Wednesday, April 23

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Hyatt-Olympic

Task Force on Corporate Formation
The task force responsibilities are to review state corporate formation laws in light of recent federal reports that state corporate standards allow for money laundering by criminal and terrorists elements. This session will be a discussion of recent updates regarding these laws and the pressure from the federal government to standardize the process.  We will review the recent developments since our last meeting in Phoenix, AZ and hear possible responses and solutions to the corporate formation process.

Speakers:

• Garth Jacobsen, Senior Attorney, CT Corporation, Washington
• Jerry Daniel, CT Corporation, Washington
• William Clark, Jr., Reporter for the NCCUSL Drafting Committee, Pennsylvania
• Secretary John Gale, NASS Company Task Force Chair, Nebraska

Thursday, April 24

Task Force on Corporate Formation

Presiding:

• Representative Robert Valihura, Delaware

Treasury Report:  IRS and FINCEN Respond (8:30 – 10:00 am)
During this session the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Internal Revenue Service will provide reports detailing what current information is available during the company formation process.  We will also hear about the potential threats that may result from lack of more strict company formation laws and what action the Treasury plans to take in the future.

Speakers:

• Emery Kobor, Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, U.S. Treasury, Washington, D.C.
• Michael Vallely, Office of Regulatory Policy, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Washington, D.C.

Federal Forces:  Perspectives from the Federal Level (10:00 – 11:30 am)
The session will focus on the federal players involved in the corporate formation issue. We will discuss their findings and reports and the prospects for referral legislation. We will hear from both a congressional and international perspective.

Speakers: 

• Laura Stuber, Counsel, Office of Senator Carl Levin, Washington, D.C.

Planning for Wilmington (11:30 am – 12:00 pm)
Following the discussion we will bring up plans for the following meeting in Wilmington, DE on May 16, 2008. This meeting will be a working meeting where the task force will determine what type of recommendations we will bring to the NCSL Executive Committee.

Digital Preservation Legislative Advisory Group
Members of the Digital Preservation Legislative Advisory Group will meet at the Library of Congress (LOC) for a briefing and behind-the-scenes tour. The advisory group will provide guidance for the LOC's National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, which is working to identify best practices in preserving legislative digital records. (For more information about this project, contact Jo Anne Bourquard, NCSL Denver, 303-856-1355.)

Streamlined Sales Tax Update Luncheon
Joint with Budgets & Revenue Committee
Twenty-two states have complied with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement and over 1,000 out of state sellers are collecting sales taxes for these states. The Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act has been introduced in Congress with bipartisan support. This session will examine the prospects for passage in the 110^th Congress and provide an update on state efforts for 2008.

Presiding:

• Senator Delores Kelley, Maryland, Chair, Communications, Financial Services & Interstate Commerce
• Representative Pete Anderson, Wyoming, Vice Chair, Budgets & Revenue Committee

Speakers:

• Delegate John Doyle, First Vice President, Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, West Virginia
• Scott Peterson, Executive Director, Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Tennessee
• Deborah Bierbaum, AT&T, New Jersey
• Maureen Riehl, National Retail Federation, Washington, D.C.

SLIMPACT: Can the States Stop Federal Regulation of Insurance with Another Compact?
Supporters of the Surplus Lines Multi-State Compliance Compact (SLIMPACT) claim that state enactment of the compact will demonstrate to the proponents of a federal insurance regulator that the state based insurance system is modernizing. This would be the second compact between the states regarding insurance regulation. Is this the best way to preserve state sovereignty? How will SLIMPACT affect state tax revenues? These questions as well as a resolution in support of SLIMPACT will be discussed.

Presiding:

• Senator Delores Kelley, Maryland, Chair of the Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee

Speakers:

• Daniel Maher, Excess Line Association of New York, New York
• Steven Stephan, National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd., Missouri

Handout:

• Surplus Lines Multi-State Compliance Contract PowerPoint
• A.M. Best Research-2007 Special Report U.S. Surplus Lines-Market Review (Executive Summary)

Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact Update

Handout:

• Frances Arricale PowerPoint Presentation
• Insurance Compact Testifies to Start-up Success

Open Government: Transparency Online
States are making more government information accessible, including detailed information on state contracts, state budgets and more. This year more than half the states have introduced bills allowing taxpayers to track how state tax dollars are spent.

Moderator:

• Jonathan Ball, Director, Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst,  Staff Chair, Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce CommitteeSpeakers:
• Sharon Crouch Steidel, Director of Information Systems, House of Delegates, Virginia, Staff Chair, NCSL
• Senator Wayne Niederhauser, Utah 
• Cathilea Robinett, Executive Director, Center for Digital Government, California

Handouts:

• Speaker Biographies
• YouGov - Cathilea Robinett's presentation
• Open Government Transparency Online - Jonathan Ball's presentation
• Open Government - Transparency Online - Sharon Crouch Steidel's presentation

Opening General Session - Federalism and Senate Agenda
As a former governor, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Chair of the Republican Senate Conference, has seen federalism issues from both the state and federal perspectives. His concerns include REAL ID, Internet taxation, the Federal Consent Decrees Fairness Act, and flexibility in the No Child Left Behind Act.

Presiding:

• Martha Carter, Nebraska Legislature
• Representative Geanie Morrison, Texas

Speaker:

• The Honorable Lamar Alexander, U.S. Senate, Tennessee

Steering Committee Meeting
The Steering Committee is comprised of the overall Standing Committee Officers and the Chair and Staff Chair, or their designee, of each Standing Committee. This meeting will review the Committees' plans for the Forum and preview any policies anticipated for debate and make determinations regarding joint and re-referral of the resolutions.

Presiding:

• Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, Washington
• Nia Wilson, Health and Human Services Committee, Pennsylvania

Friday, April 25

General Session Breakfast - The Mortgage Crisis and the Economy
The subprime mortgage/foreclosure tsunami is inundating all segments of society including every level of government. Will it lead to a recession? In a global economy, can government regulation prevent such crisis. Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Financial Services will address the mortgage crisis, discuss the stimulus package and the role of government regulators in the financial services marketplace.

Presiding:

• Representative David Clark, Utah, Chair, NCSL Standing Committees
• Laura DeVivo, Office of the House Speaker, North Carolina, Staff Chair, NCSL Standing Committee

Speaker:

• Hon. Barney Frank, Massachusetts, Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Financial Services

Mortgage Assistance - Help or Hindrance?
With foreclosures increasing, so are mitigation efforts to help homeowners from losing their homes. Lenders are offering loan workouts. States and local governments are offering refinancing programs. And there is federal legislation that would allow judges flexibility in bankruptcy proceedings to modify mortgages. Are these mitigation efforts such as loan workouts reaching the consumers that need help? How will they impact funds available for new homebuyers?

Moderator:

• Delegate Terrie Suit, Virginia, Vice Chair, Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee

Speakers:

• Amy Crews Cutt, Deputy Chief Economist, Freddie Mac, McLean, Virginia
• Ellen Harnick, Senior Policy Counsel, Center for Responsible Lending, Durham, N.C.
• Paul Richman, Vice President, State Government Affairs, Mortgage Bankers Association, Washington, D.C.
• Mildred Harris, Housing and Financial Counselor, Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, Washington, D.C.

Handouts:

• Speaker Biographies
• 2008 Foreclosure Legislation
• MBA's Agenda to Stablize the Housing Market
• Ellen Harnick's Congressional Testimony for April 10, 2008 Hearing
• CRL's Solution to Housing Crisis Requires Adjusting Loans to Fair Market Value through Court-Supervised Modifications
• CRL's Subprime Spillover: Foreclosures Cost Neighbors $202 Billion; 40.6 Million Homes Lose $5,000 on Average

Communications Tax Issues
Presiding:

• Representative Phil Montgomery, Wisconsin, Vice Chair, Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee

Part I - 11:00 am - 11:15 am
VOIP Sourcing Federal Legislation
Legislation is being introduced to set up a national sourcing method for states to use in taxing VOIP communications. The legislation is similar to the sourcing of cell phone communications.

Speaker:

• Annabelle Canning, Verizon, Pennsylvania

Part II -11:15 am - 12:15 pm
State Video Tax Fairness Act of 2007 (HR 3679)
Congress is considering legislation that would prohibit "discriminatory" taxation of satellite television by states. Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, states were allowed to tax satellite TV but not local governments. Some states are taxing satellite television at a higher rate than cable television by including the local tax that is paid by cable. Under the federal legislation this would be discriminatory.

Speakers:

• Lisa Schoenthaler, National Cable & Telecommunications Association, Washington, D.C.
• Meredith Garwood, Time Warner Cable, North Carolina
• David Goodfriend, EchoStar, Washington, D.C.
• Gigi Sohn, Public Knowledge, Washington, D.C.

Working Lunch: Committee Business Meeting
Members will have the opportunity to consider any policy statements and resolutions, hear a report of the Task Force on Corporate Formation, the Connecting America Project and discuss issues they would like to hear about in the next year.

Presiding:

• Senator Delores Kelley, Maryland, Chair, CFI Committee
• Jonathan Ball, Utah, Staff Chair, CFI Committee

Report on from Task Force on Corporate Formation

• Representative Robert Valihura, Delaware, Co-Chair

CFIC Policy Statements and Resolutions:
Equal Access to FBI Criminal History Records
Insurance Fraud: Federal Criminalization

If not considered during sessions:
VOIP Sourcing Resolution
Satellite Tax Resolution
SLIMPACT Resolution
Opposition to Federal Insurance Regulator
RFID Resolution
Government Mandated Arbitration

Digital TV Update

• Catherine Seidel, Federal Communication Commission
• Tony Wilhelm, National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System Update

• John Ryan, CSBS, Washington, D.C.

Principal Based Approach to Reserving Capital and Life Requirement for Life Insurance – Issue Briefing

Treasury's "Blueprint for Financial Regulatory Reform" – Whither State Regulation?
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released its report on the future of regulation for the financial services industry. Should the recommendations be implemented, the ability of states to maintain the current regulatory authority for banks insurance and securities could be seriously challenged. The session will provide a discussion on what Treasury is recommending and how it will impact state financial services’ regulation.

Presiding:

• Representative Greg Wren, Alabama, Vice Chair, Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee

Speakers:

• Commissioner Melanie Lubin, Maryland Securities Commissioner, Maryland
• John Ryan, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Washington, D.C.

Handouts:

• ACLI News Release: Consumers would be Main Beneficiaries of Optional Federal Charter System of Insurance Regulation-April 16, 2008
• ACLI News Release: ACLI Welcomes U.S. Treasury's Endorsement of Optional Federal Insurance Charter-March 31, 2008
• ACLI News Release: Optional Federal Chartering Likely to Benefit State Economies, Study Finds-February 27, 2008
• NAIC-Insurance Regulation: States Set the Record Straight 
• Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises Hearing on Examing Proposals on Insurance Regulatory Reform-April 16, 2008

Unable to Watch the Big Game?
Now showing on the NFL Network…Big Ten Network…the MLB Network… As more and more sports leagues startup their own television networks, consumers are missing out on the big games. So, who’s to blame? The cable providers? The major TV networks? The sports networks? Or Congress? Come hear a lively discussion as to who should pay?

Presiding:

• Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, New Jersey, Past Chair, Communications, Financial Services & Interstate Commerce Committee

Speakers:

• Frank Hawkins, National Football League, New York
• Todd Baxter, Texas Cable and Telecommunications Association
• Barbara Esbin, The Progress & Freedom Foundation, Washington, D.C.
• Elizabeth Conlisk, Big Ten Network, Illinois

Steering Committee Meeting
Standing Committee Chairs and Staff Chairs, as members of the Steering Committee, should plan to attend. The Steering Committee will review policy statements reported out of Committees and determine the calendars for the Spring Forum Business Meeting on Saturday.

Presiding:

• Senator Dorinda A. Connor, Delaware
• Nelson Fox, Legislative Service Commission, Ohio

Saturday, April 26

General Session Breakfast

The European Union's ambassador to the United States, John Bruton, is a former Irish prime minister, who helped transform the Irish economy into the "Celtic Tiger," one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Since taking up his position in Washington in 2004, Bruton has had one-to-one meetings with over 250 Members of Congress to explain major EU developments and discuss the importance of the EU-US relationship in matters of trade, counterterrorism, public health, energy, the environment and the promotion of peace, democracy and human rights around the world.

Presiding:

• Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, Washington
• Martha Carter, Nebraska Legislature

Speakers:

• The Honorable John Bruton, Ambassador, Head of Delegation, Europe Union - Delegation of the European Commission to the USA, Washington, D.C.
• The Honorable Vincent Gray, Chairman of the Council, District of Columbia

10:00 am - 11:00 am
Hyatt-Columbia ABC

NCSL Business Meeting
Forum delegates will debate and vote on NCSL's policy statements and resolutions passed out of the committees. All Forum participants are invited to attend.

Presiding:

• Representative David Clark, Utah; Chair, NCSL Standing Committee