State-Federal Relations Overview
The NCSL Washington D.C. office houses the division of State-Federal Relations, whose purpose is to advocate on the behalf of state legislatures in the federal policy-making process. These state-federal activities are dictated by the policies developed in the NCSL Standing Committees. The legislators who serve on these committees determine the organizations' official positions concerning federal policy and provide guidance for organizations' lobbying effort. The Washington office staff provides information, research and analysis on federal issues in publications including legislative summaries, regulatory memoranda, action alerts, informative emails and through a weekly publication called Capitol to Capitol.
Other NCSL programs which reside in the Washington D.C. office include; the Forum for State Health Policy Leadership, the Immigrant Policy Project, and the division of International Programs.
The Forum for State Health Policy Leadership acts as a resource to facilitate decision making among state legislators focusing on current and emerging critical health policy issues. The Forum was established in 1995 to provide health policy research and analysis, educational opportunities in a variety of formats for state legislators and legislative staff as well as informative publications on the latest issues.
The Immigrant Policy Project is a nationally recognized clearinghouse on state and federal policy concerning immigration. Created through a grant award in 1992 that charged the Project to examine the role of state and local government in the development of "immigrant policy" by enlisting input from policymakers, the Project researches and produces publications on immigrant policy with an emphasis on federal-state-local partnership in the resettlement of immigrants and refugees, federal welfare reform and the implications for states and localities and their immigrant population.
NCSLs' International Programs brings U.S. state legislators and staff together with legislators, parliamentarians and legislative staff from abroad to address issues of common concern and public policy. The Program is also often asked to provide technical assistance in democracies and emerging democracies across the globe with the goal of strengthening the legislative institution. |
