State-Federal Relations

Capital in Transition

State Legislatures, the Federal Government, and Change

News & Press Releases | Letters | Recommended Regulatory Action | Issues | The 2008 Election

The nation's state legislators and their national organization, the National Conference of State Legislatures, extend our congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama on his election to be the 44th President of the United States. During the days and weeks before the inauguration on January 20, 2009, NCSL will provide the Obama transition team with information and analysis on an array of issues relevant to states. This web page serves as a clearinghouse of white papers, policy briefs and other essential statistics to help the various agencies and departments transition into the next Administration.

NCSL News & Press Releases

States List Economic Recovery as Top Policy Issue for 2009 - January 6, 2009

111th Congress Convenes - Capitol to Capitol Vol. 8, No. 1 - January 5, 2009

NCSL Leaders Meet with President-elect Economic Transition Team - December 18, 2008

President-elect Obama Urged to Support Economic Package for States - November 17, 2008

Voters Shuffle the Deck of State Legislatures - November 5, 2008

State Legislators Congratulate President-elect Obama on Victory - November 5, 2008

-- On Intergovernmental Relations

• NCSL's Congratulatory Letter to the President-elect, U.S. Senator Barack Obama  - November 7, 2008
• Recommendations for the White House Office of Intergovernmental Relations 
• Recommendations on the Federalism Executive Order, E.O. 13132 

-- On Economic Recovery

• NCSL Letter to the President-elect on the Prospect of an Economic Recovery Package  - November 12, 2008
• Recommendations for State Fiscal Assistance 
• Legislative Leaders Letter to Congressional Leadership Urging Economic Stimulus - December 22, 2008

-- On Proposed Regulatory Action

• NCSL Letter to the President-elect on Proposed Regulatory Action - December 9, 2008
• NCSL Letter to Congressional leadership on Proposed Regulatory Action - December 9, 2008
• Summary of Proposed Regulatory Action - Chart highlighting 17 regulations exemplary of the recent trend toward "regulatory activism" and summarizing state concerns and NCSL recommendations regarding these regulations.

The Pressing State-Federal Issues of Today, In Brief

(All files in .pdf  format)

Agriculture and Energy	Budgets & Revenue	Communications, Financial Services & Interstate Commerce
Farm Bill	Economic Recovery Unfunded Mandates	Financial Services Insurance Regulation Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Wireless Consumer Protections
Education	Environment	Health
Elementary and Secondary Education Higher Education Special Education	Clean Air Interstate Rule Climate Change State Revolving Funds Water Resources	Health Information Technology SCHIP
Human Services & Welfare	Labor and Economic Development	Law & Criminal Justice
Child Nutrition Child Support Fatherhood Foster Care (HR 6893) Immigration Reform LIHEAP Welfare Reform	Arts and Culture Free Trade & Federalism Housing Unemployment Insurance	Adam Walsh Act Byrne Justice Assistance Grants Election Reform Legislators Tax Home Regulatory Preemption
Transportation
The REAL ID Surface Transportation

Election Results & Analysis

StateVote 2008 - The official NCSL election website, containing the most detailed analysis on the 44 legislative elections and 153 ballot measures contested across the nation in 2008.

Battle for The Hill - Tracks election results for current and former state legislators running for office at the federal level.

The Thicket at State Legislatures Magazine - NCSL elections experts post periodic updates on the organization's blog for both state legislative contests and ballot measures. 

 State-Federal Relations Homepage

Featured Links

• The President-Elect's Transition Page
• Jobs in the New Administration
• StateVote 2008
• NCSL State-Federal Policy Positions

NCSL's State-Federal Relations Staff:

• Michael Bird
• Paul Snow