State lawmakers have agreed to spend up to $25,000 to search for a new director of the Legislative Research Commission.
The commission assists lawmakers in writing and researching legislation. It has been without a director since 2013, when then-director Bobby Sherman resigned. Marcia Seiler has been the interim director.
Republicans and Democrats that make up the 16-member commission have been squabbling over hiring a new director. Republicans blocked an effort to hire a director last year because they wanted to wait for the National Conference on State Legislators to complete a performance audit of the agency.
Wednesday, the commission appointed six lawmakers to a search committee and asked them to conduct a nationwide search. Lawmakers hope to have three finalists by September.