Wednesday, December 8

9:00 am – 11:45 am	Morning Sessions for the Fiscal Leaders Seminar (All are welcome.)
9:00 am – 10:15 am Westin - Harbor Ballroom A, Ground Floor	Fiscal Ballot Measures The November ballots featured numerous fiscal proposals.  How did these measures fare in the election?  This roundtable discussion will consider the implications of the latest tax and budget initiatives and referenda for state and local governments. Moderator:  Senator Richard Devlin, Oregon Speaker:  Jennie Drage Bowser, Program Principal, Legislative Management, National Conference of State Legislatives, Colorado
10:30 am – 11:45 am Westin - Harbor Ballroom A, Ground Floor	More Bang for the Buck:  Linking Budgets to Performance  Tight budgets in recent years have caused lawmakers to explore budget management tools to maximize the efficiency of state expenditures.  One promising appraoch is to link budgeting with results.  This session will provide an overview of state performance budgeting practices and highlight successful examples.  Moderator:  Representative Melvin Neufeld, Kansas Speakers:  Harry Hatry, Director, Public Management Program, The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C. Gary VanLandingham, Interim Director, OPPAGA, Florida Senator Ben Altamirano, New Mexico Wes Keller, Chief of Staff to Senator Fred Dyson, Alaska
12:00 pm – 5:00 pm	Joint Meeting of the Budgets and Revenue Committee and the Fiscal Leaders Seminar
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Westin - Grand Ballroom A, 2nd Floor	Streamlined Sales Tax.....in Stores October 1, 2005 (Lunch provided) (joint with the Communications, Technology and Interstate Commerce Committee and the Fiscal Leaders Seminar) This luncheon session will provide an update on state and federal developments. Co-Moderators:  Senator Steven Rauschenberger, Illinois; NCSL President-Elect Senator Leticia Van de Putte, Texas; NCSL Vice Chair
2:30 pm - 3:45 pm  Convention Center - Ballroom B, 2nd Floor	State Employee Retiree Health Benefits Under MMA:  Options, Opportunities and Perils  (joint with the Fiscal Leaders Seminar and the Health Committee) The Modern Modernization Act (MMA) includes incentives for employers, including state and local governments, to maintain their existing retiree health benefits programs.  This creates new options, opportunities and perils for state governments.  This session will review the options, the opportunities and yes, the perils of this new program. Speakers:  Derek Guyton, Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Illinois Jean Schumacher, Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Virginia
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Westin - Grand Ballroom A-C, 2nd Floor	Plenary Session:  Health Care Politics - Where We've Been--Where We're Going This session will review major health stories of 2004, reflect on what are likely to be the major health stories for 2005 and how the recent state and national elections may play a role in determining these issues and ultimately what all this means for health care in America. Welcome:  Representative Terry Coleman, Speaker of the House, Georgia Co-Presiding:  Representative Peter Lewiss, Rhode Island; Vice Chair, NCSL Standing Committees Guy Cherry, Department of Legislative Services, Maryland; Staff Chair, NCSL Standing Committees Panelists:  John Andrew Miller, Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Georgia Todd Sloane, Modern Healthcare Magazine, Illinois
5:15 pm - 6:00 pm Westin - Harbor Ballroom B, Ground Floor	Steering Committee This meeting will review the committee's plans for the year, preview any policies anticipated for debate and make determinations regarding joint and referral of any resolutions.  Co-Presiding:  Senator Beverly Gard, Indiana; Vice Chair, NCSL Standing Committee Frank Parisi, Office of Legislative Services, New Jersey; Staff Vice Chair, NCSL Standing Committees
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Convention Center - Chatham Ballroom Foyer, 2nd Floor	Reception at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center

Thursday, December 9

8:00 am – 9:30 am Westin - Grand Ballroom A-C, 2nd Floor	Plenary Breakfast Welcome:  Senator Eric Johnson, Senate President Pro Tem, Georgia The Steven D. Gold Award for Significant Contributions in Public Finance presented by William Pound, NCSL Executive Director.  The 2004 recipient is David Crotts, Chief Economist, North Carolina General Assembly.  The U.S. Economic Outlook The recent economic downturn ended three years ago.  The indicators that demonstrate economic recovery, the outlook for the economy in the next year to 18 months, and how various regions of the nation are faring will be examined.  Co-Presiding:  Representative Joe Hackney, North Carolina; Chair, NCSL Standing Committees Guy Cherry, Department of Legislative Services, Maryland; Staff Chair, NCSL Standing Committees Speaker:  David Wyss, Chief Economist, Standard & Poor's, New York
9:45 am - 11:00 am Westin - Harbor Ballroom A, Ground Floor	Economic Outlook:  Discussion with David Wyss (joint with the Fiscal Leaders Seminar) This session will provide members an opportunity to participate in a roundtable discussion on the economic outlook. Speaker:  David Wyss, Chief Economist, Standard & Poor's, New York
11:15 am – 12:15 pm Westin - Harbor Ballroom A, Ground Floor	The New Reality in State Finances (joint with the Economic Development, Trade and Cultural Affairs Committee and the Fiscal Leaders Seminar) Tax revisions occur every year, but states have tended to overlook the need for fundamental tax reform to reflect structural economic change.  This session explores the nature of taxation in the states, the ways that state taxes operate, and the reasons state tax policy has gotten out of step with the demographic and economic realities of American life. Moderator:  Representative Maxine Bell, Idaho; Chair, NCSL Budgets and Revenue Standing Committee Speaker:  Ronald Snell, Director, Economic, Fiscal and Human Resources, National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado
12:15 pm – 1:45 pm Westin - Harbor Ballroom A, Ground Floor	State Budget and Revenue Outlook:  Update and Roundtable Discussion (Box lunches provided) (joint with the Fiscal Leaders Seminar) This session features NCSL’s new “State Budget Update” report and recent data on state revenue performance.  Roundtable discussion will follow presentations. Moderator:  Senator Robert Jauch, Wisconsin Speakers:  Corina Eckl, Group Director, Fiscal Affairs Program, National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado Nick Jenny, Senior Policy Analyst, Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, New York
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Westin - Harbor Ballroom A, Ground Floor	Federal Budget Update/Committee Discussion This session will explore recent federal budget actions that will affect state finances and provide an opportunity to discuss the committee's activities over the next few months. Presiding:  Representative Maxine Bell, Idaho; Chair, NCSL Budgets and Revenue Standing Committee Speaker:  Molly Ramsdell, Committee Director, NCSL Budgets and Revenue Standing Committee, National Conference of State Legislatures, Washington, D.C.
	Two options are being offered for the Committee:
2:45 pm - 4:45 pm Westin - Grand Ballroom F, 2nd Floor	New Perspectives on Outsourcing (Alternative Session) (joint with the Labor and Workforce Development Committee)  Georgia researchers recently concluded that large national corporations would do better and save on the IT costs by "home shoring" their work to smaller Georgia communities.  This research runs counter to the prevailing thought that offshoring saves U.S.-based companies money.  This session expands on the Labor and Workforce Development Committee's continued work to raise legislative awareness of state-based efforts to address outsourcing.  Speakers:  Dr. James Bradford, Georgia Southern University, Georgia Chuck Stallworth, Aelera, Georgia Joe Tasker, Information Technology Association of America, Virginia David Pilgrem, Communication Workers of America, Georgia
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm The tour will depart from the front entrance of the Westin.	Historic Preservation Policy and Tour of Savannah (Alternative Session) (joint with the Economic Development, Trade and Cultural Affairs Committee) Join us as we tour one of the most historic destinations in the United States.  Discussions will focus on the tax policy incentives that are in place to encourage historic preservation and what state policymakers can do to promote preservation in their own states.  Space is limited for this tour. Presiding:  Representative Sheryl Allen, Utah; Chair, Economic Development, Trade and Cultural Affairs Committee, NCSL Speakers:  Beth Reiter, Savannah Preservation Office, Georgia Lee Webb, Savannah Preservation Office, Georgia Representative from the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority, Georgia
5:15 pm –  6:00 pm Westin - Harbor Ballroom A, Ground Floor	Steering Committee All committee officers should plan to attend this meeting as policy statements reported out of committee will be reviewed and calendars for the Policy Forum will be determined.  Co-Presiding:  Representative Ken Svedjan, North Dakota; Vice Chair, NCSL Standing Committees Peggy Piety, Legislative Services Agency, Indiana; Staff Vice Chair, NCSL Standing Committees
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Westin - Grand Ballroom A-C, 2nd Floor	Reception at the Westin

Friday, December 10