Sponsor asks committee to study providing personal staff to legislators

Representative Steve Vetter told the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee that House Concurrent Resolution 3,033 would direct a study into providing personal staff for individual legislators, arguing that staff would help new lawmakers learn the job and preserve institutional knowledge.

Vetter said the measure follows a failed 1532 proposal he introduced on the House side that would have provided each legislator a single staffer. “More informed and knowledgeable legislature leads to better laws,” Representative Steve Vetter said, and added that personal staff could jump-start new legislators and maintain institutional memory as long-serving members leave because of term limits.

Vetter reviewed several staffing models drawn from national comparisons: roughly 10 states have full-time legislatures with substantial staff, about 26 are “intermediate,” 10 are citizen legislatures with limited staff, and four—including the committee’s state—are classified by him as truly part-time citizen legislatures. He said 38 states have at least one staff person per legislator or shared staff arrangements, and described options ranging from one staffer per lawmaker to a pooled-fund approach that members could spend on staff, education, or conferences.

The sponsor presented fiscal estimates he said were derived from his earlier bill: approximately $3.3 million to provide part-time session-only staff at $5,000 per month per position; adding health insurance to those positions would increase the cost by roughly $6.7 million, he said. Vetter also said making staff live in members’ districts rather than Bismarck would roughly double the cost to cover lodging and travel, and he provided an additional figure he described as an estimate for a full-time staffing alternative for the biennium.

During questions, Senator Patton asked whether the plan envisioned session-only, part-time, or year-round staff. Vetter replied that his prior bill proposed part-time, session-only positions and reiterated that the resolution before the committee is a study to determine which model would best fit the legislature.

A former Indiana House staffer testified in a neutral capacity about that chamber’s model, saying he worked seasonally for four legislators and that larger roles existed for full-time staff in certain leadership offices. He described seasonal work that extended a few weeks after session and said higher-level positions were year-round.

Chairman Weber closed the hearing on HCR 3,033 without a committee vote. Vetter had requested a “do pass” recommendation, but the committee did not record action during this hearing.

The committee did not set a formal deadline or action on the study resolution at the close of testimony.

The transcript shows committee discussion focused on options and costs rather than approving a staffing plan; committee members suggested further study and comparison to national practices before any policy changes.