Legislative Research Services

 

The Legislative Council recognizes that staffing reductions have made it impossible to provide the level of research services that have been provided in the past. With enhanced technological support like Internet now available, the Council expects committee aides and staff of individual legislators to perform routine research. Therefore, the Council directs the Legislative Research section of the Division of Legal and Research Services to concentrate on providing assistance to legislative staff in finding materials and conducting their own research. Furthermore, as to research conducted by the Legislative Research section itself, under the authority of AS 24.20.100 the Council directs the section to give priority in the following order to research requests:

1. research for the presiding officer, majority leader, and minority leader of each house, requested in writing and signed by the officer;

2. research for standing, joint, special, permanent interim, and other committees of the legislature, requested in writing and signed by the committee chair;

3. research for an individual legislator, requested in writing and signed by that legislator;

4. oral or other requests received from legislators and legislative staff.

Legislative Research analysts attempt to provide useful and timely assistance in every case to all legislators who request it. When the agency workload makes that impossible, analysts conduct research projects according to the above-described set of priorities.

Please remember that if an analyst already working on a request is assigned a request with a higher priority, the report for the first request may be delayed.