Wisconsin Senate Support Agencies Essay Example

amend it for implementation in Wisconsin as needed. This research is invaluable for the efficiency of the legislature; without it, significant amounts of time would be wasted drafting redundant laws.

Finally, the LRB makes available, electronically and in print, publications detailing laws, statutes, codes, legislative rules, statistics dealing with legislation, and much more information dealing with the operations of the legislative branch. The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau is an invaluable tool to the Wisconsin Legislature. The Legislative Technology Services Bureau (LTSB) is a service agency that provides information technology services to the Wisconsin Legislature and other legislative service agencies. The LTSB is comprised of several teams, each providing a unique service.

The Enterprise Team deals with the network and server infrastructure, helping ensure that legislators are connected at all times. The Geographic Information Systems Team provides information relating to “legislative redistricting, voter information, district maps, census tract maps, and district boundary information” (Legislative Technology Services Bureau). This can be very important during the redistricting process. The Software Development Team both optimizes existing software for use within the legislature, and creates new software for a specific purpose.

This software helps representatives effectively share their ideas, as well as vote on them. Finally, the Technical Services Team responds to questions and issues with technology related to hardware or software. Members of the Technical Services Team can on-site when the Senate or Assembly is in session, to ensure a smooth-functioning legislature. The Legislative Technology Services Bureau is essential to helping the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly function. The Wisconsin Legislative Council is a nonpartisan agency that supports lawmakers in several ways. Similar to the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislative Council provides legal

and legislative process advice to legislators as well as standing committees.

This advice comes in many unique forms. The Legislative Council conducts research on legal and policy issues, which it then reports to representatives and assists in the management of the Legislature by providing advice on parliamentary procedure. The Legislative Council includes the Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council, which creates committees to study major issues. These committees are comprised of both elected officials and citizens. This results in a symbiotic relationship between lawmakers and citizens: lawmakers gain outside support and perspectives on major issues and citizens get to have a direct say in the legislative process and learn more about state government.

These committees can recommend legislation to the Joint Legislative Council and if a majority is achieved, these recommendations are introduced into the legislature and sponsored by the Joint Legislative Council. By advising lawmakers and incorporating citizens into the lawmaking process, the Joint Legislative Council makes itself indispensable to Wisconsin legislators. Founded in 1968, the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau is a nonpartisan agency that provides information, analysis, and recommendations to legislators, legislators’ staff, the press, and members of the general public on fiscal matters relating to the state. A very important function of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau is to estimate state revenues.

Annual reports are published, which helps improve budget proposals and revenue collecting systems. Upon the request of a lawmaker, the Bureau reviews proposed legislation and evaluates its possible fiscal effect on the state. It may also provide suggestions of amendments for the legislation in question. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau continually monitors state agencies and programs to refine and improve future budget proposals. If an agency’s budgetary

needs change, this monitoring ensures that it can be addressed in the next budget. Similarly, the monitoring of state programs and activities ensures that there is data which can be included in the discussion of these programs’ effectiveness.

Finally, the Bureau also acts as a clearinghouse for fiscal information. It disseminates fiscal information to individual legislators, staff members, committees, and citizens. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau serves a critical role in ensuring people both in the government and outside have access to Wisconsin’s fiscal information. The Legislative Audit Bureau is a nonpartisan agency that assists the Legislature in overseeing state operations. It is composed of two divisions: the Financial Audit Division and the Performance Evaluation Division.

The Financial Audit Division audits state agencies and programs. These audits may be either be required by state statutes or requested by legislative committees, state agencies, or the State Auditor. This includes audit reports of the State of Wisconsin required by the federal government. The Financial Audit Division also certifies the state debt annually.

The Performance Evaluation Division conducts audits to examine how well programs are accomplishing their goals. These audits can be used to identify underperforming programs and find ways in which they can be improved. These audits are essential to understanding the level at which state programs are performing. The functions of the Legislative Audit Bureau help the Legislature effectively oversee governmental programs. There are many nonpartisan service agencies, each with a unique, but equally important, function, that are essential in helping the Wisconsin Legislature function. These agencies range from Information Technology to legal advice; this range of support makes the legislators’ jobs much less demanding than they would be without

it.

Though many state resources go into these agencies, there can be no doubt that they are intrinsic to the success of the Wisconsin Legislature.