Staff Hub ATL 2022: Pre and Post Conferences

10 a.m. – 5 p.m. NALFO: Fiscal Skills Building Workshop (additional registration and $99 fee required).

Are you a new legislative fiscal staffer looking to build your skills portfolio? NCSL is hosting an introductory preconference to StaffHub ATL designed to provide skills training for newer legislative staff, or staff who want a refresher course. This one-day meeting will provide in-depth training on key topics for legislative fiscal staff. Potential topics may include writing and interpreting fiscal notes, analyzing agency budget requests, making the most of key data sources and recognizing data manipulation. A preliminary agenda is below. 

Post-Conferences: Wednesday, Oct. 12

1 – 5 p.m. LINCS: Annual Business Meeting and Professional Development

There is no cost to attend this additional program. It is FREE and open to all legislative staff with a communications role in their legislature.

Join the Legislative Information and Communications Staff (LINCS) association for their annual business meeting, where the membership will elect officers and directors for 2022-2023, the 2022 LINCS Legislative Staff Achievement Awards will be presented and future LINCS activities, including the 2023 PDS, will be discussed. After the LINCS business meeting, stay for an informative and highly engaging session about maintaining credibility when communicating in an era of skepticism and mistrust.

1 – 5 p.m.: RELACS & LSPA Post Conference

There is no cost to attend these additional programs. They are FREE and open to all legislative staff attending Staff Hub.

Topics

Ethical Conundrums for Legislative Lawyers: Who is the Client? What Privileges Apply? and more. (CLE Eligible)

Legislative attorneys have an attorney-client relationship with the legislature as a body.  Or do they?  And what does that mean?  There are times when drawing the line is difficult.  This session will explore common dilemmas facing attorneys working within a legislature, and what the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct tell us (or don’t) about our obligations to the legal profession.
Speaker: Matt Gehring, staff coordinator, Minnesota House Research

Bill Drafting for Mid-level Drafters (CLE Eligible)

Panelists:

• Paula Greene, deputy director, Legal Division, Alabama Legislative Services Agency
• Matthew Coke, senior attorney, Legislative Reference Bureau, Hawaii

Publishing and Copyright – Where are we now? (CLE Eligible)

In Georgia v. Public.Resource.org, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the annotations in the Code are ineligible for copyright protection. Since that decision, legislatures have grappled with how to provide annotations yet keep the cost of publishing the statutes manageable. Hear from several states with different methods.

Panelists:

• Betsy Howerton, deputy legislative counsel, Office of Legislative Counsel, Georgia
• Jimmy Entrekin, general counsel, Alabama Legislative Services Agency
• Carolyn B. Meier, Delaware code editor, Legislative Council, Division of Research

Honing Your Research Skills

Panelists:

• John Snyder, committee staff administrator, Kentucky Legislative Research Commission
• Kae Warnock, senior policy specialist, Legislative Staff Services, NCSL

Editing Legislative Documents

Legislative editors, legal and non-legal, have worked on reports and bill drafts for centuries. Examine what these staff do, where they started, and how they improvised during a pandemic without loss of accuracy or time. Discuss as a group where this field is going in the future.

Leadership Skills Workshop - Taught by faculty from the Carl Vinson Institute for Government @ UGA

Emotional Intelligence with Carrie T. Hamilton, public service assistant

Navigating the political landscape can be challenging. Your ability to understand and manage your emotions as well as the emotions of others is essential. This session will explore the five composites of Emotional Intelligence which guide in: building stronger relationships; connecting with one's feelings; and adjusting emotions to adapt to environments. This session will also provide insight on how improving Emotional Intelligence cultivates well-being.

Strategic Planning with M. Chrissy Marlowe, public service associate

This session will help legislative staff better understand:

• Organizational leadership and context of strategic planning.
• Strategic thinking as a personal and organizational competency.
• Strategic planning as a decision-making process.
• Communication as a catalyst for clarity and buy-in.
• Accountability as a driver of successful effectiveness, operations, and management of legislative staff.

1 – 5 p.m.: LRL Tour of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum

LRL members only. Contact LRL liaison, Megan McClure to sign up.

Noon – 5 p.m.: Achieving Affordable, Quality Health Care Systems: Health Legislative Staff Seminar (Half-day Wed- full-day Thurs)

Invitation only. Email Jessica Hoffman for additional information.