Legislative Services Agency (LSA)

Timothy McDermott, Director
Ground Floor, State Capitol Building
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Telephone: 515.281.3566
The Legislative Services Agency (LSA) is established by Iowa Code chapters 2A and 2B. The LSA was created as a nonpartisan, central legislative staff agency under the direction and control of the Legislative Council (Iowa Code section 2.41) to serve the Senate and House members and committees and the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council commonly delegates its LSA oversight responsibilities to the Service Committee (Iowa Code section 2.45(1)), which usually consists of the top six leaders of the Senate and House.
LSA is a nonpartisan agency that is not identified with a political party or any special interest. Nonpartisanship is the core value that guides how the LSA serves the General Assembly. It dictates how the LSA interacts with legislators, caucus staff, agency officials, lobbyists, and the public. It requires staff to serve fairly and impartially all legislators (regardless of party or rank), practice the discipline of putting aside personal beliefs when serving legislators, and ensure that the LSA’s work is objective and unbiased.
The LSA is comprised of approximately 100 employees organized in several divisions and offices.