Management Council. Other employees are employed by the LSO director with the approval of Management Council. The staff is selected and services are performed on a non-partisan basis.

Legislators in Wyoming do not have individual staff. Rather, staff services for Wyoming legislators are provided by the LSO. The primary mission of the LSO is to help members of the Wyoming Legislature identify and articulate legislative issues, develop information related to those issues and help identify possible solutions. The services provided to members of the Wyoming Legislature by the Office are described below.

Legal Services Division

The Legal Services division provides bill and amendment drafting for committees and individual legislators. Members of this division serve as the staff of the Legislature’s joint interim and select committees. Staff is responsible for providing legal research services to committees and individual legislators. The division also performs reviews of agency rules and regulations as required by law under the administrative rule review process.

Budget and Fiscal Division

The Budget and Fiscal division staffs the Joint Appropriations Committee (JAC) and the Select Committee on Capital Financing and Investments. In addition, Budget and Fiscal staff provides support to other committees and individual legislators on budget matters and state expenditures. The staff develops information on revenues for the Joint Revenue Committee and prepares estimates of fiscal impacts for proposed legislation. The Budget and Fiscal Administrator serves as co-chairman of the state’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG). The Budget and Fiscal division is also responsible for overseeing legislative activities related to K-12 school finance reform and for school capital construction and is staff to the various committees charged with K-12 education responsibilities.

Research and Evaluation Division

The Research and Evaluation Division conducts research and policy analysis on a variety of topics and responds to general research requests from committees and individual legislators. Typical research products include factsheets and research memoranda designed to succinctly summarize topics, as well as issue briefs and short reports which offer a more in-depth analysis of complex policy issues.

The Research and Evaluation Division also serves as the primary staff division for the Management Audit Committee. At the direction of the Committee, the Division conducts program evaluations of state government programs to analyze program effectiveness and efficiency. Topics considered by the Management Audit Committee for study may originate from Committee members, other committees, or other legislators.

Legislative Services Section

The Legislative Services section within the Operations Division coordinates legislator training, media relations, legislative information management and civic education activities that promote understanding of and participation in the legislative process. We also provide support in the areas of facility management, emergency preparedness, and coordinate event planning for the legislative branch. In addition, staff provides operational support to the LSO staff, as well as to legislators regarding legislative sessions, interim meetings, stationery, parking issues and other administrative details. These staff members are also responsible for answering many general questions from the public about the Legislature.

Information Technology Section

The Information Technology section provides computer support for the LSO staff, the session staff and the legislators. Computer support includes hardware and software purchase and maintenance, training, and application development. Technology staff provides support for the staff computers and the laptop computers provided to each legislator. The section is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Legislature’s bill drafting and tracking system and for maintaining the Wyoming Statutes database. Technology staff also maintains the legislative SharePoint system and legislative website, which allows the public access to a variety of legislative information, including the text of bills, committee and roll call votes during the session, and interim legislative committee activities.

Visitor Services

The Visitor Services section was created after the grand opening of the Capitol Square in July of 2019. This section has recruited and trained 30 volunteer docents who serve as visitor service associates and Capitol Square tour guides. The volunteer docents greet, welcome, and answer visitors’ questions about the Capitol Square, legislative process, Wyoming history, as well as direct walk-in traffic to a self-guided cell phone video tour. They also provide guided tours to adult, student groups, and dignitaries. These volunteer docents serve as enthusiastic non-partisan ambassadors for the State of Wyoming who have positively engaged and welcomed approximately 75,000 domestic and international visitors from 50 different states and 20 countries since July of 2019.