Council heard separate presentations from the Council of State Governments West (CSG West) and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) on how those organizations support state lawmakers and staff.

Edgar Rees, director of CSG West, described regional programming aimed at states in the West — water management, wildfire preparedness, energy modernization, staff leadership programs — and highlighted justice-reinvestment work that the CSG Justice Center conducted with Wyoming. Rees presented data tying targeted reforms to a roughly 20% decline in prison admissions from supervision violations and estimated avoided contract costs in the millions of dollars.

Senator Barry Usher, NCSL president-elect, emphasized NCSL's role as a bipartisan service provider for legislatures nationwide, offering rapid research responses, training (often with stipends), and Washington representation on federal issues affecting states. Usher and NCSL staff offered no-cost training options and ways to maximize Wyoming participation in NCSL activities.

LSO division heads then outlined how they use both organizations: budget analysts rely on NCSL surveys and data for federal fund interpretation; legal staff use NCSL for continuing legal education and multi-state legal toolkits; research and evaluation staff repeatedly use NCSL research services and were explicit that many short-turnaround questions are answered by NCSL; operations and IT staff highlighted NALIT and other discipline-specific listservs and conferences. LSO said those services supported staffing recruitment, training, and responses to federal program changes during the CARES/ARPA periods.

Several members asked whether membership dues (a six-figure combined cost) were justified; LSO leaders said the return on the investment comes from on-call research support, staff development programs (e.g., Western Legislative Academy, LENS), and practical help during emergency fiscal events. NCSL and CSG West committed to help Wyoming maximize benefits and training opportunities for staff and legislators.

Ending: Council accepted the briefings and directed staff to include membership and utilization details in forthcoming budget and oversight materials for Management Council consideration.