Resources for Legislators

Compiled by Marian G. Rogers, January 2005

This bibliography contains a wide range of basic print and electronic resources helpful to legislators and legislative staff. This issue also contains links to Wisconsin legislative service agency Web sites, as well as to other government and information resources on the Web.

The Art of Legislative Politics. Tom Loftus, 1994. (328.11/L82) Written by a former Speaker of the Assembly (1983-1991), this is an insiderТs account of the workings of the Wisconsin Legislature and its leaders.

Blue Book. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. (328.3/ W7c) Wisconsin government almanac. Library has circulating copies of the 1901-2003 editions. Reference collection has a complete noncirculating set: 1853-2003. Recent Blue Books online: www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/pubs/bluebook.htm

Clippings Collection. (noncirculating) The library contains newspaper clippings on over 1,900 subjects. The clippings are classified by subject and arranged chronologically within the subject. Older clippings are on microfiche; formats of more recent clippings include paper and scanned image. An in-house scanned clippings database has been under construction since 2002.

Congratulations! You Won! 15 Tips for Being an Effective Legislator − A How To Handbook for State Lawmakers. National Conference of State Legislatures, 1995. (328.142/N212d)Offers Уa compilation of practical wisdom . . .Ф Чpreface.

Crane and HagensickТs Wisconsin Government and Politics, 8th ed. Ronald E. Weber, editor. Primus Custom Publishing, 2004. (Ref./354/W7d) (noncirculating) УThis edition features a completely revised chapter on health and social services policy, as well as an updated concluding chapter that compares Wisconsin politics and policymaking to that of the 49 other states.ФЧpage xi. Library has earlier editions which may be checked-out.

Drawing the Line: Legislative Ethics in the States. Alan Rosenthal, 1996. (322/R72) This book aims У. . . to apply ethical principles, reasoning, and judgment to the problems that are encountered by legislators in the fifty states.Ф Чbook jacket.

Encyclopedia of the American Legislative System. Joel H. Silbey, editor in chief, 1994, 3 volumes. (Ref./328.1/Si3) (noncirculating) Contains articles on legislative structure, procedure, the electoral process, committees, rules, and powers.

How to Give a Damn Good Speech Even When You Have No Time to Prepare; Including Historical Anecdotes for Each Day of the Year. Philip R. Theibert, 1997. (374.5/T34)

Inside the Legislative Process. American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries in cooperation with the National Conference of State Legislatures, 1998, updated October 2003. (328.4/N21d)This resource У. . . provides some of the best information on state legislative processes and procedures.Ф Чpage 1-1.

Legislative Law and Process in a Nutshell, 2nd ed. Jack Davies, 1986. (328.4/D28) A compact classic on the legislative process.

The Legislative Process in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, 1993. (328.4/W7b9) Reprint of the feature article in the 1993-1994 Wisconsin Blue Book.www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/pubs/feature/legispro.pdf

LRBCAT: www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/http://lrbcat.legis.wisconsin.gov/search The Webbased catalog of the Theobald Legislative Library. Use simple search techniques to find publications in the reference, circulating, and Wisconsin state document collections. Many titles contain direct links to full-text versions available on the Internet.

MasonТs Manual of Legislative Procedure. National Conference of State Legislatures in cooperation with the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries, Paul Mason, 2000. (328.4/M38/2000) Designed У. . . to assist legislators and staff and ensure more efficient legislative bodies.Ф Чpage xxxiii.

Protocol: A Handbook for Legislative Staff. National Conference of State Legislatures and National Legislative Services and Security Association, 1997. (341.22/N21b)

Secrets of Power Presentations. William Hendricks, 1996. (374.5/H38) A guide to help the public speaker control fears, outline and organize a presentation, polish delivery and hold the audienceТs attention, and develop skills as a trainer.

The State of State Legislative Ethics: a Look at the Ethical Climate and Ethics Laws for State Legislators. National Conference of State Legislatures, Center for Ethics in Government, 2002. (322/N213b) A review of state statutes and information from state ethics commissions and committees.

What Have You Gotten Yourself Into? A Guide for New Legislative Leaders. State Legislative Leaders Foundation, January 2003. (328.14/St2)Compilation of interviews with legislative leaders across the nation. www.sllf.org/pdf/WhatHaveYouGottenYourselfInto.pdf

The Wisconsin State Constitution: A Reference Guide. Jack Stark, 1997. (Ref./342.32/St2) (noncirculating) A У. . . comprehensive, convenient, and accessible resource on the Wisconsin Constitution for both lawyers and non-lawyers alike.Ф Чpage xviii.

Multimedia

How to Be an Effective Legislator − Advice from the Experts. National Conference of State Legislatures, 1996-2003. (328.142/N212c) (Audiotapes and guidebooks.) Vol.1: Mastering the Legislative Process, Managing the Budget, and Dealing with the Media. Vol.2: Building Consensus. Vol.3: Chairing a Committee. Vol.4: Serving Your Constituents. Vol.5: Mastering the Rules (CD-ROM).

Legislating for Results. National Conference of State Legislatures, 2003. (328.11/N212i) (Guidebook and CD-ROM) A guide to gathering performance information about state programs.

Plain Language Bill Drafting. National Conference of State Legislatures, Legal Services Section, [1994]. (328.44/N21b) A 67-minute videotape of a presentation at the 1994 annual meeting.

Wisconsin Legislative Service Agencies

Joint Legislative Council (LC): www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lc This site provides links to council study committees, publications, standing committees, administrative rules, and staff contact information. Other features include the Research Center and Wisconsin Legislator Briefing Book: 2005-06.

Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB): www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lab The LAB У. . . conducts objective audits and evaluations of state agency operations to ensure financial transactions have been made in a legal and proper manner and to determine whether programs are administered effectively, efficiently, and in accordance with the policies of the Legislature and the Governor.Ф ЧWeb page. Links to reports & audits in progress as well as general agency information.

Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB): www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb The LFB У. . . provides fiscal and program information and analyses to the Wisconsin Legislature, its committees and individual legislators.Ф ЧWeb page. Links to many of its fiscal publications, as well as information on LFB and the Joint Committee on Finance.

Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB): www.legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb The LRB provides nonpartisan, professional, confidential bill drafting, research, and library services to the legislature; collects and makes available a broad range of material on government and public policy issues. Links to various sections of the bureau, LRBCAT, numerous research publications and topical bibliographies, and indices to Wisconsin Legislation and Wisconsin Acts.

Legislative Technology Services Bureau (LTSB): www.legis.wisconsin.gov/ltsb LTSB is У. . . the single point of responsibility for providing technological services and support for the Wisconsin Legislature and its service agencies.ФЧWeb page. The site contains information on automation projects and the strategic technology plan.

Revisor of Statutes Bureau (RSB): www.legis.wisconsin.gov/rsb This site provides information on Wisconsin statutes, acts, and constitutions; Wisconsin administrative code and register; Supreme Court rules; opinions of the Attorney General; town law forms; and information about WisLaw on CD-ROM.

Other Useful Web Sites

BadgerLink: www.badgerlink.net A project of the Wisconsin Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning, this database provides free access to thousands of magazines and newspapers, state and federal government sites, and other information.

Council of State Governments (CSG): www.csg.org Established in 1933, CSG provides information, trend-setting ideas, and support to the states. This site includes policy expertise, innovations, research, and numerous other resources.

GPO Access: www.gpoaccess.gov A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office. The goal of this site is to provide У. . . free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government. The information provided on this site is the official, published version and the information retrieved from GPO Access can be used without restriction, unless specifically noted.Ф ЧWeb page.

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws: www.nccusl.org/nccusl/DesktopDefault.aspx Established 112 years ago, NCCUSL works to draft proposals for uniform and model laws and works toward the enactment of such laws in the state legislatures. This site has the full text, summary, and enactment history of acts recommended by the conference.

National Conference of State Legislatures: www.ncsl.org NCSL is dedicated to serving legislators and staffs in the 50 states, territories, and commonwealths. An excellent source of information on current issues of the day. Links to state and legislative Web sites, publications, and policy issues of current interest. Also has a welcome page for new members. www.ncsl.org/newmember/

State and Local Government on the Net, compiled by Piper Resources: www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm This site provides У. . . convenient one-stop access to the Websites of thousands of state agencies and city and county governments.ФЧWeb page.


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Library Circulation Desk: (608) 266-7040 LRB.Library@legis.wisconsin.gov Research Questions: (608) 266-0341 1 East Main St. Madison, WI 53701	The Legislative Reference Bureau invites legislators to suggest topics for future annotated bibliographies

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