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National Legislative Program Evaluation Society
Executive Committee Minutes
April 11-12, 2008
The NLPES Executive Committee met on Friday and Saturday, April 11-12, 2008, at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) headquarters in Denver, Colorado.
Members present at the meeting were: James Barber, Trish Bishop, Dale Carlson, Joe Lawhon, Ken Levine, Kathy McGuire, Rakesh Mohan, Tim Osterstock, Scott Sager, Gerry Schwandt, and Jan Yamane. Member absent was: Leslie McGuire. Others present included: Bob Boerner (NCSL staff) and Tricia Oftana (Hawaii State Auditor’s Office).
Call to Order
Tim Osterstock (Chair) called the meeting to order at 8:15 a.m. Tim noted that Perry Simpson (South Carolina) had resigned from the Executive Committee and had been replaced by Dale Carlson (California).
Bill Pound, NCSL Executive Director, welcomed the Executive Committee to Denver and offered the assistance of his staff. Tim then announced that subcommittees would convene for work and report back by 10:15 a.m.
Subcommittee Reports
Legislative Summit: Joe Lawhon (chair) reported that the subcommittee was enlisting panelists for the following NLPES-sponsored sessions for the 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans: 1) legislators’s response to natural disasters and the support role played by legislative auditors and evaluators in such response; 2) methods to increase state revenues and decrease state expenses; and, 3) transportation issues. The Executive Committee discussed the less than desirable time slots assigned to sessions sponsored by NCSL staff sections. Members agreed that Executive Committee officers should discuss with representatives of the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee and NCSL staff the Committee’s displeasure with the assigned time slots.
Awards: James Barber (in the absence of subcommittee chair Leslie McGuire) reported that the subcommittee had revised the selection criteria for this year’s awards process and enlisted judges for the three award categories. The submission deadline is April 25. Subcommittee members recommended that e-mails and website postings announcing next year’s awards process explain the Executive Committee’s rationale for the awards program—i.e., the program is an opportunity to showcase the work of member offices and allow collaboration among member offices to learn from each other. Subcommittee members also recommended that the upcoming Fall Training Conference in Wisconsin include a session highlighting this year’s recipient(s) of the Excellence in Research Methods award and the applicability of the methods used by the recipient office(s) to projects contemplated by other member offices.
Communications and Technology: Trish Bishop (chair) reported that she, Tim Osterstock, and Bob Boerner met on Thursday, April 10 to revise information contained on the NLPES website. Trish stated that the clean-up effort would be on going over the next several months and encouraged Executive Committee members to notify her of information or links that need attention.
Elections: Ken Levine (chair) reported that there are ten candidates for the five open seats on the Executive Committee. The election deadline is April 15. Ken encouraged Executive Committee members to involve in NLPES affairs the five candidates who are not elected so that they will continue to have an interest in NLPES and possibly offer themselves as candidates again in the future.
Ken’s subcommittee offered a proposal to lengthen terms of Executive Committee members from two to three years. Upon a motion by Joe Lawhon and a second by Jan Yamane, the Executive Committee approved for submission to the NLPES membership the following amendment to Article III of the NLPES bylaws.
The NLPES Executive Committee shall be composed of 12 members, eleven elected members and the immediate past chair, who shall be a non-voting member of the Committee except in cases of tie votes. (Should the immediate past chair be re-elected to the Executive Committee by vote, the individual shall then be a voting member and the immediate past chair’s position shall be vacant.) Elected members shall serve for a period of three years and shall be eligible for re-election. Three members shall serve terms beginning in 2008 and every third year thereafter, four members shall serve terms beginning in 2009 and every third year thereafter, and four members shall serve terms beginning in 2010 and every third year thereafter. The committee shall provide for its own organization and rules of operation and shall elect its officers.
For the purposes of implementing bylaw changes to Article III adopted in 2008, at the first meeting of the Executive Committee for 2008-2009, the five members elected in 2008 shall determine through consensus or by drawing lots, three members that will serve three-year terms and two members that will serve two-year terms. At the first meeting of the Executive Committee for 2009-2010, the six members whose terms expire in 2009 shall determine through consensus or by drawing lots, two members whose terms are extended to 2010. This paragraph expires on September 1, 2009.
Ken stated that the proposed amendment would be submitted to the NLPES membership within the timeframe required by the bylaws—i.e., sixty days prior to the Legislative Summit.
Fall Training Conference: Scott Sager reported that subcommittee members received a proposed budget for the upcoming Fall Training Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. The current budget projects a surplus of $885.
Professional Development and Training: James Barber (chair) reported that the subcommittee had developed a preliminary proposal for an NLPES peer review program for the Executive Committee’s consideration on Saturday, April 12. James also stated that the subcommittee had developed and was in the process of implementing an Ensuring the Public Trust survey.
Presentations by NCSL Staff
Ron Snell (NCSL State Services Division Director): Ron explained the organization and workings of the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee, composed of staff section chairs and vice chairs, legislative staff that are members of the NCSL Executive Committee, and discretionary legislative staff appointees to the NCSL Executive Committee. Ron stated that the LSCC tends to work in subcommittees or task forces and briefly described the work of a subcommittee reviewing overhead allocations charged to staff sections. Executive Committee members expressed to Ron their concerns about fall LSCC meetings typically overlapping dates for staff section fall training conferences. Ron said that he understood such concerns but overlaps were inevitable due to state and federal elections affecting the dates on which the LSCC could meet during election years.
Ron also briefed the Executive Committee on the creation of a National Performance Management Advisory Commission, noting that NCSL is a sponsoring organization of the commission. Ron formally invited NLPES to become a sponsoring organization in the project. He said that NCSL would be willing to assist with the costs of NLPES’s participation in the project. By consensus, the Executive Committee directed Bob Boerner (NCSL’s liaison to NLPES) to monitor the work of the commission and communicate to Ron the Executive Committee’s desire to send a representative to the commission’s June meeting.
Doug Sacarto (NCSL Information Technology and On-Line Services Director): Doug reported that NCSL has been re-engineering its website over the last couple of years. He said the website has a database format that should provide more diversity of utility while ensuring more control and site integrity. Doug said that NCSL is presently defining portals for the site and plans to work with staff sections on “branding” their individual website portals. Doug noted that the new NCSL website would allow the distribution of maintenance responsibilities—i.e., staff sections could play a role in updating and maintaining their websites. Executive Committee members asked Doug about placing PowerPoint presentations on the NLPES website. He responded that a file sharing area could be designated on the NLPES website for files that could be downloaded by member offices.
Bruce Feustel (NCSL Senior Fellow, Legislative Management Program): Bruce explained the work of NCSL’s Standing Committees, primarily the Legislative Effectiveness Committee. Bruce encouraged Executive Committee members to become involved with the Standing Committees. He noted that it is possible that some of the Standing Committees could co-sponsor Legislative Summit sessions with NLPES.
Sarah Utzig (NCSL Director of Marketing and Meetings Program): Erica Fox, NCSL meeting planner, assisted Sarah with her presentation. Sarah provided Executive Committee members with a document entitled “Planning a Staff Section Meeting with NCSL.” The document prompted a lengthy discussion concerning NLPES’s past unfavorable experiences in working with NCSL to plan fall training conferences. The majority of the discussion involved budget issues, primarily hotel selection and hotel rates. At the conclusion of the discussion, Sarah stated that she would develop an “at a glance” sheet that would provide basic information items that a hotel would need to be able to offer a bid on an NLPES conference. Sarah also asked that the Executive Committee compile a list of the top five issues that NCSL needed to address to improve the conference planning relationship between NLPES and NCSL. The Executive Committee tasked Bob Boerner with this responsibility.
Update on 2009 Fall Training Conference in Hawaii
Jan Yamane and Tricia Oftana provided a brief update of the planning for the 2009 Fall Training Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jan said that NCSL is working on a contract with the Sheraton Hotel, which had offered a nightly rate of $177.
Recess and Reconvening
Upon a motion of Gerry Schwandt and a second by Scott Sager, the Executive Committee recessed its meeting at 5:15 p.m. The Executive Committee reconvened its meeting on Saturday, April 12 at 8:10 a.m.
NLPES Peer Review Program
James Barber, chair of the Professional Development and Training Subcommittee, presented a preliminary proposal for an NLPES peer review program. James explained that the proposal was a “work in progress” but represented the overall concept of a peer review program. Executive Committee members discussed the general concept of a peer review program. Upon a motion by Joe Lawhon and a second by Jan Yamane, the Executive Committee authorized the subcommittee to continue refining the proposal for presentation during the Executive Committee’s meeting in New Orleans in July. Rakesh Mohan voted “No” and Dale Carlson abstained from the vote.
Discussion of 2009 Fall Training Conference in Hawaii
Jan Yamane and Tricia Oftana again stated that NCSL is attempting to negotiate a contract with the Sheraton Hotel. The conference is tentatively scheduled for the week of October 13. Jan stated that it is possible that the Hawaii chapter of the Association of Government Accountants and representatives of the American Society of Military Comptrollers could possibly participate in the NLPES fall training conference and share speakers since they would also be holding meetings in Honolulu the same week. Jan said that her office would be working with the NLPES Fall Training Subcommittee and NCSL to develop a proposed budget in the near future. Executive Committee members discussed promotion of the conference and the need to encourage member offices to consider sending delegates to the conference. Jan said that her office had not developed any themes or tracks for the conference or identified speakers or panelists.
Discussion of 2008 Legislative Summit in New Orleans
Executive Committee members discussed the three sessions that NLPES plans to present in New Orleans and the less than desirable time slots for staff section sessions. Upon a motion by Joe Lawhon and a second by Ken Levine, the Executive Committee agreed to submit proposals to NCSL division directors requesting that NLPES sessions be considered for Issue Forum or Standing Committee time slots.
Discussion of 2008 Fall Training Conference in Wisconsin
Scott Sager discussed current planning for the 2008 fall training conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Executive Committee members made comments and suggestions regarding the fall training conference.
Adjournment
By consensus, the Executive Committee adjourned at 11:15 a.m. Tim Osterstock announced that the next meeting of the Executive Committee is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, July 22, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- James Barber, Secretary/Treasurer
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