Table 3.22

Staff for Legislative Standing Committees


  Committee staff assistance Source of staff services***
  Senate House/Assembly Joint central agency (a) Chamber agency (b) Caucus or leadership Committee or committee chair
FIPS State or other
jurisdiction
Prof. Cler. Prof. Cler. Prof. Cler. Prof. Cler. Prof. Cler. Prof. Cler.
01Alabama*

B

BHS
02Alaska

B

BBB
04Arizona

B

BBBBBBB
05Arkansas

B

BBB
06California

B

BBBBBBB
08Colorado

B

BBBB (c)
09Connecticut (m)

B

BBBB
10Delaware

BB
12Florida*

B

BBBBBBB
13Georgia

B

BBBBBB
15Hawaii

B

BBBBBBB
16Idaho

B (d)

B (d)BBB
17Illinois

BBBB
18Indiana

SS
19Iowa

B

B (f)BBB
20Kansas

B

B (g)BBBBBB
21Kentucky

B

BBBB (h)B (h)
22Louisiana✓(i)✓(i)

B

BBBBBB (j)B (j)
23Maine✓(k)✓(k)✓(k)✓(k)

B

BBBBBB
24Maryland*✓(l)✓ (l)✓(l)✓(l)

B

B
25Massachusetts*

26Michigan

B

BBBS
27Minnesota

BHBBBB
28Mississippi*

BBBB
29Missouri

B

BSSB
30Montana*

B

B
31NebraskaUU

SS
32Nevada

B

B
33New Hampshire

B

BBBSS
34New Jersey

B

BBB
35New Mexico

BB
36New York*

BBBBBB
37North Carolina✓(n)✓(n)

B

B (n)
38North Dakota

B

BB
39Ohio

B

BBB
40Oklahoma

BBSBB
41Oregon

B

BBBBBBB
42Pennsylvania

B

BBBBBBB
44Rhode Island

B

BBB
45South Carolina*

B

BBBBBBB
46South Dakota

B

(l)(l)(l)
47Tennessee

B

BBB
48Texas

B

BBBBB
49Utah

B

B
50Vermont

B

B
51Virginia

B

BB(o)(o)
53Washington

BBBBBB
54West Virginia

B

BB (q)BBBBB
55Wisconsin

B

(p)B
56Wyoming

B

B
60American Samoa*

B

BBBB
66Guam*UU

SS
69CNMI* **

B (r)

B (r)B (r)B (r)B (r)B (r)B (r)B (r)
72Puerto Rico*

B (r)

B (r)B (r)B (r)B (r)B (r)B (r)B (r)
78U.S. Virgin Islands*UU

S (r)

S (r)S (r)S (r)S (r)S (r)S (r)S (r)

Source:

The Council of State Governments' survey of state legislative service agencies, 2022.

Key:

* Information from The Council of State Governments’ 2020 survey of state legislative services agencies and 2021 review of state websites.
** Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.
*** Multiple entries reflect a combination of organizations and location of services.
All committees.
Some committees.
Services not provided.
B Both chambers.
H House.
S Senate.
U Unicameral.

Footnotes:

(a)

Includes legislative council or service agency or central management agency.

(b)

Includes chamber management agency, office of clerk or secretary and House or Senate research office.

(c)

Senate – there is secretarial staff for both majority and minority offices for the Senate in the Capitol. Most of the clerical work is done by caucus staff. House – the clerical and secretarial staff for the House is more centralized and is supervised by the Clerk of the House.

(d)

Professional staff and clerical support is provided via the Legislative Services Office, a non-partisan office serving all members of the House and Senate on a year-round basis. There are currently 65 employees working in the Legislative Services Office. Leadership in each party hire their respective support staff.

(e)

Leadership in each party hire their respective support staff.

(f)

The Senate secretary and House clerk maintain supervision of committee clerks.

(g)

Senators and House chairpersons select their secretaries and notify the central administrative services agency; all administrative employee matters handled by the agency.

(h)

Leadership employs partisan staff to provide professional and clerical services. However, all members, including leadership, are also served by the centralized, non-partisan staff.

(i)

House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees have Legislative Fiscal Office staff at their hearings.

(j)

Staff are assigned to each committee but work under the direction of the chair.

(k)

Standing committees are joint House and Senate committees.

(l)

The clerical support comes from employees who are hired to work only during the legislative sessions. They are employees of either the House or the Senate, and are not part of the central agency.

(m)

Committees are joint Senate and House. Professional nonpartisan staff serves committees, individual legislators and legislature as a whole, regardless of chamber or party.

(n)

Member’s personal secretary serves as a clerk to the committee or subcommittee that the member chairs.

(o)

The House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committees have their own staff. The staff members work under the direction of the chair.

(p)

Standing committees are staffed by subject specialist from the Joint Legislative Council Staff.

(q)

The House Clerk’s Office staffs the standing House Rules Committee, and the Senate Secretary’s Office staffs the standing Senate Rules Committee.

(r)

In general, the legislative service agency provides legal and staff assistance for legislative meetings and provides associated materials. Individual legislators hire personal or committee staff as their budgets provide and at their own discretion.