The Council of State Governments-WEST (CSG-WEST) provides a nonpartisan platform for regional cooperation and collaboration among the legislatures of the 13 western states by creating opportunities for legislators and staff to share ideas and experiences with their colleagues. More than 50% of land in these 13 states is Federal, which creates numerous unique issues regarding water, taxation, energy development, international trade and Federal dependency.
Recently I was asked what value this organization has in performing the duties of a state legislator and is attending worth the time and money. Few people know that the only qualifications required to serve as a state legislator are that you are 18 and have lived in New Mexico for six months. In comparison a person can do almost no job these days without some sort of training, a degree or a certificate indicating that you are qualified to do that job. Yet this job, which requires a broad knowledge of virtually everything, requires the ability to research and understand a multitude of issues, many of which are quite technical and complex and key to the decision making process, requires no training, degree or certificate. Legislators are elected in November and two months later are voting on critical issues, many that we previously didn’t know existed.
Lest you think we make all of our decisions blindly and without direction it is important to know that our resources for knowledge are multi-faceted and include our own research, the Legislative Council Service, lobbyists, knowledgeable constituents and the sharing of information with legislators from other states. Just as many professions require a continuing education component, CSG-WEST, the American Legislative Exchange and the National Council of State Legislatures provide a platform for legislative continuing education.
In the process of creating legislation and addressing the issues we do it is invaluable to know about other states, to study their legislation dealing with similar issues and to have people to call and learn from.