Inside the LOB

As a volunteer with the Public Health Committee for the past couple of weeks I’ve witnessed the hard work done by legislative aides and clerks. Without them, the system would not run as smoothly (or maybe it wouldn’t run at all). They do all the behind the scenes work, from scheduling appointment for legislators to making sure a public hearing runs smoothly. There was a Public Health Committee hearing last week and I saw firsthand the amount of behind the scenes organizing and running around that was done so that the hearing would go well. The clerks signed people up, organized the written copies of testimony, answered questions from legislators and those there to testify, made sure the equipment was working, and kept track of the testimony for the official transcript. This allowed the legislators to concentrate on listening to the people who were testifying. Imagine if there were no clerks or aides and the legislators had to do it all themselves. The legislative process would certainly run slower and have many more hitches. Consider this a friendly reminder to show your gratitude to legislative clerks and aides. They can’t accept gifts but I think a smile and a ‘Thank You’ would be appreciated.
Jen Ramirez