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Legislative Reference Services Qf the States STATE \0F JLJBJMA F CHAPTER III Legislative Reference Services Qf the States STATE \0F JLJBJMA f : ' ; HISTORY the staff devotes full time td legislative ref­ erence, service and no temporary staff mem­ The Alabama Department of Archives bers are employed. and History has existed since February 27, -1901 as an agency for centralization of LEGISLATIVE SERVICES RENDERED . official reco.rds and organization of historical material. It has alwaysJjeen active-as a Department o-j Arc/iives :and History reference agency for state legislators and The Department .undertakes reference public officials, but ife,was hot until ^larch service and supplies material for the mem- 5, 1907 that the Department .was officially ^bersof the legislature or state officials but given the additional function of legislative very little actual legislative research work reference work. The Alabama legislature is carried on. Should a legislator become . has not made any provision for the brgaai- interested in a certain subject the depart­ zation of a legislative reference bureau nor ment would attempt to secure all the in­ has it. made any special appropriation for formation possible both by. searehmg the the maintenance of such an orgaViization. indexes of the material on hand and by • writing to other sources of information. The V L.MVS AND AMENDMENTS^ department drafts bills on request of legis­ - Legislative reference service was^t/.up lators. It publishes quadrenially the Ala-, as a function of the Department of ArcVves bama Official and Statistical Register which and History by the Alabama Actsrbf'1^07, is considered an outstanding work of its' .Number 255, page 318,'which provided that kind. The book contains biographical data the department "shall bring together akd on all of the Alabama legislators and much; arrange for ready consultation a reference Interesting statistical material pertaining collection of materials for.the use of the to the state. members of the legislature, state officers,^ and others on all subjects which froni time, Attorney-generaUs Office . to time may be deemed of public interest The attorney-general and his- assistants' and importance to, the people of the state.'' eiagage in bill drafting diiring legislative ses­ sions upon tlfe request, of nlembers of the :,; ORGANIZATION reg.iislature and other state officials. Legislative reference service is a func­ tion of .the Department of Archives and Supreme Court Library ... ... History; The director of the Department Th^, Law Librarian renders library serv- is appointed for a six year term--the pres- ice to legislators No legislative reference :• ertt one ending iMarch 1, 1.937—by a Bpard staff is employed of. Trustees cdmposecl of nine members, one from each of nine congressionaLdis- PERSONNEL trict.s in the state. The members of the Director, Department oj Archives and His- staff are appointed for indefinite terms by /o;-y,^LARiE B. OWEN the director with the approval of the Board Education: Graduate, Ward's Seminary, of Trustees. None of the-six members of Nashville, Tennessee. .. 20S <• •• &. - LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE SERVICES 209 Offices: Editor, Women's vSection,Mont­ Archives and History. All such/material gomery Advertiser, 1910-17. Director, has its place in the general library;, which is State Department of Archives and His­ catalogued according to the Dewey Deci­ tory since. 1920. mal System. The Department .has col­ Author: Yvonne oj Braithwaitc, 1927. lected appt^-ximately 200,000 ^volumes, in­ .Our State—Alabama', 1927. Editor, cluding aiarge number of state and federal Alabama Historical Quarterly. documents, reports, pamphlets and circii- .Member: Press and Authors. Pilot. lars. The material is filed by subject. .Business and Professional Women's Club. ' Daughters of the American Revolution. Other Available Library Collections • United Daughters of the Confederacy. The Department' has immediate access Married: ThomasM. Owen (deceased). to the Supreme Court Library which con­ Residence: 1201 South •MacDonough tains a fairly complete collection of state Street, Montgomery. reports and statutes and a complete set of Office: State House^ ]Montgomery. .Alabama Acts, together with the Alabama Supreme Court Reports. There are also copies of legal texts and indexes. Office Facilities . FINANCES Legislative reference service is ah inte­ The annual appropriation for the Ala­ gral part of the Alabama Department of bama Department of Archives and History Archives and History which is" located in for the fiscal year 1933-19,34 was .i; 16,495. the State House. The location of the De­ The fact that no segregation of expenditures partment is convenient to both houses.of within the Department is avaiK'ible makes the Legislature, and adequate for all pres­ it. impossible to estimate wfiat part of this, ent requirements. i was chargeable to the legi^ilative reference work. - For similar reasons it is impossible . Library Material tobreak down the expenditures into salaries There is no separate accumulation of leg­ and other cdsl^s. of legislative reference islative material in the Department of work. • STJTE OF ARIZONA • , HISTORY LAW AND.A-MEND.MENTS. - Arizona began its legislative reference ' The Stute: Library Was established by work in, 1915 as a result of an act concerning .Vrizona, Acts, 1915, Chapter.62, page 132, the organization of the:state library ap­ The duties of j^e legislative reference proved on March 24.of that year. The bureau were set fortlHl)y an .Act of the 1917 director of the State Library is known as Legislature, Section 3036. ' the State Law and Legislative Reference "Section 3036; Legislative reference bu- Librarifin. The Librarian is not only re­ , reau. There shall be maintained in the quired to render legislative reference serv- /State library a legislative reference bureau ices'but also upon request, to "aid and- for the use and information of the mem­ t^ssist the members of the legislature, the bers of the legislature, the heads of de­ governor and the heads of departments as partments of state, and citizens of the to bills and resolutions and drafting the state. The librarian shall prepare, . same into proper form," Although statu­ checklists and catalogues of Arizona law, tory authorization is ample, no funds have • and all the current legislation of Arizona ever been provided for the special develop­ and other states; lists ofbills and resolu­ ment of the Reference Bureau. .It has tions presented in either branch of the functioned merely as an incidental feature legislature, and of the public documents of the Library's activities. of the state, including all reports issued 210 THE BOOK OF THE STATES by the departments, boards and commis­ Educatjjon-:-High.School; Specialized in sion; digests of the public laws of this newspaper trade education; and other states, catalogues, files and Offices: Editorial writer, 1896-1912. clippings of new^o.ipdrs, and other •Meniber, Arizona Senate, 1917-29, Presi­ printed matter; ana v\'hen requested by dent of the Seriate, 1923-29. Member, the governor, heads of departments,:or' members of the legislature, procure in­ formation relating to pending legislation B^ptv' -' ' ^v^^^H and aid the members of the legislature |^<^;^\.- :, Y^H and state officers in the drafting of bills iMULFORn and resolutions for the legislature.. He AVlXSOR shall establish with the federal govern­ ^^^H SIT* -^^H ment, the other states and foreign coun- ^^^^^htilL '' '.^^^H Line & ;•• . tries a system of exxhange of official state ^^H^'. - 'HC' '^^^M publications, law, statutes, journals, su­ Legislative preme court reports and digests thereof." ^^^B^i Reference PvTjL ^^^ :- ORGANIZATION . Librarian ;• The Law and. Legislative Reference Li­ brarian is appointed for an indefinite term by the Board of Curators of the State Li­ brary. This board consists of^three mem­ ffWffrWIit"' 11.11 • Bi 1 1 ' 1 bers appointed by the. GoVeriu-. and the Law aiid Legislative Reference^ Librarian' Arizona Constitjfitional Convention. 1910. acts as secretary, ex-officio. Members rf Chairman, Committee on Rules; Chair­ the .library staff are appointed' by the Li­ man Committee on Legislative Distribu­ brarian for indefinite terms./ None of them tion of Powers and 'Apportionment. Sec­ devotes full time to legislative reference retary to Governor George \V. P. Hunt Work. Additional clerical help is employed of Arizona, 1912. Secretary of Arusyha during legislative sessions. Land Commission, 1912-15. Secretary of Colorado River Coiiimission, 1927-29.- LEGISLATIVE SERVICES RENDERED Librarian, State Library since 1932. The Arizona Bureau,has undertaken no Resmence: 1522 Xv. Washington Street, 'intensive research work and has issued no . Phaenix. / publications.: It attempts to' answer all 'O^/rr: State Library, State House, legislative inquiries and to supply to legis­ •...Phoenix. V , f . • lators upon request such information on leg­ Assistant Librarian, MARJOIUK A. BAKER islative subjects as the Library affords. Even in the absence of special funds for Secretary, ALICE B. Goon regular service the accumulation of'^the es­ LIBRARY FACILITIES sential material for an effective legislative • reference library has been started.' Much Office Facilities of the material purchased primarily for The Legislative Reference Division is legislative work is allowed to circulate.:. As­ housed in the State Library which occujiics sistance is also rendered, to students of leg­ part of the State House. Eacilities are ade-. islative subjects and. to individuals collect:^ quate at present but there
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