12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Attendee Registration

1:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.

AFI Agriculture and International Trade Committee Sessions

1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

Shaking the Tree - Forestry Management
Speakers: Assemblywoman Marcia de Braga, Nevada; Brad Williams, Manager, Timber Management and Supply, American Forest and Paper Association
The U.S. Forest Service, states and the private sector each play an important role in managing our nation's forests. This session will focus on partnerships to promote environmentally responsible and cost-effective forestry management. In particular, the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes system that compensates states for infrastructure development and maintenance will be discussed along with private sector sustainable forestry initiatives.

2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Free Trade, Fair Trade:
International Commerce and Product Dumping
Speakers: Eric Biel, Counselor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce; Bill Klinefelter, Assistant to the President for Legislative and Political Affairs, United Steel Workers of America
Steel and agricultural goods are allegedly being dumped on the U.S. market in great quantities, creating significant dislocations in many state economies. This session will provide an opportunity to evaluate the validity of these perceptions and assess possible solutions available to state legislatures and the federal government.

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Legislative Update: Interstate Dairy Compacts
Speaker: Jim Hahn, Federal Milk Market Administration
Over the next several months, Congress will consider the most significant legislation affecting the dairy industry since it authorized the Northeast Dairy Compact. The reauthorization debate will not only affect producers and consumers in the Northeast but will also impact the nascent Southeast Dairy Compact and the future structure of the entire dairy industry. Because state legislatures must authorize state participation in any dairy compact, this debate is likely to reflect action in a number of state legislatures.

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Attendee Registration

9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

AFI Agriculture and International Trade Committee
Site Visit: Dow AgroSciences Headquarters
Joint Program with AFI Environment Committee and
NCSL Genetic Technologies Project

Public-Private Cooperation to Promote Environmentally Responsible Agriculture
Dow AgroSciences is one of the largest research-based agricultural companies in North America, researching, developing, manufacturing, and marketing agricultural and specialty products. The Dow AgroSciences Headquarters is a 275-acre facility that includes a world-class, global research and development center. Research conducted in this center includes traditional chemical techniques, biotechnology and molecular modeling to find newer and safer crop protectants. The committees will tour the facility and discuss how the public and private sector can best work together to foster efficient and environmentally responsible agricultural practices.
RSVP REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT: PLEASE RETURN TO JENNY GRANT OF THE NCSL STAFF

9:00 a.m.

Buses Depart Convention Center

9:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

Brunch - Hosted by Dow AgroSciences

10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Tour: Dow AgroSciences Headquarters,
Discussion of Sustainable Agricultural Practices
Participants will tour Dow AgroSciences' state-of-the-art R&D facility. This facility includes the laboratories, greenhouses, and specialties such as robotic instruments used to store and retrieve samples from a collection of tens of thousands of chemicals, and the huge automated soil handling system used to custom mix and dispense soil mixtures. Also included on the tour are the biotechnology area where guests can see transformed plants in greenhouses, a visit to the insectary to see how insects used for tests and evaluations are raised, and visits to several laboratories. In addition to the tour, participants will engage Dow AgroSciences' staff in a discussion on public-private cooperation to promote sustainable agriculture.

11:30 a.m.

Buses Depart Dow AgroSciences Headquarters

12:00 p.m.

Buses Return to Convention Center

12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Lunch - Buffet lunch will be available in the convention center.

12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Assembly on Federal Issue Steering Committee
The Steering Committee will review resolutions to be considered by the AFI committees on Sunday and Monday. It will resolve any questions regarding joint and re-referral of resolutions.

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Opening Plenary Session

3:15 p.m. - 4:45p.m.

International Fiscal Federalism and Devolution
Joint Session with AFI Federal Budget and Taxation Committee; ASI Fiscal, Oversight and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee; NCSL International Program Delegates
Moderator: Assemblyman Robert Straniere, New York
Speakers: Greg Cornwall, Speaker, Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly; Peter Leon, Member, Gauteng Provincial Legislature, South Africa
Devolution has dramatically altered federalism and the state-federal partnership in the United States. Globally, similar changes are creating new challenges for legislative bodies. International delegates and U.S. State legislators will share their perspectives on the role of devolution in altering federalism.

6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Social Event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Attendee Registration

10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Exhibits

8:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Agriculture & International Trade Committee Session

8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

U.S.-European Trade Relations: We Have No Bananas Today
Joint Session with NCSL International Program Delegates
Speaker: John Skorburg, Senior Economist and Trade Specialist, American Farm Bureau Federation

The U.S. and European Union have been at loggerheads over recent World Trade Organization dispute resolution panel decisions on bananas and beef. With the next battle looming on genetically modified organisms, can a middle ground be found?

9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Policies are likely to be considered dealing with product dumping, the 1999 World Trade Organization negotiations and the U.S. Forest Service's payment-in-lieu-of-taxes system.

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Legislators Lunch
The U.S. Economic Outlook: Racing to a Record
Speaker: David Wyss, Chief Economist, Standard & Poor's /DRI
A robust national economy has boosted state finances to their healthiest levels in two decades. How long can this rosy scenario last? One of the country's leading economists will provide an economic forecast and discuss what it means for state lawmakers.

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Legislative Staff Lunch
Speaker: Alan Simpson, John F. Kennedy School of Government

12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.

Assembly on Federal Issues Steering Committee
The Steering Committee will review committee actions on policy resolutions and set the calendars for the annual business meeting.

2:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions
The Genetic Revolution: How Does It Affect Agriculture?
The use of genetically modified organisms is creating new opportunities and challenges for the agriculture community. This session will focus on interests and regulations on a state, federal, and international level.

4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Ancillary Groups

5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Exhibit Hall Reception

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Attendee Registration

7:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Assembly on Federal Issues /Assembly on State Issues Breakfast: The Digital Economy, The Internet and State Taxation
Presiding: Speaker James E. "Pete" Laney, Texas, Chair, Assembly on Federal Issues
Speaker: Governor James Gilmore, Virginia
Response: Senator Steven Rauschenberger, Illinois
Internet commerce is exceeding even the most optimistic projections. In addition to the convenience of shopping from home, Internet purchasers can avoid paying state and local sales tax that hometown merchants must collect. Will the state sales tax survive in the E-Commerce era? If not, what are the implications for state sovereignty and fiscal autonomy? What options are available for state legislatures to modernize sales taxes for the digital age?

9:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Foreign Trade, Federal Preemption
Moderator: Representative Jim Poolman, North Dakota, Vice-Chair, AFI Agriculture & International Trade Cmte.;
Speakers:
Tim Galvin, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service; Matt Porterfield, Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown Law Center; Graham Toft, President, Indiana Economic Development Council, Inc.

The next round of World Trade Organization negotiations will begin in Seattle this November and address tariff reductions, subsidies, domestic trade-distorting policies and agricultural trade. State legislatures have a significant stake in these negotiations in seeking to balance liberalized international trade with the potential threat of federal preemption in international agreements. This session will explore the states' position and how the Seattle round might impact state legislative policy, particularly in agriculture.

10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Exhibits

1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Plenary Session
The Leadership Challenge
Speaker: Steve Covey
Leadership comes in many forms and at every level. Whether you lead by formal job description or example, Steve Covey will provide the missing piece that allows us all to be our best.

3:45 p.m. - 5:15p.m.

Concurrent Sessions

8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

This session will offer legislators an opportunity to discuss agricultural trade policy with the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA will be present during the WTO negotiations in Seattle this fall and is seeking input from state legislators in advance of the talks.

10:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Annual NCSL Business Meeting
Presiding: Representative Daniel T. Blue, Jr., North Carolina, NCSL President, Speaker James E. "Pete" Laney, Texas, Chair, Assembly on Federal Issues
All legislators and legislative staff should attend this centerpiece of the NCSL Annual Meeting. (Other Annual Meeting participants are welcome as observers.) The annual business meeting includes debate of policy resolutions that will guide NCSL's lobbying at the federal level for the coming year. The agenda for the business meeting will also include consideration of an amendment to the NCSL bylaws, election of officers and the NCSL Executive Committee and approval of the NCSL budget.

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Closing Plenary Session - Luncheon
Speaker: Donna Shalala, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The past few years have witnessed substantial legislative and regulatory activity on health and human services issues. Much of the activity, in fact, has constituted the movement toward devolution - for example, children's health, Medicaid reforms, and welfare reform. Secretary Shalala will review these recent experiences and discuss recent administration initiatives.

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The Tobacco Settlement
Privacy
School Violence

6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Social Event - The Children's Museum of Indianapolis