Tuesday, November 27

8:00 am - 5:30 pm

Trade Policy Leadership Seminar

This year's Trade Policy Leadership Seminar continues NCSL's efforts to inform state government officials on international trade issues with state policy implications. From the fate of pending free trade agreements to cross-border shipping developments this year's seminar promises a wealth of analysis, insight and networking. Come engage federal trade officials, fellow state policymakers, and other experts on these important topics.

For additional information about this pre-conference, please contact Jeremy Meadows.

Wednesday, November 28

7:00 am - 6:00 pm
Main Foyer, Conference Center

Registration

Trade Policy Leadership Seminar (cont'd)

Labor and Economic Development Committee Convenes

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
McArthur 2

GASB: Past, Present and Future
Joint with Budgets and Revenue Committee

In 1984, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) was created to establish accounting and financial reporting standards for state and local government. However, in light of several municipal bonds controversies, the Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to recommend oversight of GASB. This session will examine the past, present and future of the GASB and the impact on states.

Speaker:

William T. Pound
Executive Director, NCSL
Denver, Colorado

Jeff Esser
Executive Director/CEO
Government Finance Officers Association
Chicago, Illinois

Robert Attmore
Chairman, Governmental Accounting Standards Board
Washington, D.C.

Making the American Dream Affordable in Today's Market

What is the impact of the housing downturn on affordable housing and community stability? This session will examine the economic factors driving the housing downturn and possible roles for state lawmakers in preserving the American Dream.

Moderator:
Gilbert Loredo
Staff Chair, Labor and Economic Development Committee
                     

Speakers:

Jeffrey Lubell
Executive Director, Center for Housing Policy
Washington, D.C.

Andrea Wilko, Ph.D.
Staff Vice Chair, Labor and Economic Development Committee
Chief Economist, Legislative Fiscal Analyst Office
Salt Lake City, Utah

Opening General Session

Dr. Maryann Legato has spent her career studying the health differences between men and women.  The founder of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University, she believes that men are equally important and much more neglected in terms of their unique vulnerabilities than women.  Men's lifespan is at least five years shorter than women's, and Dr. Legato is focusing on efforts on why men die first.

Speaker: 
Dr. Maryanne J. Legato
Professor of Clinical Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
Founder and Director of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University
New York

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is comprised of the overall standing committee officers and the legislator chair and staff chair, or their designee, of each standing committee. Members will review the committees' plans for the Fall Forum, preview any policies anticipated for debate, and make determinations regarding joint and re-referral of the policy resolutions if necessary.

Opening Reception 

Thursday, November 29

Registration

General Breakfast Program

The U.S. Transportation Secretary brings a unique perspective to her role as the nation's transportation chief.  She has spent her career working on transportation issues in both the private and public sectors, and has led both federal and state transportation agencies.  She will discuss the nation's critical transportation needs and how states and the federal government can enhance their partnership.

Speaker:
The Honorable Mary Peters, Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
Washington, D.C.

Labor and Economic Development Committee Convenes

The Promises and Pitfalls of Incentive Strategies
Joint with Budgets and Revenue Committee

Most states offer tax credits and other types of incentives to recruit businesses.  However, many states are unsure of whether or not the incentives really work. This session will explore and provide insight to some of the benefits, challenges and unintended consequences of incentive strategies.

Moderators: 
Representative Philip Frye, North Carolina
Chair, NCSL Labor and Economic Development Committee

Representative Pryor Gibson, North Carolina
Vice Chair, NCSL Budgets and Revenue Committee 

Speakers:
Ionna Morfessis, Ph.D.
President, IO.Inc
Phoenix, Arizona

Kate Wade
Staff Vice Chair, NCSL Budgets and Revenue Committee
Program Evaluation Director, Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison, Wisconsin

Discriminatory Taxation of Communications and the Impact on Economic Development
Joint with Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee

The telecommunications monopoly system is a thing of the past, most Americans enjoy having the ability to select their communications provider(s).  However, state and local taxation is still in the age of the monopoly, taxation of communications services is often three to five times higher than the general sales tax.  This session will discuss the impact of discriminatory communications taxes on our state and local economies 

Working Lunch and Committee Business Meeting

Presiding:
Representative Philip Frye, North Carolina
Chair, Labor and Economic Development Committee 

Finding Common Ground: Rural and Urban Economic Development

Many states have difficulty developing comprehensive economic development programs that would be equally effective in both urban and rural communities.  This session will examine the similarities and differences between urban and rural communities, as well as look at what states have done to best serve both.

Moderator: 
Representative James Johnson, Delaware
Vice Chair, Labor and Economic Development Committee 

Speaker:
Brian Dabson
President & CEO, Rural Policy Research Institute
Columbia, Missouri

State Law and Immigration: Crossing the Constitutional Border?
Joint with Human Services and Law and Criminal Justice Committees

In 2007, state legislatures introduced more than 1400 bills related to immigrants, from driver's license to law enforcement, from trafficking to employment.  NCSL will release its year end report on state immigration-related legislation, highlighting the wide variety of creative approaches in the states to address immigration challenges in the continued absence of any federal solution. The growing amount and kind of immigrant policy legislation enacted in states in recent years now thrusts those states into legal battles as courts consider challenges to some of these policies.  This session will Highlight legal issues being raised under state immigration laws and look at particular pending cases.

Moderators:
Senator Chuck Gray, Arizona
Vice Chair, NCSL Law and Criminal Justice Committee

Senator Juan Pichardo, Rhode Island

Speakers:
Senator Barbara Leff
Arizona

Mary O'Grady
Solicitor General
Arizona

Lucas Gutenberg
Director, Immigrants' Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union
California

Roxana Bacon
Managing Director, Littler Global
Arizona

Sheri Steisel
Federal Affairs Counsel, NCSL
Washington, D.C.

Dirk Hegen
Policy Associate, NCSL
Washington, D.C.

5:15 pm - 6:00 pm
Casa Grande

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee will review policies reported from the standing committees and determine the calendar for Friday’s business meeting.

6:15 pm - 7:30 pm
Frank Lloyd Wright Lawn

Reception

Friday, November 30

7:00 am - 9:00 am
Main Foyer, Conference Center

Registration

8:00 am - 9:00 am
Grand Ballroom

General Session Breakfast

21st Century Belongs to China
The New York Times review of Ted Fishman's China, Inc. began, "If the 20th Century was the American century, then the 21st belongs to China.  It's that simple, Ted C. Fishman says, and anyone who doubts it should take his whirlwind tour of the world's fastest-developing economy." Now in its eighth printing, China, Inc. charts the effects of China's economic transformation on the lives and businesses of people everywhere in the world.  Mr. Fishman, whose talks "reflect the intelligence and wit readers find in his writing," writes frequently for such publications as Harper's, Money and Esquire and has been featured on National Public Radio, Fox, CNN and the BBC.

Speaker:
Ted Fishman, Veteran Journalist, Expert on the People's Republic of China, and Author of China, Inc., Illinois

Implementation of Real ID
Development of the regulations to implement the controversial Real ID law has taken more than two years.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now on the verge of releasing the rules, which, according to DHS officials, have undergone a significant revision since a first draft was released in March.  Richard Barth, the DHS assistant secretary who is in charge of Real ID implementation, will outline the regulations and describe the administration's estimates of how much it will cost the states to comply.  Mr. Barth is a former executive for Motorola and held positions in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Speaker:

Richard Barth, Assistant Secretary for Real ID Implementation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C.

9:00 am - 10:30 am
Aztec Room & Patio

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.