Task 1: Oregon Legislative Member Staffing Assessment The consultant(s) shall gather information and insights from legislators and legislative staff, and review any relevant documentation, to obtain an assessment of past and current staffing needs in members’ offices, as well as the types of skills and expertise necessary to deliver high-quality services as a legislator in the legislative process and to meet the requests of constituents. At a minimum, this will necessitate assessing the following. The scope for Task 1 will be finalized in consultation with LPRO. • Staffing resources: current staffing positions and responsibilities (continuing and limited-duration), level and number of staff, expertise and specialization, educational background, and workload among staffing positions in member offices, during a biennium (two years), including the interim and legislative sessions (short and long sessions). • Member workload: assessment of the types of services and resulting workload for member offices that factor in district size, demographic considerations across districts, legislative tenure (number of terms served), chamber affiliation, committee assignments, leadership role (caucus leader or committee chair/vice-chair), and interim assignments (e.g., task force or workgroup). The study design should include analyses at two levels: - Branch level measures. Information about Oregon’s legislative branch will be collected from the Legislative Administration Office and used to develop summary measures, such as the average FTE of support staff per legislator. Qualitative information (such as policies and compensation frameworks) will also be collected at the branch level. o Consultant may also propose a study design that collects member-office level information from comparison states. o Analysis should capture any variation in approaches between chambers (Senate and House of Representatives); during long sessions, short sessions, and interims; and across different office types (Presiding Officers, caucus offices, committee chairs). - Member office measures. Information will be collected about the staffing models used by the partisan offices of Oregon’s 90 members of the legislative assembly. Consultant should propose a plan to descriptively analyze office-level information and provide quantitative and qualitative data characterizing the staffing approaches used across Oregon members’ offices. o Analysis should capture any variation in approaches between chambers (Senate and House of Representatives); during long sessions, short sessions, and interims; and across different office types (Presiding Officers, committee chairs, caucuses). o Consultant may propose a study design that collects first-person perspectives of legislative staff in addition to descriptive information about member offices. Deliverable: Written report with a detailed summary of findings and analyses based on the types of data and information collected. The consultant(s) shall be available for testimony or meetings with legislators from the time of the report. This will entail no more than one ad hoc trip to Salem, Oregon; the rest of the meetings can be held virtually. Timeframe: December 31, 2025. Not-to-exceed amount: $100,000. Task 2: Comparisons of Staffing Models in Other State Legislatures The consultant shall review relevant and comparable staffing models in other state legislatures in comparison to Oregon’s current staffing model. The comparisons may include workload and staff positions per member office, as well as structures and types of services (constituency vs. policy development and legislatively directed initiatives). Potential comparison criteria may include the frequency and length of sessions, demographic variables, level of compensation (salary and benefits), size of legislative staff, size and role of nonpartisan offices, and whether legislatures are full-time or part-time. In the proposal, describe potential selection criteria and approach for identifying comparable states. Deliverable: A comprehensive comparison of Oregon to 2-4 other states that are comparable to Oregon, based on a set of criteria reviewed and approved by LPRO, with an executive summary. The consultant(s) shall be available for testimony or meetings with legislators from the time of the report. This will entail no more than one ad hoc trip to Salem, Oregon; the rest of the meetings can be held virtually. Timeframe: December 31, 2025. Not-to-exceed amount: $50,000.
