National Association of Legislative Counsel

National Association of Legislative Counsel
Name	National Association of Legislative Counsel
Formation	1947
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Region served	United States
Membership	Legislative counsel offices and individual attorneys

National Association of Legislative Counsel The National Association of Legislative Counsel is a professional association for attorneys and legal staff who draft legislation and provide legal advice to legislative bodies across the United States. It connects offices and individuals from state legislatures, territorial legislatures, the District of Columbia, and tribal governments to share drafting techniques, model provisions, and procedural expertise. The association interacts with institutions such as the American Bar Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the Brookings Institution to influence best practices in statutory drafting and legislative procedure.

History

The association traces roots to post‑World War II efforts to professionalize legislative drafting, following precedents set by organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Model Legislature Project. Early meetings included delegates from the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, the National Governors Association, the New York State Assembly, and the California State Legislature, reflecting interstate exchanges similar to forums convened by the Interparliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Over decades the association engaged with legal reformers associated with the Law and Society Association, the American Law Institute, and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. During the 1970s and 1980s it expanded contacts with organizations such as the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, the Center for American Progress, and the Kellogg Foundation to address policy drafting trends influenced by major legislative efforts like the Social Security Act amendments and the Clean Air Act. More recent history includes collaboration with the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Federalist Society, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Urban Institute on statutory interpretation, transparency, and modernization of legislative drafting tools.

Organization and Membership

Membership comprises counsel from bodies such as the Alaska Legislature, the Florida Legislature, the Texas Legislature, the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Illinois General Assembly, and the Ohio General Assembly, as well as legal staff from the District of Columbia Council and tribal law offices like the Navajo Nation Council. Individual members often include former staff from the United States Department of Justice, the Office of Legislative Counsel (U.S. House of Representatives), the Office of the Legislative Counsel (U.S. Senate), and state offices like the California Legislative Counsel Bureau. The association’s governance typically includes an executive committee and officers drawn from institutions such as the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, the Massachusetts State House, the Colorado General Assembly, the Michigan Legislature, the Virginia General Assembly, and the New Jersey Legislature. It liaisoned with legal education entities including the Harvard Law School, the Yale Law School, the Stanford Law School, the University of Chicago Law School, and the Georgetown University Law Center for training and recruitment.

Functions and Activities

Primary functions mirror those of drafting offices in jurisdictions such as the Oregon Legislative Counsel, the Washington State Legislature, the Maryland General Assembly, the North Carolina General Assembly, and the Arizona Legislature: technical drafting assistance, model bill development, and internal procedural guidance. The association facilitates policy exchanges involving stakeholders like the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, state supreme courts (e.g., California Supreme Court, New York Court of Appeals), and administrative bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Communications Commission. It issues guidance related to statutory construction influenced by doctrines from cases like Marbury v. Madison and concepts debated in forums such as the International Bar Association and the American Constitution Society. The association also addresses issues intersecting with legislation by organizations including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Education, and the Department of Transportation.

Publications and Resources

The association produces model statutes, drafting manuals, and memoranda similar in purpose to work published by the Uniform Law Commission, the American Law Reports, and the Congressional Research Service. Its resources often reference rules and commentaries from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and treatises associated with scholars at the Columbia Law School, the NYU School of Law, and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. It curates compilations comparable to the Code of Federal Regulations, annotated state codes such as the California Codes, and practice guides like those used in the New York State Bar Association and the Texas State Bar. The association’s newsletters and briefs are used by staff in the Connecticut General Assembly, the Georgia General Assembly, the Missouri Legislature, and the Kentucky General Assembly.

Conferences and Training

Annual conferences attract delegates from bodies including the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, the Parliament of Canada, the Australian Parliament, and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom alongside U.S. state offices to discuss comparative drafting, echoing sessions at the International Parliamentary Union Congress and workshops hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development. Training programs draw instructors from the American Bar Association Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, the National Association of Attorneys General, the Association of State Solicitors General, and law faculties at Georgetown University Law Center, Columbia Law School, and the University of Michigan Law School. Topic areas include statutory interpretation, technology in drafting, ethics influenced by codes like the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and emergency legislation lessons from events such as responses to Hurricane Katrina and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Awards and Recognition

The association recognizes outstanding drafting and institutional service with awards analogous to honors from the American Bar Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures awards, and distinctions given by the Council of State Governments. Recipients have included counsel from the New York State Senate, the California Assembly, the Texas Legislative Council, and the Florida House of Representatives whose work intersected with major statutes like the Affordable Care Act, the Clean Water Act, and state budgetary measures following guidance from the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Management and Budget.

Category:Legal organizations in the United States