Next legislative director ready to take on high-pressure job

SANTA FE — The job duties of Legislative Council Service director include being Roundhouse caretaker, chief bill conjurer and impartial fact provider.

It’s not an easy job in a building full of swirling political winds, but it’s the perfect fit for Shawna Casebier after a previous stint as a lawyer in private practice proved unsatisfying.

“I enjoy being behind the scenes and supporting the legislators without personally being in the middle of things,” Casebier said in a recent interview. “It suits me.”

Top-ranking lawmakers picked Casebier to run the Legislature’s administrative arm recently, after the other finalist for the position, Jon Heining of Texas, withdrew from consideration.

She will take over the reins of the Legislative Council Service from outgoing director Raúl Burciaga at the end of August.

Burciaga has been the agency’s director for the last 14 years and announced his retirement plans earlier this year. He is just the fourth person to lead the Legislative Council Service since 1951, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said she received references lauding Casebier’s leadership style, professionalism and calm personality.

“All of them just really had great things to say about her,” Stewart said.

Casebier is currently the Legislative Council Service’s assistant director for drafting services after previously working as a staff attorney who specialized in drafting election bills.

A California native, Casebier said a career as a state government bill drafter was never presented as an option to her during law school.

But she started working with the Legislative Council Service in 2015 after a law school colleague suggested she apply.

As the agency’s incoming director, she said she plans to continue the work done by her predecessor when it comes to helping lawmakers, while also improving the responsiveness of the Legislature to constituents.

Part of that effort will involve overseeing the hiring of district-level staffers for all 112 legislators for the first time, after $6 million to begin doing so was included in this year’s state budget.

Incumbent lawmakers without a general election opponent can start hiring a full-time staffer Sept. 1, with later dates set for incumbents who win reelection and newly elected legislators.

“That is something new on the horizon that we haven’t done before,” Casebier said.

She also cited an ongoing effort to improve transparency, which includes the planned launch of a new legislative drafting and public information system.

As part of their jobs, staffers with the Legislative Council Service can conduct research and draft bills for lawmakers, but they are prohibited from taking sides in favor of or against legislation.

Casebier said that arrangement makes sense to her, adding, “Legislators know that regardless of their political party, they can receive professional assistance to help them to do their jobs effectively.”

In addition, the director of the Legislative Council Service is in charge of Roundhouse security and maintenance, a job that at times leads to conflict.

In 2019, for instance, Burciaga faced criticism from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office after removing a rainbow flag representing LGBTQ pride that staffers had hung in the state Capitol.

He also faced pushback for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included first closing the building to lobbyists and members of the public and later requiring proof of vaccination in order to enter.

“It is a very intense job, and you have to be able to withstand political push and pull,” Stewart said.

Casebier, for her part, said she’s up for the challenge of serving the next generation of legislators.

“This is work with purpose,” she told the Journal. “There’s always something new and unexpected, and that makes things exciting.”