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News from sub-national groups in the United States

JULY | UPCOMING CONFERENCES | ARCHIVES

July

Governors, National Organizations Reach Agreement on Graduation Rate (released July 17, 2005)

NGA Releases Graduation Data Task Force Report as Governors and Education Leaders Sign Compact

Des Moines, Iowa -- For the first time in the nation's history, states reached a common definition for their high school graduation rate, it was announced today. Forty-seven governors and 12 national organizations signed onto Graduation Counts: A Compact on State High School Graduation Data at a ceremony during the National Governors Association (NGA) Annual Meeting here this morning.

The compact stems from the newly released Graduation Counts: A Report of the NGA Task Force on State High School Graduation Data. The report outlines five task force recommendations states should use to develop a high-quality, comparable high school graduation measure, as well as complementary indicators of student progress and outcomes and data systems capable of collecting, analyzing and reporting the data.

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Education Highlighted at Opening Plenary of NGA Annual Meeting (released July 16, 2005)

Honor States Grants Program Phase Two RFP and a Profile of State Action to Improve America’s High Schools Released

Des Moines, Iowa -- The 97^th Annual Meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA) began today in Des Moines with a plenary session focusing on education. The session is part of NGA Chairman Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's yearlong initiative Redesigning the American High School.

During the plenary, governors heard from two international education experts, Dr. Yang Jin, Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Education, People's Republic of China; and Dilip Thakore, Publisher/Editor, EducationWorld, India; Founder/Editor, Business India and Businessworld magazines. The speakers provided an international perspective on efforts to redesign high schools. The governors also were joined by three-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman who focused his remarks on technology and global competition, along with the role human skills and education play in determining the success of national economies.

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Governors to Examine Environmental Policy Act (released July 13, 2005)

NEPA's Role in Energy Production Highlighted During Upcoming NGA Annual Meeting

Washington, DC -- With great interest focused on a comprehensive national energy policy, governors attending the upcoming 2005 National Governors Association (NGA) Annual Meeting will examine how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) affects domestic energy production.

Members of NGA's Natural Resources Committee meeting in Des Moines, Iowa this Sunday, July 17 will focus their discussion on issues surrounding the statute. The committee session will center on key questions about the act, including how the requirements of NEPA affect the country's ability to achieve greater energy independence, what role the statute plays in protecting the environment and how it has become a source for litigation. Governors also will explore what improvements, if any, should be made to the act.

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Governors to Address Solutions for Health Care Reform (released July 13, 2005)

Nation's Governors to Discuss Increasing Access to Quality, Affordable Health Insurance at Upcoming NGA Annual Meeting

Washington, DC -- When the nation's governors gather for the National Governors Association (NGA) 97th Annual Meeting in Des Moines, Iowa later this week, they will embark on a comprehensive discussion about health care reform, including reducing the rising costs of both private and public health insurance, improving the quality of health care in this country, and increasing coverage and access for uninsured Americans.

The governors' discussion, "Uniquely American Solutions for Health Care Reform," will highlight strategies to make quality health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans. The conversation will occur during NGA's Health and Human Services committee meeting, on Sunday, July 17 at 10:45 a.m. in the Des Moines Convention Center.

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Despite Strong Revenue, States Still Face Fiscal Challenges (released July 7, 2005)

NGA and NASBO Release Latest Fiscal Survey of States

Washington, DC -- While the revenue shortfalls facing states in recent years have subsided and short run forecasts are sunnier, most states still face budgetary challenges driven by a backlog of expenditure demands and Medicaid, according to the National Governors Association (NGA) and the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO).

In a report released today, The Fiscal Survey of States, NGA and NASBO found the revenue picture for most states improved dramatically in fiscal 2005, a situation both associations expect to continue in the current fiscal year. In fiscal 2005, revenues exceeded original budget projections in 42 states and three others met their target. Only five states revenue were below their budget projections.

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UPCOMING CONFERENCES

American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) 32nd Annual Meeting

This summer more than 3,000 state legislators, business leaders, and public policy experts will gather in Grapevine, Texas to participate in an "exchange of ideas" about how one can improve public policy and further common goals of a limited government that promotes free markets and individual liberties.

Some of the Major Issues at this Year’s Annual Meeting:

• Agricultural Markets
• Education Reform
• Energy Security
• Environmental Health
• Homeland Security
• International Markets
• Prescription Drug Coverage

Dates: August 2-7, 2005

Location: Grapevine, TX

(For more information, visit www.alec.org.)

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Annual Meeting

Bill Gates will open the annual meeting on Wednesday, August 17. Mr. Gates started the world’s leading software company in 1975, and his vision and leadership have changed the way the world uses computers. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with an endowment of $27 billion, is dedicated to global health and learning.

World renowned researcher Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D., president Institute for Systems Biology, and Nobel laureate, Lee Hartwell, Ph.D., president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and professor of Genetics, University of Washington, will share the latest trends in biomedical research and the impact this cutting-edge field can have on economic development at the legislators lunch, Thursday, August 18.

Uwe Reinhardt, professor at James Madison Princeton University, is one of today’s most sought after speakers on health care systems and health reform. He will give his address on Friday, August 19.

Dates: August 16-20, 2005

Location: Washington State Convention & Trade Center, 800 Convention Place, Seattle, WA

(For more information, visit www.ncsl.org.)

New England Governors’ Conference (NEGC) Upcoming Events

Annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers with a separate meeting of the New England Governors’ Conference, Inc.

Dates: August 28-29, 2005

Location: St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador

(For more information, visit www.negc.org.)

Midwestern Legislative Conference (MLC) Annual Meeting to Include Expert Speakers on Midwest-Canada Relations

The importance and future of U.S.-Canada relations will be one of several policy issues examined at this summer’s Midwestern Legislative Conference Annual Meeting, while will be held in a Canadian province for the first time in the event’s 60-year history.

Colin Robertson, the minister and head of the Washington Advocacy Secretariat in the Canadian Embassy, will kick off the four-day conference with a speech that touches on the meeting’s central theme, "Building our Futures Together." He was appointed last year to the newly created Washington Advocacy Secretariat position, in which he works to promote stronger ties between the U.S. and Canada. His presentation will be followed by concurrent policy sessions that focus on key bi-national issues for state and provincial leaders to consider, such as trade, energy and border security.

Catriona LeMay Doan will be a featured speaker on Tuesday, August 2 at the MLC Annual Meeting in Regina, Saskatchewan. LeMay Doan won her first Olympic gold medal in the 500m speed skating race – and broke the Olympic record – during the 1998 Winter games. Between 1998 and 2002, she won many additional gold, silver and bronze medals in world cup races, broke the world record in 500m speed skating and was named Canadian Athlete of the Year in 2002. During the 2002 Olympic Games, she again took the gold in the 500m race and broke her own Olympic record. But LeMay Doan is not only a world champion athlete. The Saskatchewan native is also an articulate, engaging and bilingual presenter. Find out what it takes to achieve personal excellence from the fastest woman on ice.

Dates: July 31 – August 3, 2005
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan
Registration Deadline: June 24, 2005

Ohio Senator Kevin Coughlin, incoming chair of the Midwestern Legislative Conference, and Speaker Myron Kowalsky, chair of the Provincial Host Committee, are eager to welcome colleagues from across the region to Regina, Saskatchewan, for the first-ever MLC Annual Meeting to be held in one of our Canadian affiliates.

(For more information, visit www.csgmidwest.org.)