Program and Counsel Staff

The Assembly Program and Counsel Staff (formerly the Assembly Program and Committee Staff) was established by the Assembly in 1969. The office answers directly to the Assembly Speaker and Counsel to the Speaker; it is supervised by a Director and Deputy Director. The office: organizes public hearings; tracks all Assembly bills before and after referral to committee; analyzes many (but not all) bills referred to the Assembly committees; prepares memoranda summarizing bills and their impact; helps committee chairman or counsel prepare committee agenda; researches and drafts Assembly program legislation; and helps prepare committee annual reports. The Assembly Program and Counsel Staff works with all Assembly committees except the Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on Rules, which have their own staffs to analyze bills, hold public hearings, and provide other support services. From 1975 to 1979, the Program and Counsel Staff maintained an Office of Research and Analysis that prepared reports on special issues being considered by the Assembly.