Legislative development

The Consortium for Legislative Development, composed of The Center for Democracy, Florida International University, and the State University of New York (SUNY-Albany), will implement the project. The project will develop baseline data on the legislatures of participating countries by assessing their institutional needs. In this, the Consortium will work directly with legislators and staffs to identify a legislature"s technical capacity, its role in the country"s democratic development, and its relationship to other governmental and nongovernmental institutions, as well as legislators" interest in strengthening their institution. A comprehensive region-wide meeting of legislative leaders, A.I.D. officials, and the Consortium will be held to review preliminary needs assessments and identify common problems. To develop self-sustaining regional professional programs and provide for information exchange, a series of regional seminars will be held for legislatures and their staff on such subjects as the roles and functions of legislatures in contemporary democratic societies, legislative operations, and policy issues. The seminars will make use of successful existing training programs such as those of the Asociacion de Tecnicos Legislativos Centroamericanos (ATLECA) and will take the forms of technical training workshops, multilateral public policy seminars and workshops, interregional legislative dialogue, and national legislative seminars. The Consortium will provide legislatures with specialized short-term TA on request for three kinds of activities: (1) housekeeping (e.g., journal and calendar preparation), (2) operational (e..g, bill drafting, reference and library services), and (3) systems (e.g., bill and committee flow analysis). TA will be offered both onsite and on a regional basis and will include visits outside the LAC region. Technical and programmatic assistance to develop indigenous institutional capacity will also be provided. Legislative and management information systems will be designed as needed, and limited equipment will be provided, e.g., photocopiers, word processors, fax machines. Finally, the project will help to develop long-term professional staff capacity by funding scholarships for graduate studies in legislative administration at SUNY-Albany or long-term internships with the Florida and New York State legislatures for up to five legislative support staff members. Amendment of 1/30/92 to the cooperative agreement with the Center for Democracy authorizes a USAID/Nicaragua buy-in to strengthen the National Assembly. Efforts will include: (1) institution building, consisting of a U.S. workshop for Assembly members on comparative legislative development and visits to U.S. legislatures; (2) two seminars and a training program in administrative and technical functions for Assembly members and staff; (3) graduate training at SUNY-Albany for four staff members; (4) formation of institutional linkages between the Assembly and other Nicaraguan institutions via collaborative research and participation in professional conferences and associations; and (5) information support, including a legal database, a bill status system, legislative publications and reference manuals, an assembly debate record, and library support. (PD-ABG-226)