Peter Cannon, whom many know was a legislative analyst at the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), has recently retired after 26 years. Cannon Research Service, a legislative research service, is his latest endeavor.
Cannon shared some information about the service in a Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin Newsletter article (p. 8):
Since the LRB’s primary function is answering legislative questions, it cannot do rush jobs for the public. If a legislator calls, other work is set aside until the legislator’s question is answered. Staff cannot do the kind of in-depth research some projects require. That leaves the LRB unable to help researchers faced with time constraints or people who simply didn’t have the knowledge necessary to do the research for themselves. While I agree with the policy, I was always somewhat uncomfortable with the lack of any alternative.
Since I enjoy doing research, I decided to try to fill this gap by starting “Cannon Research Service”, peter.cannon@charter.net , (608) 692-1276. I will find documents related to the legislative history of bills and acts and, where necessary, explain how the documents came to exist. It’s a way to continue doing research and continue to use the expertise I’ve spent years developing.
Source: LLAW Newsletter