Sunday, August 5

Registration

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
BCEC 204A

Interactive Technologies
Communication with the public is a constantly evolving process in today’s digital world. This session discusses new technologies employed to interact with the public, benefits and problems associated with these technologies, and how these interactive technologies have helped to educate citizens and helped them participate in the legislative process.

• Moderator: Gary Wieman, Network Manager, Nebraska
• Speakers: Paul Ferber, Professor, Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
• Jeffrey Griffith, Senior Advisor, Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, Maryland
• Representative Steve Harrelson, House Majority Leader, General Assembly, Arkansas
• Senator John L. Valentine, President of the Senate, Utah

Monday, August 6

Registration

Exhibit Hall Open

8:00 am - 10:30 am
Massachusetts State House

NALIT Tour and Briefings at the Massachusetts State House
This tour will offer tours and briefings about legislative systems in the Massachusetts Legislature, including a tour of House and Senate Chambers, briefings about the Senate bill filing system, the Senate Budget filing application, the House Bill filing system, the House electronic roll call system, the Legislature's new HP BladeSystem, and other projects.  Advance registration is required.  Please contact Pam Greenberg no later than July 24 to register and for more information. 

Please note:  Unfortunately, we are not able to provide transportation to the State House--attendees should arrange for their own transportation to and from the State House.  Maps and more details will be provided to those who RSVP by July 24.

• Presiding: Senator Leticia Van de Putte, Texas, President, NCSL
• Moderator: The Honorable Jim Hunt, Former Governor of North Carolina, The James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy and The Institute for Emerging Issues, North Carolina
• Speakers: The Honorable Hank Brown, University of Colorado President, Former U.S. Senator
• The Honorable Sara Martinez Tucker, Under Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.

Open Document Standards and Open Source Software
The Open Document/Open Source movement has been gaining momentum over the last few years.  Several states such have initiated efforts to make all state documents conform to the Open Document Format (ODF).  This session will examine Open Source and ODF, how ODF relates to the Open Source movement and why it is important for legislative staff and policy makers to know about them.

• Moderator: Dave Larson, Director-Division of Computer Services, Kansas
• Speakers:   Marino Marcich, Managing Director, Open Document Format Alliance, Washington, D.C.
• Russ Nelson, Vice President, Open Source Initiative, New York
• Senator Marc Pacheco, Massachusetts
• Representative Marc Veasey, Texas

Grand Slam at Fenway Park
The spirit of baseball is alive in Boston tonight! Welcome to a grand slam start to this year’s meeting at one of America’s favorite baseball parks, located in the heart of Boston. Experience all the park has to offer from the games on the main concourse to the live Boston entertainment throughout tonight’s spectacular event. Hit a home run with your family by arriving early for a behind-the-scenes self-guided tour of Fenway Park, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. The main event officially opens at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, August 7

Registration

Exhibit Hall Open

Our Place in History
David McCullough, America's most celebrated historical author and twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, has a unique perspective on America’s history and its place in the world. Learn about the extraordinary men who founded this nation and set it on a course of greatness.

10:15 am - Noon
BCEC 206A/B

Will Your Hotspot Get You Into Hot Water? The Hazards of Public Wi-Fi Hotspots
With a laptop and wireless technology, you can now log onto the Internet in many public places, but hackers and identity thieves might be eavesdropping.  Experts will show how others could be watching your web surfing or capturing personal information you transmit across the Internet.  Learn about connection hijacking and wireless hacking techniques and how you can keep your information safe.

• Moderator: Gary Schaefer, Information Systems Coordinator, Senate, Louisiana
• Speakers: Alison C. King, Special Agent, FBI-Boston, Massachusetts
• Dave LaPorte, Network Security Manager, Harvard University - UIS/Network Operations Center, Massachusetts
• Jeremy Morrissey, Special Agent, FBI-Boston, Massachusetts
• Aaron Peterson, Network Security Engineer, Harvard University - UIS/Network Operations Center, Massachusetts
• Bill Terwilliger, Senior Network Security Engineer, Harvard University - UIS/Network Operations Center, Massachusetts
• Jay Tumas, Network Operations Manager, Harvard University - UIS/Network Operations Center, Massachusetts

NALIT Lunch and Business Meeting
NALIT members will consider By-Laws changes, hear committee reports, present the NALIT Legislative Staff Achievement Awards, and elect new officers.

• Presiding: Gary Wieman, Nebraska, Chair, NALIT

Managing Change and Transition
(Joint session with other NCSL staff sections)
Whether change is a result of technology, power shifts, term limits or catastrophic events, it can be difficult. Learn how to manage change effectively and introduce change to others.

• Speaker: Anne Litwin, Consultant, Anne Litwin & Associates, Massachusetts 

Dealing with Conflict
(Joint session with other NCSL staff sections)
Everybody in a role of leadership faces conflict in their professional and personal lives. Develop a working knowledge of the different ways to manage conflict and learn your preferred management style.

• Speaker: Lynne Eisagnerre, President, Workplaces That Work, Colorado
  

Wednesday, August 8

Registration

General Session and Business Meeting -- Perspective on Critical Times: Three Views

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Lousiana Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu will speak on the nation's most pressing issues from their uniquely different perspectives on the role of states and the federal government. All legislators and legislative staff will want to attend this centerpiece of the Annual Meeting. All other annual meeting participants are welcome to attend as observers. The business meetingis the culmination of the conference year. It includes debate on policy resolutions that will guide NCSL in lobbying the federal government in the year to come, election of NCSL officers and approval of the conference budget.

• Presiding: Senator Leticia Van de Putte, Texas, President, NCSL

Exhibit Hall Open

New Orleans 2008 Preview: Mardi Gras Brunch
Our New Orleans-style jazz brunch will have you wishing you were in the Big Easy. Feast on familiar Creole favorites like gumbo, red beans and rice, beignets, bananas foster, grits and grillades. All is set in a French Quarter atmosphere with a roaming jazz band that will get your toes tapping. Saints alive, it’s fleur de-licious! From the Sugar Bowl to Mardi Gras to Jazz Fest, New Orleans is always a gracious host. Feel the excitement, and get ready to head way down yonder—Louisiana is expecting you in 2008! 

Separation of Powers
(Joint session with other NCSL staff sections)
Separation of powers ensures a balance among the three branches of government. Review recent court cases and other constitutional crises that threaten this balance.

IT: The Budget, Bill Drafting and the Public
(Joint session with the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Officers)
This joint session will provide a opportunity to discuss how states are integrating budget information and bill drafting.  The session will also discuss how states are providing budgeting information to legislators and the public through their IT systems.

• Moderator: Duncan Goss, Director of Information Technology, Legislative Council, Vermont
• Speakers: Jonathan Ball, Deputy Director, Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, Utah
• Richard Reed, Budget System Manager, Joint Fiscal Office, Vermont 
• Gerry Caffey, Computing Services Group Manager, Legislative Budget Board, Texas
  

NALIT Dinner
Sponsored by Propylon
Join NALIT members from around the country for a great evening at a local restaurant. Spouses and guests are welcome.  Advance registration required.  Space may be limited, so contact Pam Greenberg no later than July 24 to register or for more information.

Thursday, August 9

Registration

General Session: The American Presidents
As Americans prepare to elect the 44th president of the United States in 2008, two distinguished presidential advisors will give their insights into what makes a president great. David Gergen, advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, and Andrew Card, who worked for Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and the current president, will share an insider’s look at the White House.

• Presiding: Representative Joe Hackney, Speaker of the House, North Carolina
• Moderator: Mara Liasson, National Political Correspondent for National Public Radio, Washington, D.C.
• Speakers: Andrew Card, Former White House Chief of Staff, Virginia
• David Gergen, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Massachusetts

Civic Soldiers Awards -- Project Citizen Awards
NCSL gratefully acknowledges the support of AT&T for breakfast.

10:15 am - 12:15 pm
BCEC 254A

Ten Questions Legislative Leadership Should Ask the IT Director
(Co-sponsored by the Leadership Staff Section)
Open communication channels, common understanding of technology issues and a responsive planning and decision making process are vital for IT staff and legislative leaders to be successful.  Legislative leaders and governing committees in legislatures are ultimately responsible for all legislative administration issues, including technology opportunities.  Learn the 10 questions IT Directors from a few state legislatures think leaders should ask to help: (1) guide the legislative body to make best use of technology to achieve legislative goals; and (2) avoid negative publicity due to serious IT problems.  Also, hear IT Directors answer the questions and hear leaders discuss the responses.

• Moderator: Paul Schweizer, Controller, House of Representatives, Minnesota
• Speakers: Donald Manning, Chief of Staff, Office of the Speaker, New Hampshire
• Tim Rice, Executive Director, Legislative Information System, Illinois
• Dennis McCarty, Director, Information Systems Division, General Assembly, North Carolina
• Dawn Reese, Leadership Legislative Specialist, Democratic Caucus Chairman's Office, General Assembly, Pennsylvania

Legislative Staff Luncheon: Politics.com
It's the newest, most innovative and interactive way to communicate. Learn how to use this new medium to make government more accessible from Jimmy Orr, the man named by the World Forum on E-Democracy as one of 25 people changing the world of the Internet and politics. Orr was White House e-communications director under President George Bush when he created "Ask the White House" and increased hits from one million to more than 20 million. Now he’s doing it for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Now he is online editor of the Christian Science Monitor.

Extraordinary Sessions
A Press Conference with Benjamin Franklin
From Boston's North End: Keeping Old World Traditions in a New World
Positive Approaches to Difficult People
State Legislature: A Conversation About the Making of a Documentary
Online and Distance Education: Policy Challenges to States

Harbor-Front Finale with the Boston Pops!
This year’s finale celebration, with its harbor-front location, promises a spectacular night under the stars with the world-famous Boston Pops. Founded in 1885, it is one of the most popular orchestras in America. Experiencing a live Boston Pops concert under celebrity conductor Keith Lockhart is a quintessential New England experience. The stage and the audience take on a festive atmosphere with exhilarating music, featuring everything from classical to jazz, Broadway to The Beatles, and Celtic reels to Brazilian sambas. It’s music to entertain, invigorate and enlighten. The Bank of America Pavilion opens at 6:30 p.m. for a pre-concert party including food and beverages, and a main stage family friendly warm-up act. Don’t be late—the concert starts at 8 p.m.