JLARC wins national awards for the methods, impact, and presentation of its reports. Read about the most recent awards.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and its professional associations have recognized our work with over 30 awards since 2000. Here are some of our most recent awards.

National Legislative Program Evaluation Society (NLPES) presents this award for exemplary research methods. No more than three offices receive it each year. Our award announcements recognize our innovative application of established methodologies and our methods' technical difficulty and sophistication.

• Interstate Transportation Tax Preferences (2024)
  • We used federal data to estimate current and future levels of tax-exempt transportation activity. We then used economic modeling software to estimate how repealing the preference might affect industry production costs, government spending, and jobs.
• Opportunity Scholarship and Opportunity Expansion Programs (2020)
  • We created a predictive model that used machine learning. The analysis allowed us to compare students and report that Opportunity Scholars had lower out of pocket costs and fewer student loans. They were also more likely to graduate and earn middle-income wages than their peers.

NLPES awards these certificates to legislative offices whose reports resulted in documented public policy changes, program improvements, dollar savings or other public impacts.

• Hybrid Electric Ferries: Design-Build Contracting and Procurement (2024)
  • The 2023 Legislature implemented two Legislative Auditor recommendations to improve the contract process for ferries. JLARC staff expedited the report, so information was available during session.
• Medicaid Fraud Qui Tam Provisions (2023)
  • We found that the provisions give people a way to report fraud, allow the Attorney General to participate in multistate cases, and maximize Washington's financial recoveries. The 2023 Legislature reauthorized the program.
• Targeted Urban Area Exemption (2022)
  • During the 2021 session, the Legislature passed a bill implementing the Legislative Auditor's recommendation, removing all population and geographic limitations, and extending the expiration date for new applicants to December 2030. JLARC staff expedited the report, so information was available during session.

Legislative Research Librarians (LRL) presents these awards to recognize excellence in documents or publications that present substantive material in an outstanding format.

• Employment and Community Inclusion Services for People with Developmental Disabilities (2020)
  • The report uses data visualizations and explanatory graphics to support the findings. An appendix includes interactive charts with additional detail about the number of clients served, amount spent, client earnings, and the hours clients worked.