Monday, July 20, 2009 in Philadelphia

Slideshow: Participants in Sunday's panel on state fiscal challenges included, from left, moderator Tom Ferrick Jr., David Thornburgh, Representative Joe Hackney and Senator Don Balfour. Summit particpants registered for the week's events in the Grand Hall of the Philadelphia Convention Center.

Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opiate Addiction in the Criminal Justice System
Preconference Program
NCSL's 2009 Legislative Summit

8:00-12:00 pm

Hear about a variety of U.S. and international public-private partnerships, including ones for public transit. Members also will discuss state legislative experiences in considering PPP bills.

1:00-2:30 pm

States of the Economy
NCSL leaders discussed the effect of the federal stimulus on the states Sunday night at a forum at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center in a prelude to this week's annual Legislative Summit.

Preconference

Greener Jobs, Greener Future
The green jobs revolution will affect the entire society. Listen to experts discuss training, where the jobs will be and what state lawmakers can do to support development of this emerging sector of the economy.

10:45-12:00 pm

Fundamentals of Writing for Legislators
From internal memos to constituent letters to briefing papers to speeches, personal staff get involved in all of them. Good writing skills are critical to the job, but rarely is there time to learn the craft.

1:00-2:30 pm

Confronting Ethical Problems Head On
Tough times can lead to major league changes. To improve the ethical climate, Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Utah are actively reforming their ethics laws. Examine the laws and policies in these and other states.

1:15-2:45 pm

Constituent Services: Putting Your Best Face Forward
Legislators say constituent service is their top priority, but then fall back on doing the same old things. Discover new ways legislators and staff are dealing with constituent requests and learn about states that have nontraditional ways of handling constituent issues.

3:00-4:00 pm

Election Reform Roadmap: Where we've been, we are, and headed
Discover where we've been, where we are, and where we're headed with changes in U.S. elections. Take a look at how different states have responded to the challenge of reform.

3:00-5:00 pm

Wrongful Convictions
Listen to a session that examined efforts by states to create laws to better protect the accused and prevent wrongful convictions.