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Award Descriptions for Fiscal Year 2004
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International Programs $75,000
For over twenty five years, NCSL has promoted communication,
understanding and the exchange of ideas among state legislators and
legislative staff and the members and staff of national and subnational
parliaments and other counterpart organizations throughout the world.
Requests for information from NCSL are most often about federalism, public
policy issues such as economic development, fiscal relations, social
services, and infrastructure development, and technical assistance
projects involving staff training and the legislative institutions in
developing countries. Many NCSL activities mirror our domestic work, and
grant funding supports most of the international activities. Foundation
assistance has supported relationships with organizations including the
German Partnership of Parliaments, the Commonwealth Parliamentary
Association, the Parliamentary Conference of the Americas, and the
Conference of World Regions. Foundation assistance also allows NCSL to
host legislators from other countries that are visiting our states, and to
sponsor reciprocal visits. |
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Leaders' Institute and Services $70,000
This award supports the Leader's Center, offering state legislative
leaders specialized services including timely information on public policy
and ideas for innovative management. Meetings include the NCSL Annual
Meeting in San Francisco in July 2003. Publications include training
materials and audiotapes for new and veteran legislative leaders, and
articles in State Legislatures magazine. The NCSL Executive Committee
Leaders' Services Committee guides the activities of the Leaders'
Center. |
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Legislative Training Innovations $50,000
NCSL is continuing its series of legislator CDs and audiotapes by
creating a new version called "How to be an Effective Legislative Leader."
Respected and experienced legislative leaders along with nationally
recognized experts on leadership will provide advice to new leaders on
successful approaches to leadership and tested strategies to handle the
new demands they face. Legislators rate the training CDs and audiotapes
very highly reporting that they provide high quality information in an
easy-to-use format. NCSL's study of term-limited legislatures finds a
critical need for mechanisms to quickly and effectively orient and train
new legislative leaders. By having experienced leaders offer practical,
expert advice this CD will be extremely valuable to new leaders in
term-limited states as well as to new and experienced leaders in the other
states. NCSL will provide free distribution to legislatures in
2004. |
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Conforming States Committee $50,000
The Conforming States Committee was established by the Streamlined
Sales Tax Implementing States in November 2003 and is charged with the
responsibility for undertaking the planning necessary to implement the
Streamlined Sales and Use Agreement and to establish the Governing Board
of the Agreement as an operating entity. The Conforming States
Committee is co-chaired by former Senator Richard Finan of Ohio and
Commissioner of Revenue for Tennessee, Loren Chumley. The request
for funding from the NCSL Foundation will be matched by an equal amount of
$50,000 from the National Governors Association. The funding will be
used to defray the start up costs of the Governing Board administration
such as hiring an executive director and administrative staff, beginning
the certification process for compliance procedures, and releasing the RFP
for the software that will be used to determine and collect the correct
sales and use taxes on electronic transactions. The Federation of
Tax Administrators in Washington, D.C. will host the staff for the initial
phase of the start up process. |
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Legislative Staff Management Institute (LSMI)
$35,000
Since 1990, the Foundation has supported the operation of the annual
Legislative Staff Management Institute at the University of Minnesota in
Minneapolis. The Foundation's assistance enables NCSL to provide
scholarships for senior legislative staff attending this executive
management program. During fiscal year 2003 the LSMI took place August
5-16. This year's Institute will be held August 2-9. |
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LegisBriefs $30,000
NCSL is in its ninth year of producing LegisBriefs, short
briefing papers on the hot issues facing state legislatures. NCSL staff
write 48 LegisBriefs a year on issues ranging from managed care to
welfare reform, school violence to tax cuts, recycling to auto insurance.
The series analyzes successful approaches, provides multistate data,
offers alternative courses of action, and gives resources for more
information. Legislators use them to get good background information on
topics being discussed in their legislatures. |
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Health Leaders Seminar $20,000
This grant is for general support of the Health Leaders Seminar in
conjunction with the NCSL Fall Forum, December 9-12, 2003 in Washington,
D.C. |
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NCSL Seminar for Legislative Staff Executives
$15,000
The Seminar for Legislative Staff Executives (SLSE) offers an intensive
three-day program of leadership and management training to directors and
senior managers of legislative staff agencies. The SLSE brings these
executives together with some of the nation's top professional development
trainers in a retreat-like setting that provides time and space for
personal and professional reflection and growth. The 2003 SLSE will
feature workshops on effective managing during times of reduced resources
and on the concept of "emotional intelligence" and its role in promoting a
more productive and resilient workplace. First offered in 1997, the SLSE
is presented in the fall of the odd numbered year. The 2003 seminar will
be the fourth edition of the SLSE. |
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Business Roundtable Partnership $10,000
The objective of this partnership is to have a dialogue between NCSL
and the Business Roundtable to identify common ground issues in the areas
of integrated data systems, sophisticated identification systems and the
funding mechanisms to enhance existing systems or creations of new
systems. The outcome of this dialogue will be the development of a work
product detailing how states and the private sector can share information
and better develop detection and response mechanisms. |
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Fiscal Partnership $10,000
The difficult economic situation of the past few years has placed
increasing pressure not only on state and local budgets, but also on the
state-local fiscal relationship. Phase VII of the Foundation Fiscal
Partners will examine how this relationship has changed, particularly in
the context of tax policy. For instance, have the types of taxes levied by
both state and local governments changed in recent years as budgets have
tightened? Have states changed local authority to levy local-option taxes
or modified state-imposed limits on locals' existing tax authority? This
project will examine these and other questions affecting state and local
finances in these tight economic times. |
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Innovative Finance for Transportation Projects
$10,000
States facing transportation funding shortfalls continue to look for
options. This project will create a guide for state legislators on
innovative finance solutions by cataloguing the various successful options
available to states. It will include state success stories and best
practices, and example legislation. Key benefits and potential
pitfalls for each option will be
explored. |
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