Norm Moore, House chief clerk and parliamentarian, has been at the Legislature nearly all his professional life. He arrived in 1977, working as a page while he was an undergraduate in political science at Arizona State University.

“I’ve been here forever…” he says to a reporter, then pauses, makes a face, laughs and corrects himself.

“I have been here for every regular session since then with the exception of three,” he says.

It’s vintage Norm Moore.

Mr. Moore, never without a smile, precisely attentive to detail and always willing to lend a professional helping hand, is the reliable calm in the eye of the storm of the Arizona House of Representatives.

He has been chief clerk since 1992, responsible for the orderly progress of action on the House floor.

He or the assistant chief clerk, Cheryl Laube, always are on hand, regardless of the hour, to help the presiding officer keep the House focused and organized as the members debate and vote on bills.

They track and note all motions from the floor and rulings by the speaker, speaker pro tem or debate chairmen to make sure they are in proper legal form, and they politely inform the presiding officer when he skips something or remind him of the proper wording of the next announcement that must be made.

In addition, the chief clerk’s staff ensures that all 60 members of the House have calendars of the bills that are to be voted on or debated as well as copies of any floor amendments that will be proposed.

“Norm Moore and the entire staff of the chief clerk’s office are a great source of pride for this House of Representatives,” says House Speaker Jake Flake. “It is a great honor to work with a nationally recognized clerk and his staff. Norm and the chief clerk’s office bring unparalleled abilities to the House floor.”

Mr. Moore says a keen interest in the Legislature attracted him to the House and then hooked him.

“When I was growing up, I was always interested in politics and particularly the legislative process,” says Mr. Moore. “When I was going to school as an undergrad at ASU, I thought what better way to really learn about the legislative process.

Started As A Page

“So I applied for a page position and got that. It was a really wonderful learning experience because as a page you get so many different assignments in terms of being on the floor and being in committee and so forth.

“Once I was down here, I was really hooked. “I was very fortunate in that things worked out the way they have. I really love what I do here. I love the process. I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to be here all these years.”

As if he doesn’t have enough work, Mr. Moore assumes the reins of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries (ASLCS) on Sept. 11.

“I’ve been a member of the executive committee and president-elect,” he says. “Thursday night, which will be the last official night of the conference, we’ll have a steak dinner and that is when I will take over as president.”

The society, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, holds its annual meeting at the Double Tree Paradise Valley Resort in Scottsdale starting Sept. 7.

“The ASLCS was founded in 1943 for the purpose of improving legislative administration and establishing better communication among clerks and secretaries throughout the United States,” says Mr. Moore.

The society has taken on an international flavor. Mr. Moore says that in addition to staff from Canada and Mexico, there will be representatives from 12 other countries at the annual meeting.

Mr. Moore’s affiliation with the society started even before he became chief clerk. In the mid-1980s, he was an assistant House rules attorney, and Jane Richards, his predecessor as chief clerk, asked him to assist in revising Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedures.

“She was very active in the ASLCS and was a member of the Mason’s Manual Commission,” he says. “The commission is appointed by the [ASLCS] president to work as a liaison with the National Conference of State Legislatures. The commission basically goes through a 10-year revision process on Mason’s. She asked me to help.”

Mr. Moore says Mason’s is the first source of parliamentary precedent the House uses after its own rules.

Keeping The Official History

Asked to define the role of the chief clerk’s office, Mr. Moore says:

“We are responsible for the administration process relating to the paperwork that flows through the building. The bills are dropped in our office. We’re responsible for processing the bills, which includes numbering them, indexing them, making sure that the bills are printed and distributed.

“Our office is responsible for keeping track of the official history of the session, which is maintained in the House Journal. The Journal includes all motions made on the floor, every vote from every member. It has a bill history. It also includes Senate bills that are received by the House.”

Offering ‘Advice And Guidance

Then there is the administration of activity on the floor, and Mr. Moore’s role as parliamentarian.

“If there is a point of order, then whoever is in the chair will ask the parliamentarian for guidance,” says Mr. Moore in explaining his role. “As the parliamentarian, I will inform the speaker, the speaker pro tem or, if we are in committee of the whole, the chairman, as to what I believe is the correct outcome. Then whoever is in the chair is the one who actually rules. We are there to try to give advice and guidance.”

Mr. Moore served as a House page until 1979 becoming head page.

“I wasn’t here in 1980 and 1981,” he says. “I was going to law school.

He received his law degree from the University of Nebraska.

“I’m originally from Nebraska, but we moved to Holbrook when I was eight,” he says. “My parents still live in Holbrook.”

Mr. Moore returned to Arizona and the House as a member of the research staff. He was on the staff of the House Banking and Insurance Committee, the House Committee on Professions, Occupations and Tourism and the House Judiciary Committee.

He says he left the state again in 1984 to go to the Midwest, but returned in 1985 to take a position as assistant House rules attorney.

Mr. Moore says when he learned Ms. Richards had decided to retire he approached the House speaker at the time, Jane Hull, and expressed his interest in becoming chief clerk.

“I told her and the rest of the House leadership I was very interested in the position,” he says. “In October 1992 after Jane Richards retired, I became acting chief clerk. In January of 1993, I was elected chief clerk. The 2004 regular session will be my 11th year as chief clerk.” —