Directory of Webinars for Legislative Staff

NCSL Webinars and Recorded Presentations Sorted by Topic

These are webinars and other recorded presentations that will be of particular interest to legislative staff.

Agriculture

• The Next Farm Bill: A Primer (May 2018)

Banking

• NLPES Webinar on Utah Methods to Test Payday Lending Regulation (March 2018)

Bill Drafting

• The Problem With Lists (September 2019)
• Statutory Construction and Interpretation (September 2019)
• Why an Editor is Your Fiend, We Mean Friend (September 2019)
• The Drafting Manual as a Tool for Statutory Interpretation (September 2017)
• Federal and State Pre-emption Basics: What Every Drafter Ought to Know  (July 2016)
• Drafting in Plain Language—Leaving Legalese Behind (May 2016)
• Client Interaction for Legislative Drafters   (December 2015)
• New Drafter Training | What Does that Mean? Crafting and Using Definitions in Statutes (June 2014)
• Bill Drafting: Using Shall Carefully for Clearer Laws (December 2014)

Children and Families

• A Cornerstone of the Foster Care System: Foster Families (September 2018)
• Family First Prevention Services Act Briefing (April 2018)

Civic Education

• Revitalizing Civics Education in American Schools (July 2018)

Criminal Justice

• Supreme Court Police Cases | Presented by the International Municipal Lawyers Association (July 2019)
• Juvenile Life Without Parole | Miller v. Alabama—States Respond (March 2013)

Editing

• Need a Well-Structured Sentence? Use an Old Tool for a Modern Job (November 2011)   

Education

Early Learning

• Early Learning Fellows 2019 Webinar Series (August 2019)
• Early Learning Fellows 2019 Webinar Series (July 2019)
• A Look at Prekindergarten Across the Country (August 2018)
• 2018 Early Learning Fellows Webinar Series (July 2018)
• Early Learning Systems: International Trends and Good Practices (June 2018)

Funding and School Choice Issues

• School Vouchers: Legal and Constitutional Issues (April 2013) 
• How States and the Federal Government Support Higher Education Through the Tax Code (April 2017)

Teaching and General Education Issues

• Student-Centered Learning: A Review of the Research  (January 2020)
• Student-centered Learning for All Learners (April 2019)
• ESSA State Plan and Legislation Database (February 2019)
• Addressing the Educational Needs of Children and Youth in Foster Care (February 2019)
• Support for Teachers and Leaders in Student-Centered learning Environments (November 2018)
• Afterschool Program Quality: What States are Doing to Help Drive Quality Forward (May 2018)
•  Performance-based Assessments for Teaching and Learning: The New Hampshire Approach (April 2018)
• CareerWise: Colorado Youth Apprenticeship Inspired by Swiss VET (March 2018)
• Lessons from World-Class Career-Technical Education Systems: Vocational Education and Training in Switzerland (February 2018)
• High-Quality Professional Learning for Teachers (May 2017)
• Transforming Teacher Prep: States Leading the Way (May 2017)
• Overview of K-12 Competency-Based Education (May 2017)
• Teaching & Learning: A New Call for Action (April 2017)
• U.S. Student Performance on PISA: What Legislators Need to Know (February 2017)

Elections

• 2017 Election Administration Legislation Review (January 2018)
• Primaries and Beyond: The legislative Role (May 2017)
• 2020 Census: How State Legislators Can Make a Difference (December 2017)
• REAL ID: An Update from DHS and Next Steps for States (December 2017)
• Voter ID: What's Next? (Video)—NCSL Legislative Summit 2012 Chicago 

Energy

• Lowering Energy Costs with Non-wires Solutions (September 2019)
• Encouraging Efficiency: Policies to Promote Utility Energy Efficiency (August 2019)
• The Need for an Electric Grid Transformation (June 2019)
• What's the Outlook for Carbon Capture Storage (April 2019)
•  The Growing U.S. Offshore Wind Market (February 2019)
• Growing America’s Economy with Energy Efficiency (September 2018)
• Sharing the Sun: State Policies for Community Solar (May 2018)
• Energy Storage: Evolution and Revolution on the Electric Grid (March 2018)

Environment

• The Plight of Plastic (June 2019)

Ethics

• Ethics Training for Program Evaluators and Performance Auditors (July 2015)

• Remaining Nonpartisan in an Increasingly Partisan Environment  (April 2014)

Federal

• Census Outreach: What States Are Doing (May 2019)

Financial Services and Commerce

• The Fundamentals of Risk Management and Insurance: Viewed Through the Lens of Emerging Technology | Part II (June 2018)

Fiscal

• Fiscal 50: How Does Your State Rank? (March 2018)

General Legal Issues

• Cybertechnology and the Law (July 2017)
• Copyright Issues for a Legislative Audience: Copy Rights and Copy Wrongs (webinar) 
• Legal Implications for Social Media (Video) – NCSL Legislative Summit 2013 Atlanta (2013)

General Professional Development

Webinars covering soft and hard skills that apply to a broad range of legislative staff. Meant for use in initial onboarding as well as continual skills development training for pre-existing staff.

• Tips for Effective Testimony   (January 2020)
• Dealing With Difficulty: Converting Stakeholders and Colleagues Into Allies and Partners (Dec. 2019)
• Keys to an Effective Message – Story Principles, Focused Messaging, and Communication Styles  (November 2019)
• Presentation Skills (September 2019)
• Legislative Committees Integrating Training and Technology (September 2019)
• De-escalation Techniques for the Legislature (January 2019)
• From Chaos to Collaboration: Discovering Consensus Among Competing Interests (September 2018)
• Revitalizing Civics Education in American Schools (July 2018)
• Sexual Harassment Prevention (February 2018)
• Be the Change: Culture Leadership and Self-Reflection (March 2018)
• Tools for Management Coaching (webinar—December 2013)  
• What's New with New Member Orientation (2012)
• Pivot Tables Are Easy (2014)

Presentation Skills

• Make Your Mark: Practical Tools to Expand Your Personal Presence (May 2019)
• Speaking With Authority (November 2017)
• Designing Effective Presentations (Sept. 2017 Facebook LIVE)
• The Keys to an Effective, Engaging Presentation (March 2017) 

Social Media and Online

• Blurry Boundaries in Public Sector Social Media: Defining Clear Interaction Protocols (July 2019)
• Publishing Reports Online (May 2019)
• Beyond the Hashtag—Effective Two-Way Communications With Constituents (February 2019)
• The Power of Podcasting (December 2018)
• LinkedIn for Legislators and Legislative Staff (December 2017 Webinar)
• Courteous and Effective Communication: Social Media and Email (webinar)  

Research and Research Methodology

• NLPES Webinar on Utah Methods to Test Payday Lending Regulation (March 2018)
• NLPES Webinar on Two Outstanding Research Methods (May 2017) 

• Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program: A Case Study in Evidence-based Policymaking (May 2016)

• Drugs and Money: The Data Analysis Hurdles and Solutions Involved in Measuring Participant Outcomes and Cost Savings Generated by Expansion Drug Courts (Mar. 2016)

• Researching Legislative History and Intent (webinar)
• Conducting 50-State Research (webinar)  

Technology and Data

• Cybersecurity Inside State Legislatures (May 2019)
• NLPES Webinar on Data Visualization (April 2018)
• Confidential Data Access Issues For Auditors and Evaluators (December 2016)
• Innovating with iPads (Video)—NCSL Legislative Summit 2012 Chicago

Writing

• Writing Memorable Analysis (May 2018)
• Making Readers Care About Your Writing (webinar April 2014)  
• Writing for the Legislative Audience (webinar April 2010) 

Health

• For What It's Worth: Exploring Value-based Purchasing Initiatives (Dec. 2019)
• Pregnancy and Oral Health: Healthy Moms and Healthy Babies  (Dec. 2019)
• The Emerging Regulatory and Legislative Landscape of Cell Cultured Meat (June 2019)
• Health Care Waivers: 1332-State Relief and Empowerment Waivers (March 2019)
• Oral Health and Value-Based Care: Connecting the Dots (December 2018)
• Newborn Screenings Webinar (December 2018)
• Opioids & Early Adversity: Connecting Childhood Trauma and Addiction (April 2018)

Immigration

• State Compliance With REAL ID: An Update from DHS (April 2017)
• Immigration: Finally a Federal Fix? 2013 Legislative Summit in Atlanta

Insurance

• Insurance Protection Gaps: A Primer for Public Policymakers (Dec. 2019)

• The Fundamentals of Risk Management and Insurance Webinar (March 2018)

Labor

• Paid Family and Medical Leave Policies in the States (February 2020)
• 2019 Trends in Occupational Licensing  (January 2020)
• Manufacturing as a Career Path: Opportunities and Insights for State Legislators (May 2019)
• State Action on Occupational Licensing (April 2018)

Legal

• Webinar: The American Court System  (May 2018)

Legislative Audit

• Innovative Evaluation in New Mexico (Oct. 2019)
• Planning and scoping evaluations. (Nov. 2018)

Legislative Oversight

• Legislative Oversight of Federal Funds: Contingency Planning (2013) 

Natural Resources and Infrastructure

•  Federal Infrastructure Funding for States: An Update While We Wait (June 2018)
• Multilateral Mitigation: State-Federal Collaboration to Build Disaster Resiliency (June 2018)
• Wheels In Motion: VW Settlement Funds (May 2018)

Pensions

• Public Pension Funding Across the 50 States (May 2019)
• Risk and Return: Public Pension Funds’ Complex Investment Strategies (June 2018)
• Don't Stress Out About Pension Stress Testing (May 2018)

Redistricting

• Redistricting Technology: What To Think About As The Next Cycle Approaches (September 2019)
• Redistricting 101 (March 2019)
• Partisanship and Redistricting: What the Supreme Court Has to Say (July 2018)

Supreme Court Previews and Decisions

• May Statutory Annotations be Copyrighted? (November 2019)
• Supreme Court Review | Presented by the State and Local Legal Center
• Supreme Court Series  (July 2018)
• Sports Gambling is Legal, Now What?  (June 2018)
• Supreme Court Redistricting Cases (July 2016)
• Supreme Court Roundup (Video)—NCSL Legislative Summit 2012 Chicago 
• “Active Supervision” After NC Dental  (January 2016)

Taxes

• Forecasts Hazy for State Marijuana Tax Revenue (October 2019)
• Approaches to Considering Proposed Tax Incentives (September 2019)
• Opportunity Zones (June 2019)
• Are 'Sin Taxes' Healthy For State Budgets? (July 2018)
• Federal Tax Reform and the States (Jan. 2018)

Telecom

• State Broadband Laws (October 2019)

Transportation

• Countdown to Real ID: Next Steps for States? (February 2020)
• New Transportation Technology: Avoiding a Patchwork (May 2019)
• Helping States Prioritize Traffic Safety Injury Prevention Strategies (May 2019)