Legislative Committee

Charge of the Legislative Committee of the Assembly

The MSBA president shall appoint a committee of no more than 20 members of the Assembly to serve as the Legislative Committee of the Assembly.  The Legislative Committee shall be chaired by a member of the Council or other person designated by the president and members shall serve one-year terms with no limit on the number of terms.  Members must be current members of the Assembly.

The responsibilities of the Legislative Committee shall include:

  • Coordinate the legislative activities of the sections and committees.  Sections and committees retain their authority as defined in the Bylaws to take positions in the name of the section or committee.  However, in addition to reporting to the MSBA president, the section or committee must also give the chair of the Legislative Committee of the Assembly notice of legislative positions they are taking.

    The Legislative Committee will facilitate communication among sections and committees regarding legislative positions.  Whenever there is a conflict between positions of sections or committees, the Legislative Committee is responsible for addressing the conflict.  Conflicting positions should not go forward to the Legislature; rather the Legislative Committee should work to resolve the conflict.  The Legislative Committee may prevent conflicting positions from going to the Legislature by placing the matter on the agenda of the Assembly or Council.

    If the MSBA budget for legislation is sufficient, the MSBA will pay for the professional lobbyist, provided the section or committee has given proper notice of legislative positions, as described above.  In the event the budgeted amount for legislative activities is insufficient, the Legislative Committee will prioritize the MSBA and section or committee proposed legislation, and supervise the professional lobbyist so that he or she does not exceed the budgeted amount.  Any section or committee seeking to hire its own lobbyist must obtain the approval of the Legislative Committee of the Assembly.  In most situations, the Legislative Committee will require that the section or committee hire the same lobbyist as is retained by MSBA, and the section or committee would be required to transfer funds to the MSBA to cover additional payments due to the lobbyist for additional services rendered on behalf of the section or committee.
  • Provide advice to the Assembly.  The Legislative Committee shall review all matters related to legislation, whether such proposed legislation will be in the name of the MSBA or in the name of the section or committee, before they are considered by the Assembly.  The Legislative Committee may develop a form for submission of recommendations to the Assembly and mandate the use of the form.  The Legislative Committee shall give the Assembly an estimate of the amount of resources (in financial terms and/or personnel time) each legislative recommendation will require.

    The Legislative Committee is not authorized to take a legislative position in its own name or in the name of the MSBA.  The Legislative Committee must submit its recommended positions to the Assembly or Council.
  • Develop grassroots activity.  The Legislative Committee is responsible for developing and maintaining a grassroots legislative contact network including a system of encouraging member involvement in legislative campaigns.

  • Oversee member communications.  The Legislative Committee is responsible for overseeing the general communication of legislative information to members.

  • Allocate resources.  The Legislative Committee is responsible for allocating  the time of MSBA staff and legislative representative in a manner consistent with the direction, if any, of the Assembly and at all times subject to the budget limitations.

-- Last Updated 11/8/07 --