NCSL Executive Committee Minutes of Winter Meeting , Jan. 9, 2016

President called the meeting to order. The following officers and members were present:

Officers Senator Curt Bramble, Utah, President Senator Mike Gronstal, Iowa, President-Elect Karl Aro, Maryland, Staff Chair Raul Burciaga, New Mexico, Staff Vice Chair Peggy Piety, Indiana, Immediate Past Staff Chair

Executive Committee Members

Senator Pamela Althoff, Illinois Stephanie Barrett, Vermont Senator Randi Becker, Washington Wayne Kidd, Utah Martha Carter, Nebraska Representative Greg Leding, Arkansas Lore Christopher, Oregon Debra Levine, New York Senator Bill Cowsert, Georgia Ken Levine, Texas Randy Dowell, Oklahoma Senator Karen McConnaughay, Illinois Representative Dan Flynn, Texas Representative Jeff Morris, Washington Sarah Freeman, Indiana Francois Ouimet, MNA, Quebec Sonia Gavin, Montana Representative Joyce Peppin, Minnesota Senator Kemp Hannon, New York Representative Scott Saiki, Hawaii Senator Wayne Harper, Utah Jim Smith, North Dakota John Heining, Texas Representative Greg Snowden, Mississippi Senator Sara Howard, Nebraska Chuck Truesdell, Kentucky Russell Humphrey, Tennessee Martha Wigton, Georgia Senator Neville James, U.S. Virgin Islands Representative Art Wittich, Montana Wendy Jackson, Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos, Wisconsin Representative Jay Kaufman, Massachusetts Jan Yamane, Hawaii Representative Helene Keeley, Delaware Senator Delores Kelley, Maryland Representative Brian Kennedy, Rhode Island

A quorum was present with 42 members in attendance. Several guests and NCSL staff also were present.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES NCSL President Curt Bramble called for a motion to approve the minutes from the NCSL Executive Committee meeting held in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 17. The Executive Committee unanimously approved the minutes from the fall meeting.

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT NCSL Executive Director William Pound called the members’ attention to the NCSL Public Affairs report, noting that it shows an increasingly vigorous public affairs effort. Pound remarked that NCSL Director of Public Affairs Mick Bullock has done an excellent job. Bullock joined NCSL a little more than a year ago and has done a terrific job in developing and enhancing the visibility of NCSL in the media.

Pound thanked Christine Csizmadia with the Nuclear Energy Institute for securing the support by Nuclear Energy Matters for the Friday evening opening reception. Pound also recognized the State Government Affairs Council for its continuing support of the Thursday evening welcome reception.

Pound reported that NCSL has been working on a demographic study of state legislatures over the past year. The study was conducted by former NCSL Director Karl Kurtz and constitutes the most complete examination of state legislatures and their membership that has been conducted in recent years. Pound explained that a presentation of the results of the study took place at the NCSL Capitol Forum held in Washington, D.C., in December, and that a summary of the findings would be presented to the Executive Committee. The full presentation can be found online at http://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/public/execlscc/Demographics_011516.pdf.

STATE LEGISLATIVE DEMOGRAPHICS PRESENTATION Kurtz began his presentation by noting that he is a white male Protestant, a member of the silent generation, and that he holds a graduate degree. Kurtz explained that he chose to introduce himself in that fashion because it illustrates the focus of the study: an examination of six demographic characteristics of state legislators. The study looks at something which political scientists refer to as descriptive representation. The study asks: To what extent do our 7,383 state legislators look like the rest of America? The data illustrated that while legislatures are more diverse than they have ever been in the past, they are not as diverse as the general public.

Kurtz prefaced his presentation by explaining how NCSL obtained the data for the study. The data used in the study was self-reported by legislators. NCSL contracts with KnowWho, a company that supplies the information used to maintain NCSL legislative directories that are used by NCSL staff for official purposes. KnowWho uses an automated method of scraping websites. Therefore, if a legislator says that he or she was born in 1960, KnowWho would capture that. Beginning with self-reported data as a base, NCSL then conducted independent research, contacting clerks, secretaries and other staff in the legislature to obtain information. Finally, NCSL staff conducted independent online research to fill in remaining gaps in the data.

Kurtz told the committee that while he would be reporting exclusively on national data, the NCSL website provides an interactive map that offers information specific to individual states and provides a comparison of individual state legislatures to the population of each respective state. Data can be found online here: http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/who-we-elect-an-interactive-graphic.aspx.

Kurtz reported that there has been a very significant increase in the representation of women and minorities dating back to 1971. There are six times as many women legislators today as there were in 1971, but that was also true in 2009. In other words, gains in representation have leveled off for women. The same is true of African Americans. The largest growth in African-American representation occurred

2 beginning in the 1970s and since 2009 has mostly leveled off. The number of Hispanic legislators continues to rise, as is reflected in the data from before the 2015 elections.

When comparing women and minorities to the population as a whole, women constitute 24 percent of state legislators, but they’re 51 percent of the population. Blacks make up 9 percent of state legislators and of Congress, which is fairly close to their 13 percent share of the general population. While Hispanics are growing in number in state legislatures, they’re still only at 5 percent compared to their 17 percent share of the general population.

Geographically, women hold the largest number of state legislative seats in the West and in the Northeast. In terms of partisan affiliation, 34 percent of the Democratic legislators in the country are women and 17 percent of Republicans are women. Women make up majorities among the Democratic legislators in four states: Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Utah. Of course in three of those four states - Idaho, Montana and Utah – those women are part of a very distinct minority party status as Democrats, so they are relatively small caucuses.

Kurtz said data shows minority legislators are very much concentrated in the coastal and border states. Minorities make up one-third of Democratic legislators across the country and 5 percent of Republican legislators. The majority of the Democrats in nine states in the South, mostly the Deep South, are African American. Minorities also make up the majority of the Democrats in California, Arizona and Nevada.

Kurtz reported that there is a broad age range among state legislators; the youngest state legislator in the country currently is 19 years old and the oldest is 94 years of age. The average among all state legislators is 56. There is not huge variation from state to state with respect to age, but New Hampshire’s legislature is easily the oldest with an average of 66 years of age.

There were no significant partisan differences between Democrats and Republicans in terms of the age of members. However, Kurtz reported, the data do reflect significant differences in age in term-limited legislatures. On average, legislators in term-limited states were three years younger than legislators in non-term-limited states. This is not surprising, as there are fewer senior members by definition in term- limited legislatures. Kurtz reasoned that if there are fewer senior members, members will be relatively younger.

Kurtz further explained that a decrease in the average age of members is the only impact on the makeup of legislatures that can be attributed to term limits. When arguments were made in favor of term limits in the early 1990s, some of the key arguments centered upon an anticipated increase in representation of women and minorities. That has not been the case, Kurtz reported, stating that there are no significant differences between term-limited and non-term-limited states in terms of the numbers of minority or women members.

Generationally, the U.S. adult population is pretty much equally divided among millennials, genxers and baby boomers. In state legislatures, however, baby boomers significantly predominate. Millennials are underrepresented relative to their share of the population. Over time, however, the number of millennial legislators is growing as members of that generation age. In 2009, millennials made up only 1 percent of the members of state legislatures; by 2015 they made up 5 percent.

3 Kurtz told the committee state legislators are much better educated than the general public. Democrats and Republicans are equally matched in terms of members who have a bachelor’s degree, but Democrats have a higher proportion of members with advanced degrees. There are only a very small portion of legislators who have less than a bachelor’s degree. It may be that legislators without a college education are substantially under-counted. In collecting data, NCSL was unable to obtain information about education for 23 percent of state legislators.

Congress has a substantially higher proportion of members with advanced degrees than state legislatures. Thirty nine percent of congressional members are attorneys by profession, compared to only 17 percent of state legislators.

Kurtz said the order in which he addressed each area of demographics during the presentation reflects the order in which the data are most concrete. Data on age, for example, are much softer than that on gender, race or ethnicity. The numbers are especially nebulous for religious affiliation. Protestants and Catholic legislators predominate: 56 percent of state legislators are either Protestant, Catholic or identify as members of other Christian denominations. On the other hand, a full 42 percent of state legislators have not revealed their religious preference. This number is similar to the percentage of Americans who identify as unaffiliated. It cannot be stated with certainty, however, whether unaffiliated is the same thing as unspecified.

Kurtz provided one footnote on religion, stating that there is only one legislator in the country who declares himself an atheist, Senator Ernie Chambers of Nebraska. Chambers is both a proud and a litigious atheist who has won a number of Supreme Court cases concerning the rights of atheists.

Regarding occupational data, the single largest occupation for legislators is business. Approximately one- third of state legislators fall into this category, with business owners being the single largest group. Kurtz clarified that occupational data are plagued by problems both in terms of self-identification and coding. NCSL has been collecting thise data since 1976 and each time different people have coded the data.

Citing one example of the problems inherent to coding, Kurtz shared that an absolutely terrific intern had been working on coding legislator occupations for this most recent study. It was discovered only after the fact that when the intern saw an insurance company owner, he coded that person as a business owner rather than under the category of insurance. This instance illustrates how challenging it can be to extrapolate conclusions from the data.

Another area where the data can seem confusing concerns the 12 percent of members who identify their profession as legislator. In Pennsylvania, which is clearly a full-time legislature, 48 percent of the members say that they are legislators. However, in Delaware, with part-time sessions, 31 percent say that they are legislators. Perhaps this can be accounted for in terms of how the data are reported by legislative staff. For instance, if a legislator is retired and doesn’t have another occupation, that legislator is often reported with their occupation being legislator. In California, arguably the most full-time legislature in the country, only 8 percent of the members report their occupation as legislator.

Kurtz posed the following question: To what extent should legislators look like America? Kurtz imagined that nearly everyone would agree that there ought to be a fair proportion of women and minorities represented. But what about education? Do we, as a nation, want elected legislators to reflect the 55 percent of the general population who don’t possess a college degree? In conclusion, Kurtz suggested that

4 perhaps representation is less about looking like one’s constituents than it is about truly listening to, communicating with and doing one’s best to reflect the views and interests of one’s constituents. Kurtz therefore concluded that representation is in the doing, not in the belonging.

TASK FORCE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS Task Force co-chair Representative Dan Flynn provided the report of the Task Force on Military and Veterans Affairs. Flynn told the committee that the Military Task Force has been very active, touring military facilities in conjunction with each task force meeting. During the coming year the task force will study veterans treatment courts, veteran homelessness, issues that are related to state benefits, post 9/11 GI benefits and bills, and National Guard budgets. Flynn thanked the Executive Committee for their endorsement of the resolution that was sent to the United States Congress.

STATE AND FEDERAL ACTIVITIES Speaker Robin Vos, co-chair of the NCSL Standing Committees, reported that it has been an exciting time in Washington, D.C., since the last Executive Committee meeting in Nashville. On education, the Every Student Succeeds Act was enacted, which finally fixes problems created by No Child Left Behind. The new law reflects many aspects of NCSL’s work with the National Governors Association over the past year to encourage a state-focused reworking of federal education law. Of particular interest and significance is language in the new law that requires the state education agencies to submit a Title 1 plan to the U.S. Department of Education that is developed with timely and meaningful consultation, and that includes consultation with members of the state legislatures. Vos recognized Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos from Washington as well as Senator Howard Stevenson from Utah, co-chairs of NCSL’s Education Task Force, for their work on this issue as well as NCSL staff Lee Posey and Ben Schaefer. With the enactment of FASTACT, there has been a long-term reauthorization of federal surface transportation programs. NCSL advocated for a long-term authorization to provide states with funding certainty. The new five-year reauthorization also includes an NCSL-supported pilot program for states to explore alternative funding mechanisms to the fuel tax. Legislation that reforms the Toxic Substances Control Act has now passed both the House and the Senate. NCSL has been working with both chambers for over two years on their respective bills. While changes have been made to language that pre-empts states, NCSL will continue to pursue additional improvements as a final bill is negotiated and enacted. In December, NCSL officers met with congressional leadership to stress the need for Congress to pass e- Fairness legislation as soon as possible. Officers met with House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Speaker Ryan said that he expects the House Judiciary Committee to mark up legislation by the second quarter of 2016. In the meantime NCSL, along with the National Governors Association, have joined forces to return the remote sales tax collection battle back to the states. We will work with states on legislative efforts to collect these sales taxes based on state laws. As for upcoming activity in February, Senator Bramble will be testifying before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management on the need to reform the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

5 DISCUSSION OF STATE SPONSORED RETIREMENT INITIATIVES Bramble recognized Utah State Senator , co-chair of the NCSL Foundation Retirement Security Partnership, to discuss regulation of state-sponsored retirement initiatives. Weiler told the committee that the NCSL Foundation Retirement Security Partnership had its first meeting last month following the NCSL Capitol Forum in Washington, D.C. During that meeting, it became apparent that the partnership needed authorization from the Executive Committee for NCSL to send a letter to the Department of Labor regarding regulation of state-sponsored retirement initiatives.

Weiler informed the committee that several states, including Utah, have been looking at encouraging people to save for retirement. As a nation, the United States is not doing a very good job of saving for retirement, Weiler remarked. Statistics on the lack of retirement planning are startling and that unless action is taken, the U.S. would eventually face a national epidemic, Weiler said.

Weiler explained that statistics show that if an employee can deduct money from their paycheck at work through payroll deduction, that employee is nearly seven times more likely to save for retirement. Nationally, 52 percent of workers in the private sector do not have the option to contribute to a 401(k) via payroll deduction at work. Recently Illinois and California have passed legislation that has prompted the Department of Labor to issue guidelines on state-sponsored retirement initiatives. The concern is that these guidelines may inhibit the ability of other states to move forward with legislation that addresses and encourages retirement savings.

Weiler therefore asked the Executive Committee to give NCSL staff who are assisting with the Foundation Retirement Security Partnership the authority to send a letter to the Department of Labor. The letter would request that states be afforded as much flexibility as possible in fashioning their own programs regarding retirement savings. Should states elect to implement such programs, they would not necessarily be mandatory or be exposed to ERISA liability.

Senator Dolores Kelley moved that the Executive Committee accept this recommendation. Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos began discussing on the motion, stating that he had not had an adequate opportunity to consider the matter and the impact it might have on his state. The speaker stated that while he respected the fact that the request was made of the committee to act quickly and that it may be well- intentioned, he reiterated that he did not feel comfortable with the Executive Committee taking a position on the issue without additional consideration. Rhode Island Representative Brian Kennedy concurred with Vos, reiterating that this is the first time that the committee has had the opportunity to hear about the issue at hand. Kennedy suggested that he would feel more comfortable if Bramble was to refer the matter to the appropriate NCSL Standing Committee for review. Kennedy acknowledged that in doing so, the committee would miss the relevant deadline of Jan. 19. Kennedy stated that despite the looming deadline, he would prefer that the committee become more familiar with all aspects of the issue and the potential impact on individual states before proceeding. Mississippi Representative Greg Snowden expressed reluctance to support submitting a letter to the Department of Labor at this time. Snowden explained that the Mississippi Legislature currently has a pending issue related to a pension plan for a community hospital and the failure of the hospital and board to make appropriate deposits. The county board of supervisors has been involved, and now the counties are trying to impose policy upon the state. Snowden told the committee that like Vos, he would be leery of NCSL taking a position on the issue until more information is available. 6

Kelley explained her reasoning behind suggesting that the committee move on the matter, saying it centers on the fact that the committee has not been asked to do anything that would specifically impact individual states. The letter would simply express the sentiment of the committee that the federal government should not pre-empt states through the regulatory process. Kennedy offered that nothing prevents any state from passing its own resolution if it is the will of that legislature to do so before Jan. 19. But he reiterated his reluctance that NCSL should take action given the limited scope of information at hand regarding this issue. Neville James, president of the Senate in the U.S. Virgin Islands, asked what the compromise position might be, given the fact of a 10-day deadline?Weiler replied that, in his opinion, the compromise position would be to send a letter only articulating positions on which NCSL has already voted, precisely as Kelley indicated. The Executive Committee would therefore be requesting that the Department of Labor respect state rights and give states flexibility to implement policy. Weiler informed the committee that his own bill in Utah would be stalled by this Department of Labor rule, illustrating how federal pre-emption is already impacting states on this issue. James reiterated Vos’ suggestion that the matter be sent to a committee and inquired of Bramble whether such a committee would have the ability to meet within the next 10 days via teleconferencing. Bramble advised that under NCSL bylaws, the officers can draft letters consistent with established policies. Those policies include strengthening federalism and states’ rights, opposing federal pre-emption, and opposing unfunded mandates. Bramble said it would not be possible to convene a committee meeting to discuss the matter prior to the deadline. Bramble suggested that submitting a letter asserting the autonomy of states or states’ rights would be within the scope of actionable items that the committee could take. He was less certain as to whether doing so would be perceived as an endorsement that extends beyond NCSL’s current mandates. Weiler affirmed that he was not seeking an endorsement that would extend beyond NCSL’s existing policies and positions. Representative Flynn stated that this matter is the essence of what NCSL stands for—upholding the 10th Amendment and endorsing states’ rights. Flynn reiterated that the request does not ask the federal government to do anything. In this case, Flynn suggested, anything the federal government would do might interfere with the positions of individual states. The letter that the committee has been asked to endorse would only articulate the precedent of the 10th Amendment and request that the states have the opportunity to act on the matter as they see fit, Flynn said. As such, it is not a recommendation of policy. Vos moved that the Executive Committee refer this issue to the officers of the Executive Committee so that they may take the next 10 days to do the due diligence that is necessary. Bramble suggested that the motion may not be required. Bramble proposed that if it is the consensus of the body that the officers draft a letter to the Department of Labor reasserting the principles of NCSL, such action could be taken without specifically addressing the issue of state-sponsored pension plans. Vos expressed his agreement with the course of action proposed by Bramble. Bramble stated that a motion would not be required for the officers to write and submit the letter to the Department of Labor. 7 Kelley withdrew her motion. Iowa Senator Mike Gronstal requested that the letter specifically not mention the issue of state-sponsored retirement securities. Weiler remarked that, in fairness, the comment period is for the new regulations on state-sponsored pension programs but reminded the committee that the request is simply for an articulation of NCSL principles that have already been established. Weiler said he expected regulations would be forthcoming regardless of the comments received by the Department of Labor. The issue would then be how much flexibility states would be afforded. Bramble suggested that to avoid a motion or a vote on record approving anything without objection, the officers would craft a letter consistent with existing NCSL policies and principles in keeping with the 10th Amendment. Bramble asked if there was any objection to moving forward with such a letter, to which there was none. TASK FORCE ON STATE & LOCATION TAXATION Max Behlke, NCSL State and Federal Affairs manager, provided the report of the Task Force on State and Local Taxation. Behlke told the committee the task force began in 1999 to address the issue of remote commerce collection for sales taxes in the states, an issue that’s gotten bigger each year and has become a major issue for NCSL. As Bramble mentioned in his comments, as part of the Lobby Day during the Capitol Forum, legislators met with more than 150 members from 36 states to discuss passage of this legislation. NCSL worked very closely with U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz (Utah) to craft legislation that would give states collection authority, without hurting or impeding businesses that are selling across state lines.

While the Senate acted in 2013, unfortunately the House Judiciary Committee has been reluctant to do so. At the last task force meeting which took place in November in Miami, members from the task force asked for suggestions on how they might pass laws in their individual states to obtain collection authority or to otherwise force Congress to act. As a result, the task force spent several hours yesterday discussing this issue. Members learned that the retail community has already drafted some proposals that were distributed to the task force. NCSL will also be distributing them to leaders and tax chairs across the country for consideration. Forcing the issue could have the effect of moving the matter into the courts or it might encourage Congress to finally act after two decades of discussion.

The task force also discussed evaluating tax incentives and tax expenditure reports or budgets, both of which have been a growing focus for the task force as more states are looking into them.

Funding for 911 emergency services is another area that states are looking at funding for the future as changes occur in the telecommunications industry. Taxation in the on-demand economy/sharing economy will be a major issue in state legislatures this year, both from a regulatory and taxation standpoint, Behlke predicted.

The task force finished the day with a discussion on the taxation of fantasy sports, an issue which has gained increasing attention in recent months. While the focus of the discussion was not on the legality of fantasy sports, the task force discussed taxation issues such as: Is this a taxable event when you have an entry fee? Are the winnings taxable, and if so, how are they collected? What about the corporate income tax that these companies are paying for the money they’re making from the residents in their states?

8 Behlke told the committee that for now, the answers to these questions seem to be unknown. In the meantime, NCSL will be compiling information on what transpired in the states on this issue and Behlke invited committee members to reach out to NCSL with any information requests related to fantasy sports.

Bramble illustrated the need for action on remote transaction parity, saying that Utah was one of the states that began movement on the issue at the end of 1998/beginning of 1999. For nearly two decades, the states have been asking Congress to take action. For the last two years, the Judiciary Committee has stated that a bill is forthcoming, yet none has been drafted.

Bramble anticipated that the specter of a patchwork of more than 9,000 taxing jurisdictions with different rules would prove to be very difficult for businesses. Having said that, because of the Quill decision (Quill Corp. v. North Dakota), without congressional action it is incumbent upon the states to find a solution.

Sales tax has never been a federal issue. Bramble suggested that the possibility that a number of states could enact different sales tax laws that would compel businesses with a national presence to have to collect taxes under different scenarios in every state would be the worst possible outcome second only to no action at all.

Kelley emphasized that for those states that do not have a sales tax, e-fairness legislation would not affect them. Kelley continued, saying that those states with physical businesses collecting the tax often wind up serving as a showroom for customers to then go online to buy the same products without paying the tax. This hurts local businesses, which are a part of the community.

Bramble agreed, saying that brick-and-mortar businesses are being hurt. Bramble illustrated this point by telling the committee that over the holiday season, he visited the manager of a local electronics and furniture store. They watched a dozen customers look at the products in the store and then literally turned to their smartphones or iPads to order those same products online.

Bramble stated the issue is essentially: How do states reassert their constitutional authority? If states do not collect this tax, then how do they maintain their general funds? Bramble told the committee that this is a call this is a call to action for states, the business community, the retail association, and the Big Seven (Council of State Governments, National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Counties, International City/County Management Association).

Utah Senator Wayne Harper addressed the committee, echoing the sentiment that e-fariness legislation has proven to be a long fight. Harper told the committee that he became engaged with the issue not for the purposed of generating revenue, but to ensure that all businesses, all transactions, and all consumers are treated the same.

Harper explained that the action that the task force took yesterday was to assert that it is time for states to exercise their sovereignty and do what they can in order to regain control of their own sales tax policy. To that end, the task force approved a draft framework that will be sent to every state to demonstrate how bills might be drafted to result in a successful challenge to Quill vs. North Dakota and reinstate state control over sales tax policies.

9 Bramble concluded the discussion by saying that the issue has been a very strong position of NCSL for a long time, and that it is now time to act.

BUDGET, FINANCE & RULES COMMITTEE Gronstal, chair of the Budget, Finance and Rules committee reported that the first action item for consideration by the full body would be the acceptance of the audit, which was accepted by the Budget, Finance and Rules committee.

Gronstal recognized Harper, chair of the Audit Committee, who moved that the Executive Committee accept the audit for the Fiscal Year.

The motion carried without objection and the audit was accepted.

Gronstal announced that budget amendments to Fiscal 2016 budget were the second item for consideration. The only changes were minor, such as appropriate adjustments made on an annual basis to align projected revenues with the revenue generated by the Legislative Summit. Gronstal referred the committee to the Summary of Revenue and Expense on pages 101-102, moving that the full Executive Committee approve it. The motion carried and the report was approved.

Gronstal informed the committee that a change to proposed financial rules would be the next item for discussion. He explained that NCSL is in the process of changing banks and the new bank has requested the authorization of this change in the language relative to NCSL being able to borrow money and establish a line of credit. Gronstal told the committee that there would be essentially no change to current practice. The change will limit the amount of borrowing to $2 million. As the language is written, NCSL does not have to borrow $2 million; the organization can borrow less than $2 million. A motion was made to approve the new financial rules; the motion passed unanimously.

Gronstal advised the committee that there are two new contracts that require the approval of the Executive Committee, which are listed on page 106 of the agenda book. A significant grant from the Joyce Foundation titled Implementation of International Education Lessons and the NCSL Foundation Partnership on Multi-Sector Public/Private Partnerships are the two new grants which require the committee’s approval. The motion to accept both grants carried without objection.

Gronstal recognized Bramble to brief the committee on changes made to the NCSL Legislator Nominating Committee. Bramble told the committee that the first change would be that the members of the Legislator Nominating Committee would be appointed and published at least 60 days before the start of the Legislative Summit. Second, a deadline will be set by which candidates will be required to declare themselves. The intention of this change is to avoid last-minute candidates, which results in inadequate time to review, consider and weigh the qualifications of all candidates. This deadline will be publicized when announcements regarding vacancies are advertised. Bramble stressed the need for quality legislators and legislative staff to serve on the NCSL Executive Committee. He told the committee that current members would be challenged to identify colleagues in their respective states who would be interested in and committed to serving on the Executive Committee. Bramble encouraged members to leverage their relationships at home to recruit candidates for both officers and at-large members who would be enthusiastic at the prospect of moving NCSL forward.

10 Finally, Bramble explained that schedule changes would be made during the Summit, which would move the Annual Business Meeting forward by one day. Thus, the Nominating Committee would also be moved to allow committee members to meet one full day earlier than they have in the past. The change will encourage more legislators to attend the Business Meeting and thus ensure that votes on policy are more representative of the 50 states.

Bramble explained that none of the changes require a motion for approval, but that the information was being presented for their information and benefit.

Gronstal thanked Bramble and concluded the Budget, Finance and Rules Committee report.

MEMBER OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE Raul Burciaga, staff chair of the Member Outreach and Communications Committee, reported that there was a discussion about outreach activities. Senator Deb Peters, chair of the committee, had directed members to reach out to presiding officers and other decision makers in their respective states in an effort to increase participation and attendance at NCSL activities during the previous meeting in Nashville. There was a discussion about those efforts, and Burciaga told the committee that Peters would like everyone to continue those efforts to engage more staff and legislators with NCSL.

Secondly, Burciaga referred members to the current copy of the preliminary schedule for the 2016 Legislative Summit. As Bramble mentioned, there will be a change from previous years that will move the business meeting and the partisan breakfast to Wednesday instead of Thursday for the reasons that Bramble mentioned. The reason for this is the hope that in doing so, a greater number of legislators will participate in the Annual Business Meeting and that the resulting policy resolutions will therefore be more representative of the broad membership of both the organization and the states.

Burciaga recognized Senator Karen McConnaughay of Illinois to present the report of the 2016 Legislative Summit Host State Committee.

McConnaughay told the committee that Illinois is very excited to be hosting the Summit this year in Chicago, and that the host committee is busily making plans for the event. As of Jan. 9, 2016, four hotels have been secured for the event: the Hyatt McCormick Place, Palmer House, Chicago Hilton, and the Renaissance Blackstone. McConnaughay advised the committee that they would be able to book their reservations and register for the meeting online beginning in March.

McConnaughay announced that two special social events are being planned for the Chicago meeting. First is the networking reception on Monday evening. The premiere event this year will be held on Wednesday night at the Field Museum of Natural History.

McConnaughay encouraged members to register as soon as the website goes live. She concluded her report by asking Executive Committee members to encourage colleagues in their state to attend the Legislative Summit, and to reach out to the host committee if they would like any help with encouraging participation.

Burciaga reported that the Member Outreach and Communications Committee heard a presentation by Dan Germaine. Germaine briefed members on community platforms, which Burciaga likened to a social media platform that is limited to a particular organization. NCSL staff will be exploring the feasibility of

11 using a limited, or closed, community platform and how it might be applicable to the membership of NCSL.

Burciaga referred the committee to reports in the agenda book on member outreach activities, website activity, and the Capitol Forum that was held in Washington, D.C. in December.

Finally, Burciaga reported, the committee discussed site selection for the 2018 Legislative Summit. The Summit will be held in Chicago this year and in Boston in 2017, but currently 2018 remains open. The cities that are under consideration are Anaheim, Denver and Salt Lake City. The committee decided to focus primarily on Salt Lake City, which would not rule out Denver or Anaheim.

Kelley added that, a member of the Outreach Committee, their interest was to have the NCSL officers and staff consider the ease of transportation for each locale (how many changes of planes may be necessary), the cost to NCSL for each city, and the cost to attendees.

Burciaga thanked Kelley for her comments and concluded his report.

STANDING COMMITTEES REPORT Randy Dowell, staff co-chair of the Standing Committees, presented the report of the Standing Committees, referring members to the report on the 2015 NCSL Capitol Forum on page 129 of the agenda book. Dowell recalled that there had been a good debate on broadband access to rural communities. Four standing committees reported policy directives and resolutions for the Forum business meeting to consider. During the 2015 NCSL Lobby Day over 150 meetings took place with members of Congress from 36 states. NCSL’s officers met with Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin thanks to our co-chair of the Standing Committees, Speaker Robin Voss of Wisconsin. The officers also met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and with the policy director of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Dowell reported that while the legislators were on the Hill, legislative staff started off with an orientation for new legislative staff standing committee officers followed by a luncheon with David Landis. Landis spoke about searching for consensus in the world of legislation; his presentation was highly rated by those who attended the lunch. Later in the afternoon legislative staff met with the architect of the capitol and were given a tour of the renovation work being undertaken. Legislative staff also had the opportunity to meet with their congressional counterparts to discuss areas of mutual concern.

Page 135 of the agenda book features a chart that compares Capitol Forum attendance from 2003 through 2015. Overall attendance has plateaued and has not risen to pre-recession attendance levels. Standing Committee attendance appears in the agenda book on page 136. The post-forum survey indicated that the Forum program was highly rated; highlights of the survey appear on page 137. The next meeting of the Standing Committees will be at the Legislative Summit in Chicago in August. During the next seven months before the Summit, NCSL committee staff will continue their efforts to engage committee members through special meetings, webinars, conference calls, and other means of communication. A report on those outreach efforts will be available at the spring Executive Committee meeting in Minneapolis.

12 LEGISLATIVE STAFF COORDINATING COMMITTEE Karl Aro, NCSL staff chair, reported that the Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee and its subcommittees have been quite busy and very productive. The LSCC is working on multiple projects including a redesign of the staff professional development page on the NCSL website. Staff are reviewing sources of content for distance learning by reviewing vendors that provide custom content at a reasonable cost. LSCC is currently developing a webinar on how to do webinars. The committee is also planning a session for the Summit by a TED talk trainer on conducting a TED talk-type format which will be used for an a series of programming related to legislatures. Aro reported that this would be a multi-year, long- term commitment from NCSL and would require continued funding, perhaps from the NCSL Foundation.

The LSCC is also reviewing the NCSL mobile app with the goal of making it available to staff sections for their professional development seminars this fall. Staff are continuing to refine the legislative success story video, which is intended to be one of a series. The current video focuses on the heroin addiction epidemic in Kentucky and how staff and legislators on both sides of the aisle worked together on that issue. The projected competition date for the video is May, with the intention that it could be showcased at the Legislative Summit at an appropriate venue.

Aro reported that the LSCC is looking into how to more effectively promote the various staff achievement awards. Magazine articles on examples of achieved efficiencies are being planned, an example of which is Alaska’s revamped fiscal notes process and product. The committee is looking into the feasibility of inviting college students to the Summit for the purpose of interesting them in legislative careers.

Two Legislative Summit sessions are being planned. The working title for the first is What I Wish I Knew When I Came to Work for the Legislature and would be hosted by NCSL Young and New Professionals Network and the Legislative Effectiveness Committee. The second would be a program on building trust between legislators and legislative staff.

The Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee also discussed programming for the Legislative Staff Management Institute including communicating across generations in the workplace and a session focused on training legislative staff in public speaking.

Aro concluded his report by stating that the LSCC also heard a presentation on online community platforms. Aro told the committee that the committee felt it could offer a great deal of value, particularly for LSCC and its subcommittee work.

FOUNDATION FOR STATE LEGISLATURES Bramble reported that the NCSL Foundation has brought in nine new sponsors: six at the silver level and three gold level; there have also been two gold upgrades and two platinum upgrades. The Foundation has raised $707,500 towards the goal of 2.4 million.

The Foundation kicked off two new partnerships at the NCSL Capitol Forum last month: One is a multisector public-private partnership and the other a partnership on retirement securities. Bramble reported that two recently-completed partnerships, one on telehealth and one on unmanned aircraft systems, were both successful.

13 Bramble concluded his report by thanking the NCSL Foundation sponsors.

Bramble also asked the Executive Committee to continue to keep NCSL Foundation President and NCSL Immediate Past President Debbie Smith in their prayers as she continues her battle with cancer.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS Kathy Brennan Wiggins, director of International Programs at NCSL referred the committee to pages 172 -176 of the agenda report for a full report on NCSL international activities. Wiggins reported that it is the intention of the International Relations Task Force to meet in conjunction with the Executive Committee spring meeting in Minneapolis. The Task Force will meet on May 20th and is planning to invite a delegation from the Chinese provinces. Wiggins invited both members of the Task Force as well as members of the Executive Committee to join the meeting for a robust conversation.

Meeting adjourned.

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