Legislative Research Commission

Duties

Per the Kentucky Constitution, the General Assembly may only meet for 60 days in even numbered years and for 30 days in odd numbered years. As such, the LRC oversees all meetings of interim, statutory, and special committees which meet during the legislative interim. The LRC also provides the General Assembly with staff and research support including committee staffing, bill drafting, oversight of the state budget and educational reform, production of educational materials, maintenance of a reference library and Internet site, and the preparation and printing of research reports, informational bulletins and a legislative newspaper.

Composition

The LRC is composed of 16 legislators, drawn from the leadership of the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate. The President of the Kentucky Senate and the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives serve as co-chairs. The agency is run on a day-to-day basis by a director, and staffed by nearly 400 full-time employees. During each regular session, the number of staff members temporarily increases to nearly 600.

The current director is Jay Hartz, former Chief Clerk of the Kentucky Senate as well as former deputy chief of staff and director of legislative operations for the senate president's office.

History

Creation

In 1922, Governor Edwin P. Morrow proposed the creation of an efficiency commission in order to study the branches of state government and make recommendations to increase their efficiency. This commission reported its finding and recommendation to Morrow as well as the General Assembly in January 1924, among them being the creation of a legislative reference bureau.

In 1936, The Legislative Council was created by the Government Reorganization Act to assist in bill drafting and legislative research. Considered the precursor to the modern LRC, the council was composed of five senators appointed by the lieutenant governor (who served as chair), five representatives appointed by the speaker of the house (who served as vice chair), five administrative officials appointed by the governor, and the governor themself. However, it was provided little direction, was allocated no funds, and provided little material aid to lawmakers. It was managed by a part-time director as well as eight full-time staff members until 1944, after which it employed no staff. The same year, Speaker Harry Lee Waterfield proposed an expansion of the council's duties to include meetings during the legislative interims as well as a return of professional full-time staffers and $100,000 in funds.

During the 1948 Kentucky General Assembly, Majority Floor Leader John C. Watts sponsored House Bill 64, an act which officially created the Legislative Research Commission. On February 27, it was signed into law by Governor Earle Clements.

Commission evolution

During the first two decades of the LRC, it remained a very weak staff agency due to the unbalanced influence of the governor over the General Assembly and the commission itself. Initially, the commission was composed of seven members with the governor serving as chairman alongside both majority and minority leadership of both chambers of the General Assembly. Arthur Y. Lloyd, the Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Welfare, was appointed by Governor Clements to serve as the LRC's first director.

Following the election of Governor Louie Nunn in 1967, there was a push by legislative leaders to modernize the LRC and assert legislative independence from the executive branch. This resulted in the professionalization of staff, a reduction in the number of legislative committees, and the creation of the current interim joint committee system.

In 1977, Vic Hellard Jr. became the first LRC director to be appointed by the General Assembly and not the governor. Hellard was the longest serving LRC director in the commission's history, and is credited with transforming the commission into its current form.

References

References

1. "Legislative Research Commission - Legislative Research Commission".
2. "Jay Hartz Named as LRC Director".
3. LRC Capitol Connection. (2020-06-02). "A Legacy of Independence: A History of the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission".
4. (1948). "Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky - 1948 Regular Session".
5. "Interview with Arthur Lloyd · William H. Berge Oral History Center".
6. "LRC Directors - Legislative Research Commission".
7. Loftus, Tom. (June 30, 2015). "Seiler retires as acting LRC director".
8. Latek, Tom. (2018-08-28). "LRC director's contract not being renewed".