The Windy City beckons as the site of the 2005 fall professional development
seminar presented jointly by RACSS, LSSS and LRL. This first ever
seminar between the three staff sections brings together research, committee,
legal, bill drafting and library staff who share a vital role in the legislative
process. This is the only national training event designed
exclusively for legislative staff who work in these areas of expertise.
Join your colleagues from other states in exploring new ways to think about
your work and learn new skills to make your job easier. Come away
refreshed by the experiences we share.
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005
Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005
| 8:00-5:00 |
Registration |
| 8:30-9:15 |
Welcome and Introductions: Planning Committee |
9:15-12:00
Lakeshore Ballroom West |
Work Issues in a Legislative Service Agency
9:15 – 10:30 am Can’t We All Get Along?
Legislative service agencies provide a range of professional services,
but professional staffers may be known as much for their people skills
as they are for any subject area or other expertise. Further, legislative
service agency colleagues need to be able to work together and rely on
each other.
10:45 – 12:00 noon The Legislative Environment
Legislative staffers work in an environment that is politically charged,
fast-paced and grueling. Although they have to be good at the skills
stated in their job descriptions, they usually have to be adaptable and
good at prioritizing work assignments. Further, their agencies must
be able to respond to the changes demanded by legislators.
Moderator:
Bruce Feustel, Senior Fellow, Legislative Management, NCSL
Panelists:
Mary Janicki, Director, Office of Legislative Research, Connecticut
Nancy Cyr, Legal Counsel, Legislative Research
Division, Nebraska
Clare Charlson, Senior Research Analyst, Legislative Research Council,
South Dakota |
12:00-1:30
Lakeshore Ballroom East & Grand Ballroom Salon |
Plenary luncheon
Speakers:
Susan Clarke Schaar, Clerk of the Senate, Virginia; Staff Chair,
NCSL
Steve Miller, Chief, Legislative Reference Bureau, Wisconsin:
Staff Vice Chair, NCSL |
| 1:30-3:15 |
Concurrent Sessions (choose one) |
|
• Media Training
St. Clair - Salon 2
Learn how to develop skills that you need to address media questions,
even when the topic of discussion is sensitive or politically volatile.
Find out why it's important to build a relationship with the media and
how to turn media interviews into opportunities to deliver important messages
about your legislature. Gene Rose, NCSL's Director of Public Affairs, will
help you develop a checklist on how to handle your office's next encounter
with the media.
Speaker:
Gene Rose, Director of Public Affairs, National Conference of State
Legislatures, Denver, Colorado
• Evaluating Research Resources
Club Lounge, 16th Floor
With the explosion of information resources on the Internet, knowing
how to determine whether that information is solid and accurate is vital.
Learn how to evaluate both print and web-based information, using basic
criteria.
Speaker:
Kerry Fitz-Gerald, Reference Librarian, Seattle University School
of Law, Washington
• Legislative Immunity/Privilege (CLE)
Lakeshore Ballroom West
This session explores the limits of legislative immunity. Staff attorneys
share privileged communications with legislators on a daily basis. Legislators
regularly speak in public forums. Are these communications privileged?
Are legislative records kept by a computer services agency subject to discovery
in a criminal action? What protections, if any, are provided by our state
constitutions? This session attempts to shed light on these questions and
more.
Speakers:
Peter Wattson, Senate Counsel, Research & Fiscal Analysis,
Minnesota
Larry Shapiro, Chief Legislative Attorney, Legislative Commissioners'
Office, Connecticut
Michael Reig, Legislative Technology Services Bureau, Wisconsin |
| 3:15-5:00 |
Concurrent Sessions (choose one) |
|
• Research Skills: Finding 50-state Compilations
Lakeshore Ballroom West
50-state research is the stock-in-trade of legislative staff.
Finding up-to-date and reliable 50-state information can significantly
reduce research time and be a tremendous resources for library and research
staff. This session will explore techniques for finding compilations
of state laws and using government information, including Census Bureau
data.
Speaker: Cheryl Rae Nyberg, Reference Librarian, University
of Washington, Seattle
• Statutory Construction and Statutory Drafting
Club Lounge, 16th Floor
Learn about best practices in crafting and editing bill drafts and
amendments.
Speaker:
Jack Stark, retired Assistant Chief Counsel, Legislative Reference
Bureau, Wisconsin |
6:00-7:00
Lakeshore Ballroom East |
Reception
Sponsored by West Group |
Friday, Sept. 23, 2005
8:30-10:00
Lakeshore Ballroom West |
Legislative Documents
Explore how FOIA and confidentiality issues affect public access to
research reports, memos, drafts and work products.
Speakers:
Patrick O’Grady, Executive Director, Legislative Research Unit,
Illinois
Terry Pastika, Executive Director/Community Lawyer of the Illinois
Citizen Advocacy Center
Ann Sappenfield, Senior Staff Attorney, Legislative Council Staff,
Wisconsin |
10:00-12:00
Lakeshore Ballroom West |
Legislative Judicial Relations
A legislator and a judge discuss the relationship between the
legislature and the judiciary, judicial activism, legislative intent
and balance of power.
Speaker:
Senator Tim Wooldridge, Arkansas
Judge to be determined |
| 12:00-1:30 |
Lunch (on your own)
Business Meeting – LRL
St. Clair - Salon 1
LRL members will hold their annual Business Meeting. |
| 1:30-3:15 |
Concurrent Sessions (choose one) |
|
• Why Most of What We Have Been Taught about
How to Write Paragraphs Just Won’t Do
Lakeshore Ballroom East
Explore ways to free yourself from the Procrustean straightjacket of
the paragraph form you were taught and begin to take control over the necessarily
Protean kind of paragraphs real life professional people write and readers
will want to read.
Moderator:
Robert P Nelson, Sr Legislative Attorney, Legislative Reference
Bureau, Wisconsin
Speaker:
George D. Gopen, Senior Lecturing Fellow, Duke University, North
Carolina
• USA PATRIOT Act
Lakeshore Ballroom West
Sections of the USA PATRIOT Act have lessened privacy rights for Americans
and have had broad implications for libraries and legislatures. This session
will focus on the legal questions facing legislative staff.
Speakers:
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Deputy Director, Intellectual Freedom Office,
American Library Association
Scott T. Mendeloff, Partner, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP,
Chicago
Colleen Connell, President, Illinois ACLU |
| 3:30-5:00 |
Concurrent Sessions (choose one) |
|
• Use and Misuse of Statistics
St. Clair - Salon 2
Statistics are frequently used to support conclusions but they can
also be used cleverly to distort or color arguments. Learn about
appropriate use of statistical data and how to spot erroneous interpretations.
This session will help staff skillfully use logical techniques to evaluate
the data they gather to support their findings.
Speaker:
Steve Harkreader, Ph.D. , Office of Program Policy Analysis and
Government Accountability, Florida Legislature
• Emerging Legal Issues in Campaigning (CLE)
Lakeshore Ballroom West
Emerging legal issues in campaigning online, covering online fundraising,
blogging, parody sites, privacy, etc.
Speaker:
Harold J. Krent, Dean and Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent
• Uniform Laws (CLE)
Lakeshore Ballroom East
The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws serves
the states in writing uniform laws where similarity among state provisions
is desirable. Learn about how uniform laws are adopted and how they
can be of benefit to drafters and researchers.
Speakers:
Howard J. Swibel, President of NCCUSL and Partner at Arnstein &
Lehr, LLP
Diane Boyer-Vine, NCCUSL Commissioner and Legislative Counsel of
California
EM Miller, Director, Division of Legislative Services, Virginia
John M. McCabe, NCCUSL Legislative Director and Legal Counsel |
Saturday Sept. 24, 2005
| 8:30-11:00 |
Breakfast Plenary: LSSS Distinguished
Scholar Series (CLE) |
| Lakeshore Ballroom West |
Whither the Constitution and the Supreme
Court? An examination of the current debate over judicial ideology
This session will explore the current state of constitutional law in
general, and the current battle over Supreme Court nominees in particular.
Professor Presser will look at issues of race, religion, and abortion,
probably, as well as other things that have recently come before the Court,
and he will examine the different political postures and legal theories
of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Moderator:
Pam Ray, Staff Attorney, Legislative Council Service, New Mexico
Speaker:
Stephen B. Presser, Raoul Berger Professor of Legal History, Northwestern
University School of Law, Chicago |
11:00-12:30
Lakeshore Ballroom West |
Breakouts:
• Roundtable: Hot Issues in the States
The pace of the legislative environment has quickened due to technology
and 24-hour news cycles, while partisanship and public cynicism have increased
dramatically. New issues face the legislatures and their staff every
day. This facilitated discussion will focus on the hot topics that
affect the working environment and how legislative staff are coping.
Moderators:
Richard Merkle, Judiciary Division Chief, Legislative Service Commission,
Ohio
Jamie Franklin, Committee Staff Administrator, Legislative Research
Commission, Kentucky |
 Seminar
registration fees:
$ 325 Legislative staff
$ 245 Illinois staff
$ 125 Spouse or guest
$ 425 Private sector
NCSL must receive your seminar registration by September 7, 2005.
The registration fee is payable in advance to NCSL or at registration.
On-site registration is available if you are unable to register by the
pre-registration deadline.
Spouse/Guest Registrations: The $125 spouse/guest fee includes
admission to all meal functions and social events. The fee must be
paid in full at registration. NCSL cannot bill for spouse/guest registration
fees.
Cancellation/Refunds: All cancellations must be made in
writing and may be faxed to (303) 364-7811. Cancellations received
in the NCSL Denver office postmarked or faxed by Sept. 9 will be refunded,
minus a $50 processing fee. Fees cannot be refunded for registrations
canceled after the conference begins.
Substitutions: Substitutions are available on prepaid registrations
only until Sept. 9. Sorry, no on-site substitutions.
Register online, by mail or by fax: Online registration
is available at www.ncsl.org/public/registration/regform.cfm?mtg=2516,
or registrations can be faxed
to (303) 364-7811. Mail
your completed registration form with payment to NCSL Registration, P.O.
Box 17972, Denver, CO 80217. Mailed and faxed forms will not be confirmed
by phone.
The seminar registration deadline is September 7, 2005.
After September 7, please register on-site. Sorry, no on-site substitutions.
Cancellations must be made in writing by September 20 to receive a
refund, minus a $50 processing fee.
Hotel Reservations
Updated news 8/29/05: The Wyndham block has been sold
out. We have an overflow hotel around three blocks from the Wyndham. Our
contract is with:
Radisson Hotel & Suites - Chicago
160 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-787-2900
www.radisson.com/chicagoil
Refer to the 'National Conference of State Legislatures' to receive
the contracted rate of $189 + tax(15.4%). The cut-off is September
6.
The seminar will still be held at the Wyndham Chicago, 633 North St.
Clair, Chicago, Illinois, 60611.
General Information
Casual attire and comfortable shoes are recommended. Please bring
a sweater or light jacket, as evenings and meeting rooms may be cool.
NCSL Discount Airfare
Please book your flight through Andavo Travel, NCSL’s official travel
headquarters, by calling (800) 825-3283, or in Colorado, (303) 694-4344,
ext. 2. Andavo Travel maintains a 24-hour, toll-free line for changes
and emergencies.
Airport and Ground Transportation
The hotel does not have shuttle service. One-way cab fare from
O’Hare is $30 and from Midway is $25. Airport Express shuttle service
is available from both airports. The round-trip fare from O’Hare
is $32 and from Midway is $24; no reservations are needed.
For more information, call 303.364.7700, or email jeanne.mejeur@ncsl.org,
kae-warnock@ncsl.org,
or janna.goodwin@ncsl.org.
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