Legislative Council | North Dakota Legislative Branch Legislative Council The North Dakota Legislative Council was created in 1945 as the Legislative Research Committee (LRC). The LRC had a slow beginning during the first interim of its existence because, as reported in the first biennial report, the prevailing war conditions prevented the employment of a research director until April 1946. After the hiring of a research director, the first LRC held monthly meetings prior to the 1947 legislative session and recommended a number of bills to that session. Even though the legislation creating the LRC permitted the appointment of subcommittees, all of the interim work was performed by the 11 statutory members until the 1953-54 interim, when other legislators participated in studies. Although "research" was its middle name, in its early years the LRC served primarily as a screening agency for proposed legislation submitted by state departments and organizations. This screening role is evidenced by the fact that as early as 1949, the LRC presented 100 proposals prepared or sponsored by the committee which the biennial report indicated were not all necessarily endorsed by the committee and included were several alternative or conflicting proposals. The name of the LRC was changed to the Legislative Council in 1969 to more accurately reflect the scope of its duties. Since 2009 Legislative Council refers specifically to the staff functioning as the legislative service agency while Legislative Management refers to the oversight committee of legislators. Although research is still an integral part of the functioning of the Legislative Council, it has become a comprehensive legislative service agency with various duties in addition to research. The Legislative Council staff consists of attorneys, accountants, researchers, and administrative staff who are hired and who serve on a strictly nonpartisan basis. The Legislative Management conducts studies through its committees and the Legislative Council staff provides a wide range of services to legislators, other state agencies, and the public. Attorneys on the staff provide legal advice and counsel on legislative matters to legislators and legislative committees. The Legislative Council supervises the publication of the Session Laws, the North Dakota Century Code, and the North Dakota Administrative Code. The Legislative Council has on its staff the Legislative Budget Analyst and Auditor and assistants who provide technical assistance to the Legislative Management committees and legislators and who review audit reports for the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee. The Legislative Council provides computer services to the legislative branch, including research and bill drafting capabilities. The Legislative Council's library contains a wide variety of materials and reference documents, many of which are not available from other sources. Legislative Council Staff Other (Not Shown) John Bjornson Director Lori Ziegler Legislative Administrative Officer Krystal Eberle Legislative Accounting Budget Specialist Fiscal Division Allen H. Knudson Legislative Budget Analyst and Auditor Brady A. Larson Assistant Legislative Budget Analyst and Auditor Sheila M. Sandness Senior Fiscal Analyst Adam Mathiak Senior Fiscal Analyst Alex J. Cronquist Senior Fiscal Analyst Levi Kinnischtzke Senior Fiscal Analyst Grant Gader Fiscal Analyst Keith Mantz Fiscal Analyst Legal Division Emily Thompson Legal Division Director Beth Dittus Assistant Legal Division Director Megan J. Gordon Code Revisor Dustin A. Richard Counsel Austin Gunderson Counsel Liz Fordahl Counsel Casey Orvedal Counsel Victoria Christian Counsel Erin K. Dohm Counsel Kylah E. Aull Manager, Library and Records Melissa Ingram Library and Records Assistant Policy and Program Evaluation Division Shannon Fleischer Policy and Program Evaluation Division Director Jared Baesler Policy Analyst Janet Drew Policy Analyst Jason Fincel Policy Analyst Justine Burnham Policy Analyst Kim Yang Policy Analyst Leah Costik Policy Analyst Jason Kovacevich Senior Program Evaluator Joe Bahr Program Evaluator Alyssa Wagner Program Evaluator Administration and Operations Jason J. Steckler Administration and Operations Director Andrea Cooper Administrative Manager/ Legislative Analyst Office Services Kayla Seifert Front Desk Specialist Jamie Sterioti Front Desk Specialist Justin J. Blasy Senior Legislative Administrative Specialist Robert Tallman Senior Legislative Administrative Specialist Haley Dubourt Legislative Administrative Specialist I Nataly Adamski Legislative Administrative Specialist I Madison Berndt Legislative Administrative Specialist I Mitch Fisher Legislative Administrative Specialist I Ben Hieserich Legislative Administrative Specialist I Information Technology Services Division Cody Malloy Information Technology Services Director Brady Mueller Assistant Information Technology Services Director Adam Roeder Information Technology Specialist Kevin Setterlund Information Technology Specialist Cody Sorenson Information Technology Specialist Chad Gumeringer Senior Legislative IT Administrator Ron B. Zarr Legislative IT Administrator Kyle Cosman Legislative IT Administrator Cliff Kapustka Senior Legislative IT Developer John Olheiser Senior Legislative IT Developer Kimber Krueger Legislative IT Developer/Business Analyst Tanner J. Ball Legislative IT Developer Patrick Walker Jauregui Legislative IT Developer