You wanted to know the official function, commission and staff size, staff salaries, and funding sources of each legislative commission.

There are five legislative commissions: the African-American Affairs and Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs commissions, Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), and the commissions on aging and children. They were established between 1973 and 1997, with PCSW being the oldest. However, this past session the legislature passed HB 5321, which establishes a 13-member Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission within the Legislative Branch on July 1, 2009. The governor has not yet signed the bill. In PA 07-1, June Special Session, the legislature appropriated $25,000 in FY 09 for the establishment of an Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission.

Among other things, the commissions (1) advise and provide information to the governor and the legislature on state policies regarding their constituent populations, (2) encourage representation by their constituencies at all levels of government, and (3) serve as liaisons between government and private groups.

Generally, the governor and top legislative leaders appoint commission members, who serve staggered terms. Each commission has authority to hire staff, including an executive director who heads daily operations. The commissions vary in size. With 17 voting and 16 nonvoting members, the Commission on Aging has the most commission members. The African-American Affairs and Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs commissions have the fewest commission members—13 each. PCSW has the largest staff, consisting of nine employees. With four employees each, the African-American Affairs Commission (AAAC) and Commission on Aging have the smallest staff. Staff salaries range from $43,998 for the legislative secretary in the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission (LPRAC) to $127,513 for the commission's executive director.

The commissions are primarily state-funded; however, most of them also receive federal and private funds. In the latest biennium budget (FYs 08-09), the legislature's appropriations to the commissions ranged from $413,436 for AAAC during FY 08 to $1.77 million for PCSW for FY 09. During FY 2007, the last year for which receipts are readily available, (1) LPRAC received $80,000 in private funds, (2) PCSW received $30,000 in federal and $40,000 in private funds, and (3) the Commission on Children received $70,000 in federal and $15,000 in private funds. AAAC and the Commission on Aging did not receive any federal or private funds during that fiscal year.

Table 1 shows each legislative commission, their statutory citations, the years of establishment, commission and staff sizes, staff salaries, and budgets.

¹AAAC currently has eight commissioners

²LPRAC currently has 12 commissioners

³The Commission on Children currently has 15 voting commissioners

⁴PCSW currently has 15 commissioners

The commission must:

1. review and comment on proposed state legislation affecting the state's African-American population;

2. encourage their representation at all levels of state government;

3. secure appropriate recognition of their accomplishments and contributions;

4. advise and provide the governor with information on state policies concerning their communities;

5. advise the governor on the coordination and administration of state programs serving them;

6. maintain a liaison between their communities and governmental entities; and

7. prepare and submit an annual report to the governor regarding the commission's activities and any appropriate recommendations regarding them.

LPRAC

The commission must:

1. review and comment on proposed state legislation affecting state Latino and Puerto Rican populations;

2. encourage their representation in state government, including state boards and commissions;

3. secure appropriate recognition of their accomplishments and contributions;

4. advise and provide the governor with information on state policies concerning their communities;

5. advise the governor on the coordination and administration of state programs serving them;

6. maintain a liaison between their communities and governmental entities;

7. work with the Legislative Management Committee to establish short- and long-term initiatives based on the needs of their communities; and

8. prepare and submit an annual report to the governor regarding the commission's activities and any appropriate recommendations regarding them.

Commission on Aging

The commission must:

1. prepare and issue an annual report to the governor, legislature, and each municipality's legislative body on its findings and recommendations concerning the state's elderly services;

2. conduct annual public hearings on issues affecting the well-being of the state's elderly;

3. meet regularly with state agency representatives to review and comment on policies and procedures concerning the elderly;

4. review and comment on the budget of the Department of Social Services' Elderly Services Division;

5. meet, as needed, with state officials to discuss issues affecting the elderly;

6. conduct studies and report on issues affecting the elderly; and

7. disseminate information to the business and education communities, state and local governments, and the media on the nature and scope of the problems elderly people face.

Commission on Children

The commission must:

1. meet at least twice a year with the commissioners, state agency executive directors, any other state officials, and members of advisory committees to state agencies who have oversight of the expenditure of state or federal funds on behalf of children;

2. receive from the executive branch and its advisory committees requests for review and recommendation by the commission on any matter related to children;

3. meet at least twice a year with Judicial Branch representatives, including judges, public defenders, probation officers, and Probate Court representatives, concerning the branch's involvement with children;

4. review, upon the Judicial Branch's request, any matter related to children;

5. meet with and be available to representatives of private providers of services to children, foster parents, and support groups to children, to understand their concerns with regard to the provision of services to children;

6. receive from the above-listed individuals and agencies requests to review and make recommendation on any matter related to children and the delivery of services to children;

7. receive from the legislative branch any requests for review and recommendation on any matter related to children;

8. inform leaders of the business community, education community, state and local governments, and the communications media of the nature and scope of problems faced by children in order to enlist their support in improving the mandated service delivery system, state budgeting processes, and state policies concerning children;

9. serve as a liaison between government and private groups concerned with children;

10. coordinate its activities with PCSW in areas of mutual concern; and

11. review coordination and assess programs and practices in all state agencies as they affect children.

PCSW

The commission must conduct an ongoing study of all matters concerning women and in furtherance of that responsibility must:

1. inform leaders of business, education, state and local governments, and the communications media of the nature and scope of the problem of sex discrimination, with a view to enlisting their support in working toward improvement;

2. serve as a liaison between government and private interest groups concerned with services for women;

3. promote consideration of qualified women for all levels of government positions; and

4. oversee coordination and assess programs and practices in all state agencies as they affect women.

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