The Legislative Management Committee meets Nov. 13, 2024, in the House chamber. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
(Michael Achterling – North Dakota Monitor) – About 80 temporary jobs are available for North Dakota’s upcoming legislative session in January.
Sergeants-at-arms, legislative pages and two categories of committee clerks are important for lawmakers to complete the business set out during the session, said Renae Doan, administrative assistant to Senate Majority Leader David Hogue.
“We’d like to have them filled before Thanksgiving,” Doan said. “We have a good number that do come back, if they are able to. This time, we’ve had a number that have gotten other jobs so that’s why it’s really important this time to get this out and get some good applicants.”
The positions pay between $136 to $239 per day and paychecks are issued monthly. However, there are no health benefits for the temporary positions, she said.
Doan said the qualifications and responsibilities for the positions vary, but being nonpartisan, having a professional appearance and good customer service skills in dealing with members of the public are important qualities.
“They are one of the first ones that the general public comes in and sees, so we want them to put on a good appearance,” Doan said.
State Sen. Dick Dever, R-Bismarck, chair of the Senate Employment Committee, said working during the legislative session is unlike any other experience. He added his wife worked as a procedural clerk when he was first elected to the Legislature and joked that she still has seniority over him.
“They will come away with a perspective of the dedication that legislators have, commitment to the process,” Dever said. “I think about it only as positive.”
Sergeants-at-arms are charged with keeping decorum in each of the legislative chambers, Doan said.
Pages sit toward the front of the legislative chambers and answer calls from lawmakers on the chamber floor. The lawmakers may need the page to print something, get copies made or pick something up from an agency in the Capitol. She added pages can be as young as 16, and the Legislature has used homeschooled students during previous sessions, Doan said.
The committee clerk positions are divided into two categories: technology and procedural.
Technology clerks are charged with making sure committee hearings are available for livestreaming and ensuring testimony can be given online, if needed.
Procedural clerks are the committee staff that takes the roll call, make notes for meeting minutes and file committee reports with the State Library in Bismarck.
John Bjornson, director of the North Dakota Legislative Council, said since the Legislature has become more digitally oriented, there is a greater need for technology staff.
“We see some people that actually move from those positions into the position of legislator over the years too,” Bjornson said. “It’s a good introduction for some of them into the legislative process. For others, some of the older employees, they’re retired and they have the ability to take some time during the winter to do this, so it’s a great option for them.”
Doan said she started working at the Capitol in 1977 as a page in the House chamber and moved to the Senate majority leader’s office in 1993 with former Senate Majority Leader Gary Nelson, R-Casselton.
“When I came into this office, the Republicans were in the minority and then they got the majority the next session,” she said. “The leader can pick who they want in this position, they just keep picking me.”
Training for legislative staff will be held from Dec. 9-13 and the start of the legislative session is Jan. 7. The Legislature meets for up to 80 days and is estimated to finish by May 2.
Anyone interested in working at the Capitol during the legislative session can apply through the Legislative Council’s job portal.
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