NCSL 2002 Annual Meeting: Summit for America; Nation's State Legislators Launch Campaign to Strengthen Democracy.

America's state legislators concluded their national meeting this summer resolving to address economic issues, protect democracy and engage citizens in the legislative process.

The National Conference of State Legislatures' five-day Annual Meeting in Denver, drew more than 6,000 state legislators, staff and others.

"Legislators from across the nation took home new ideas, new strategies and new concepts to use in addressing the most important issues on the minds of Americans," said NCSL President Stephen Saland, a senator from New York.

The opening session featured Republican and Democratic state legislative leaders as they discussed legislatures in the post Sept. 11 world, At the session, NCSL launched a national three-year Campaign to Strengthen Democracy project to help engage citizens with their governments.

NCSL released six major reports on fiscal issues, homeland security, ethics, welfare reform, health, and the initiative and referendum at the meeting.

RELATED ARTICLE: Reports Recommend Legislative Action

Homeland Security

Gathering information, appropriating funds, coordinating activities and educating the public are keys to preventing domestic terrorism, according to a report released by the National Conference of State Legislatures' Task Force on Protecting Democracy.

"The new National Strategy for Homeland Security recognizes the important role of state and local governments as the 'front line troops' in providing security against terrorism," said Senator Richard T. Moore, task force co-chair. The report provides states with a number of best practices for staffing programs as well as recommendations for the renewal of American's attitudes toward their government. The report also provides a series of recommendations to the federal government on how best to work with the states on the issue.

The task force also spent a great deal of time on the issue of civic engagement. The report recognizes an urgent need to encourage public education to prepare young people for their roles as active citizens in our democracy.

Positive Ethics Trends

The nation's state ethics commissions and committees believe that the ethical climate of state legislatures has improved, according to a report released by the Center for Ethics in Government, located at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The only report of its kind, "The State of State Legislative Ethics," provides the first comprehensive review of state legislative ethics and gives a detailed look at all 50 states' ethics laws. "The public is demanding a higher standard of conduct from its leaders in both the public and private sectors. Legislatures are responding by passing tougher ethics laws and establishing more internal controls to enforce these laws," says Center for Ethics in Government Director Peggy Kerns.

The report acknowledges that all 50 states have guidelines on disciplining a member of the legislature, protections for whistle-blowers, and disclosure requirements for lobbyists. It also noted an increase in ethics training for state legislators.

Initiative and Referendum Recommendations

Legislatures in the 24 states that allow initiatives should take steps to make the process more representative, according to the new report by the Initiative and Referendum Task Force, "Initiative and Referendum in the 21st Century."

"It is the task force's intent that the discussion and adoption of the reforms in this report lead to a more thoughtful lawmaking process, improve interaction between initiative proponents and legislatures, and ultimately produce better public policy and reinforce representative democracy," the report states. The task force found that "opportunities for abuse of the process outweigh its advantages and does not recommend that states adopt the initiative process if they currently do not have one."

The report notes the advantages and popularity of initiatives. It concludes, however, that the initiative has evolved from its early days as a grassroots effort to enhance representative democracy into a tool that too often is exploited by special interests. The task force suggests that states reform drafting, certification, signature gathering and financial disclosure statutes; adhere to single subject rules; and improve practices regarding voter education. It also recommends that initiatives be allowed only on general election ballots.

New NCSL Officers Begin Terms

Oklahoma State Senator Angela Monson is the new president of the National Conference of State Legislatures. Senator Monson, a Democrat, accepted the gavel from New York State Senator Stephen Saland, a Republican. NCSL's bylaws require a rotation between a Democrat and Republican president each year.

Gary Olson, director of the Senate Fiscal Agency in Michigan became the new NCSL staff chair, the top staff leadership post in the country. Olson takes over for Oregon House Clerk Ramona Kenady. Max Arinder, executive director of Mississippi's Legislative PEER Committee, was elected staff vice chair.

Legislators also elected Utah House Speaker Martin Stephens as their president-elect. Speaker Stephens will become president of NCSL at its 2003 Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Maryland Delegate John Hurson was elected vice president of NCSL. He will become president at the 2004 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City.

State Legislators Adopt Policy Position

The nation's state lawmakers closed out the 2002 Annual Meeting by considering policy positions that will guide NCSL's lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., over the next year.

Among the issues high on the agenda are driver's license security, welfare reform reauthorization, telecommunications regulation, the environment, and bioterrorism.

"States have a full plate of issues on Capitol Hill for the upcoming year," said NCSL's newly elected president, Oklahoma Senator Angela Monson. "We must now, more than ever, be as vigilant as possible to ensure that the federal government does not enact any legislation that would place an undue burden on the already cash-strapped states."

NCSL's policy positions focus on a single theme: state sovereignty. NCSL actively pursues an agenda that minimizes the preemption of state laws by the federal government.

Legislators Have Their Say

Legislators at this year's Annual Meeting had more opportunities than ever before to voice their opinions.

* An annual poll of attendees revealed that 76 percent expect budget concerns to be the top state legislative issue in 2003. Education has topped the poll for the last three years.

* Half of state legislators participating in the opening session of NCSL's "Summit for America," believe state finances will decline during the next budget cycle. Another 34 percent believe finances will be stagnant. Only 16 percent think the economy will improve.

* A poll taken of 250 state legislators at the meeting revealed that lawmakers believe public apathy is one of the greatest threats to democracy.

* To improve public understanding of our government, 42 percent of legislators attending the opening "Summit for America" session said there needed to be more emphasis on civic education in our schools. Thirty-seven percent said there needs to be better interaction between government and constituents.

Next Stop: San Francisco

The California Legislature will host the next NCSL Annual Meeting, July 22-25, 2003. Expect more than 160 sessions featuring national policy experts, business leaders, key government officials and leading journalists. More information available in 2003 at www.ncsl.org