Standing Committees of the National Conference of State Legislatures

NCSL has 12 Standing Committees whose membership consists of state legislators and legislative staff. The jurisdictions of the standing committees are similar to those of committees in the state legislatures. Standing Committees meet three times each year and allow legislators and staff to benefit from the experiences of other states in shaping public policy, experimenting with new laws, and managing the legislative institutions.

The presentations from the Standing Committee Officers' Orientation in October 2008 summarize the Standing Committee Structure and the Standing Committees' Rules and Procedures. Details are in the Standing Committee Officers' Manual.

NCSL policy positions and lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. are also guided by the committees. As a result of those policy decisions voted on by the Standing Committees, NCSL is nationally recognized as a formidable lobbying force in state-federal relations.

The 12 NCSL Standing Committees meet each year at the Fall Forum, the Spring Forum and the NCSL Legislative Summit (annual meeting).

Governing Structure

Each committee has a legislator chair, a legislative staff chair, vice chairs and immediate past chairs. The overall committee structure consists of a legislator chair, a legislative staff chair and legislator and legislative staff vice chairs. The legislator chair and the legislative staff chair are ex-officio members of the NCSL Executive Committee.

Meeting Schedule

The meeting schedule consists of one meeting in Washington, D.C., one meeting outside of Washington, D.C., and one meeting at the NCSL Legislative Summit. The Spring Forum is held in Washington, D.C. and the Fall Forum takes place outside of Washington, D.C.

December 11-13, 2008 NCSL Fall Forum Atlanta, Georgia

April 23-25, 2009 NCSL Spring Forum Washington, D.C.

July 20-24, 2009 NCSL Legislative Summit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

NCSL Contacts:  Carl Tubbesing (D.C.); Jo Anne Bourquard (Denver); Ron Snell (Denver)

Need more information? Read our list of frequently asked questions, or contact us at committees@ncsl.org.

Updated November 25, 2008

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