The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials' association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States.
Background
According to their website, the mission of the Conference is: to advance the effectiveness, independence and integrity of legislatures and to foster interstate cooperation . . . especially in support of state sovereignty and state flexibility and protection from unfunded federal mandates and unwarranted federal preemption. The conference promotes cooperation between state legislatures in the U.S. and those in other countries. . . . [and] is committed to improving the operations and management of state legislatures, and the effectiveness of legislators and legislative staff. NCSL also encourages the practice of high standards of conduct by legislators and legislative staff.
NCSL maintains an office in Denver, Colorado, and Washington, D.C.
Eight Standing Committees, composed of legislators and legislative staff appointed by the leadership of the legislatures, serve as the central organizing mechanism for NCSL members. Each Committee provides a means by which state legislators can share experience, information, and advice on a variety of state issues ranging from policy to management.
Committees meet together twice each year at the NCSL Capitol Forum and NCSL's Legislative Summit to adopt state-federal legislative policies that will ultimately guide NCSL's lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. These committee meetings also serve as an opportunity for states to network and establish flows of information as well as experience-based suggestions from other states. In addition to the NCSL Capitol Forum and the Legislative Summit, NCSL builds the state legislative community by hosting various web seminars, leadership meetings, and access to relevant websites and online documents throughout the year.
Issues spanning multiple committee jurisdictions are managed by NCSL's Task Forces. Unlike the permanent Standing Committees, Task Forces are created for a specific period time and aim to develop positions on highly complex and controversial issues such as immigration reform and welfare. Task Forces are composed of 20 to 30 legislators and legislative staff who are appointed by the NCSL president or staff chair.
Day-to-day operations of the organization managed by its chief executive officer, Tim Storey. The organization is led by a legislator who serves as its president and by a legislative staffer who serves as staff chair. Twenty years after its founding, NCSL was led in 1994 by its first female president, former Congresswoman Karen McCarthy. Its first African-American president, Rep. Dan Blue, served in 1998–99. The 2021–22 president of NCSL is Representative Scott Saiki of Hawaii, and the staff chair is J.J. Gentry of South Carolina. Each year, NCSL's presidency alternates between legislators of the Republican and Democratic parties.
The NCSL is considered part of the 'Big Seven', a group of organizations that represent local and state government in the United States.
Presidents and staff chairs + Presidents and staff chairsPresident Term Staff chair Name State State office Politicalparty Region Name State State staff position Massachusetts Senate President Democratic East 1975 Eugene Farnum Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency Director Tennessee House Minority Leader Republican South 1975–76 Bonnie Reese Wisconsin Legislative Council Executive Director Minnesota House Speaker Democratic Midwest 1976–77 McDowell Lee Alabama Senate Secretary Colorado Senate President Republican West 1977–78 Robert Herman New York Special Assistant to the Speaker of the State Assembly Oregon Senate President Democratic West 1978–79 Art Palmer Nevada Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau Director New Hampshire House Speaker Republican East 1979–80 David Johnston Ohio Legislative Services Committee Director Florida House Speaker Pro Tempore Democratic South 1980–81 Patrick Flahaven Minnesota Senate Secretary Kansas Senate President Republican Midwest 1981–82 Robert Smartt New Jersey General Assembly Deputy Director New York Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Democratic East 1982–83 Joe Brown Florida Senate Secretary Utah Senate President Republican West 1983–84 John Lattimer Illinois Committee on International Cooperation Director Tennessee House Deputy Speaker Democratic South 1984–85 Leo Memmott Utah Legislative Fiscal Analyst North Dakota Senate Majority Leader Republican Midwest 1985–86 Dale Cattanach Wisconsin State Auditor Connecticut House Speaker Democratic East 1986–87 Sue Bauman Kansas Executive Assistant to the Senate President Colorado Senate President Republican West 1987–88 John Andreason Idaho Legislative Budget Office Director Louisiana Senate President Pro Tempore Democratic South 1988–89 Betty King Texas Secretary of the Senate Illinois House Minority Leader Republican Midwest 1989–90 Patrick O'Donnell Nebraska Clerk of the Legislature Maine House Speaker Democratic East 1990–91 William Russell Vermont Chief Counsel Kansas Senate President Republican Midwest 1991–92 Terry Anderson South Dakota Legislative Research Council Director Arizona House minority leader Democratic West 1992–93 Donald Schneider Wisconsin Senate Chief Clerk Delaware Senate Minority Whip Republican East 1993–94 John Turcotte Mississippi Joint Legislative PEER Committee member Missouri House member Democratic South 1994 Ted Ferris Arizona Joint Budget Committee member Ohio House member Midwest 1995 New York Senate Republican East 1995–96 Alfred "Butch" Speer Louisiana House Clerk Alabama Alabama Democratic South 1996–97 Russell T. Larson Delaware Controller General Ohio Senate President Republican Midwest 1997–98 Anne Walker Missouri House Chief Clerk North Carolina House Majoiry Leader Democratic South 1998–99 Tom Tedcastle Florida Bill Drafting and General Counsel Director Indiana House Republican Leader Republican Midwest 1999–2000 John B. Phelps Florida House Clerk California Senate member Democrat West 2000–01 Diane Bolender Iowa Legislative Service Bureau Director New York Senate member Republican East 2001–02 Ramona Kenady Oregon House Chief Clerk Oklahoma Senate member Democratic South 2002–03 Gary Olson Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency Director Utah House Speaker Republican West 2003–04 Max Arinder Mississippi Joint Legislative PEER Committee Executive Director Maryland House Delegate Democratic South 2004–05 Jim Greenwalt Minnesota Senate Information Systems Director Illinois Senate Assistant Republican Leader Republican Midwest 2005–06 Susan Clarke Schaar Virginia Senate Clerk Texas Senate member Democratic South 2006–07 Steve Miller Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Chief Delaware House member Republican East 2007–08 Sharon Crouch-Steidel Virginia Director of Information Systems Virginia North Carolina Speaker Democratic South 2008–09 Gary VanLandingham Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability Director Georgia Senate Republican South 2009–10 Nancy Cyr Nebraska Legislative Research Division Legal Counsel Massachusetts Senate member Democratic East 2010–11 Tim Rice Illinois Legislative Information System Executive Director Kansas Senate member Republican Midwest 2011–12 Michael Adams Virginia Senate Director of Strategic Planning New Hampshire House member Democratic East 2012–13 Patsy Spaw Texas Secretary of the Senate Oregon Senate member Republican West 2013–14 Tom Wright Alaska Chief of Staff to the House Speaker Nevada Senate member Democratic West 2014–15 Margaret “Peggy” Piety Indiana Indiana Legislative Services Agency Senior Staff Attorney Utah Senate member Republican West 2015–16 Karl Aro Maryland Department of Legislative Services Director Iowa Senate Majority Leader Democratic Midwest 2016Raúl Burciaga New Mexico Legislative Council Service Director North Carolina Senate Democratic Leader East 2017 South Dakota Senate member Republican Midwest 2017–18 Chuck Truesdell Kentucky Legislative Research Commission Illinois Senate member Democratic Midwest 2018–19 Jon Heining Texas Legislative Council General Counsel Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Republican Midwest 2019–21 Martha Wigton Georgia House Budget and Research Office Director Hawaii House Speaker Democratic West 2021–20 J.J. Gentry South Carolina Senate Counsel Idaho House Speaker Republican West 2022–23 Anne Sappenfield Wisconsin Legislative Council Director Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Midwest Rhode Island House Speaker Pro Tempore Democratic East 2023–24 Sabrina Lewellen Arkansas Deputy Director and Assistant Secretary of the Senate Utah Senate President Pro Tempore Republican West 2024–25 John Snyder Kentucky Legislative Research Commission Transportation Committee Staff Administrator
Committees NCSL has eight standing committees whose membership consists of state legislators and staff:
Budgets and Revenue Communications, Financial Services, and Interstate Commerce Education Health and Human Services Labor and Economic Development Law, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Natural Resources and Infrastructure Redistricting and Elections
These committees establish policy positions and coordinate lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C.
Task forces NCSL uses task forces to complement the work of the eight standing committees. Composed of legislators and legislative staff, task forces are temporary and deal with issues that cut across the jurisdictions of multiple standing committees. Currently, there are eight task forces:
Agriculture Cybersecurity Energy Supply Immigration and the States Innovations in State Health Systems Insurance International Relations Military and Veterans Affairs State and Local Taxation
Policy positions In the most general terms, NCSL works to enhance the role of states in the federal system. NCSL opposes unfunded federal mandates and federal preemption of state authority, providing state legislatures with the flexibility to implement policy solutions. NCSL supports enactment of the Main Street Fairness Act, which would simplify existing sales tax collection laws. The Act would grant states the authority to require all sellers, including online merchants, to collect sales and use taxes, generating billions of dollars of tax revenue for state governments.
NCSL also supports the SAFE Banking Act, which would facilitate access to banking and financial services for the legalized cannabis industry.RE: NCSL Supports the SAFER Banking Act, NCSL Letter to Congress
Inaccurate Voter ID Study In 2025 the NCSL website published at summary of state voter ID rules (updated April 2024)ID Laws, NCSL, updated April 24, 2026.. In a diagram of the United States, NCSL incorrrectly states for Minnesota: "No document required to vote". The section "Table 1: Voter Identification Laws In Force in 2025" does not list Minnesota.
The Minnesota Secretary of State's website outlines voter ID registration requirements, including photo ID and other alternatives that establish identity and residence."Office of Minnesota Secretary of State", "Elections and Voting", "Register To Vote", retrieved July 29,2026. The Secretary of State's office is responsible for elections, including documentation and training of election judges who register voters and control access to ballots on election day.Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, "About the Office", "What Does The Secretary of State's Office Do?", Retrieved August 5, 2026.
The false NCSL claim was referenced by the Minnesota Star Tribune in coverage of the 2026 primary election: "Thirty-six states requires some form of ID for in-person voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, some stricter than others. Minnesota is not among them."Walker Orenstein, "Minnesota GOP Senate hopefuls tip-toe around Trump's election denial claims", Minnesota Star Tribune, July 29, 2026.