§ 404. Functions

(a) The Legislative Council shall direct, supervise, and coordinate the work of its staff and secretaries.

(b) The Legislative Council shall:

(1) furnish research services in relation to legislative problems;

(2) furnish drafting services for bills, resolutions, and amendments;

(3) establish and maintain a reference library;

(4) furnish such other information and legal assistance respecting legislative matters as may be required by a committee of either house, a joint committee of the General Assembly, or a member-elect of the General Assembly;

(5) appoint one or more persons to serve as staff for a standing committee of either house or any group of standing committees of the House and Senate;

(6) except when the General Assembly is in session and upon the request of any person, provide him or her, on a weekly basis, with a list of all public hearings or meetings scheduled by a council, committee, subcommittee, commission, or study committee of the General Assembly or any cancellations of hearings or meetings thereof previously scheduled;

(7) keep minutes of its meetings and shall maintain a file thereof.

(c) All requests for legal assistance, information, and advice and all information received in connection with research or drafting shall be confidential unless the party requesting or giving the information designates in the request that it is not confidential. Transcripts and minutes of committee meetings, including written testimony submitted to the committee, bills or amendments that have been released or approved for printing or introduction, and material appearing in the journals or calendars of either house are official documents and shall not be confidential under this subsection. (Added 1971, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 31, 1972; amended 1973, No. 60, § 1, eff. May 13, 1973; 1981, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2013, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2015, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 18.)