Tuesday, November 27

Connecting America Foundation for State Legislatures Partners Project:  Broadband TelePresence Demonstration and Tour of Cisco
Participants will visit Cisco’s Phoenix office to see a broadband application that combines advanced audio, true high definition video and interactive elements to create unique, "in-person" experiences between people, places and events over the IP network.

Presiding:

• Representative Robert Valihura, Delaware
• Senator Dean Florez, California

Speaker:

• Garth B. Jacobson, Senior Attorney, Government Relations, CT, Seattle, Washington

Session Materials:

• Cisco Telepresence
• NextGenWeb

Wednesday, November 28

Registration 

8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Grand 

8:00 - 8:30 am






8:30 - 9:45 am









10:00 - 11:30 am

Task Force on Corporate Formation
This is a continuation of Tuesday's meeting to discuss money laundering by criminal and terrorist elements.

Breakfast

Presiding:

• Representative Robert Valihura, Delaware
• Senator Dean Florez, California

State Decision Makers Report

This session will review the efforts of the National Association of Secretaries of States and look at their recommendations from their company formations task force.

Speaker:

• John Gale, Secretary of State and NASS Company Formation Task Force Chair, Nebraska

Federal Forces:  Perspectives from the Federal Level

The session will focus on the federal players involved the company formation issue. We will discuss their findings and reports and look at when federal legislation may be introduced.

Speakers:

• Alan Cox, Office of Outreach Resources, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
• Yvonne Jones, Financial Markets Community Investment Team, Government Accountability Office (via conference call)

8:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
McArthur 5

8:00 - 9:00 am 

 

 

9:15 - 10:00 am

10:15 - 11:45 am

Connecting America Foundation for State Legislatures Partners Project

Connecting America Project Breakfast Business Meeting
Connecting America project members will discuss project deliverables and plan the agenda for future partners meetings. 

Project members will discuss project deliverables and make future plans.
Presiding:

• Senator Carol Fukunaga, Hawaii
• Senator Orville Smidt, South Dakota

Presiding:

• Senator Carol Fukunaga, Hawaii
• Senator Orville Smidt, South Dakota

Speaker:

• Anne Neville, Manager, Broadband Initiative , Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, California

Hanouts:

• California Broadband Task Force Preliminary Report - June 25, 2007 (pdf)
• Speaker Biography

Digital Entertainment: Closing the Broadband Gap
Broadband entertainment applications (such as digital audio and video) drive consumer demand for high speed Internet. This session will discuss how states can encourage the creation of digital content in ways that can promote economic and workforce development and help to bring broadband to underserved areas.

Presiding:

• Senator Carol Fukunaga, Hawaii
• Senator Orville Smidt, South Dakota

Speakers: 

• Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, New Jersey
• Lawrence Carroll, Senior Manager Government Affairs and Public Policy Counsel, Comcast, Pennsylvania
• Brian O'Leary, NBC Universal, New York

Handouts:

• New Jersey 2007 S.B. 2526 (business tax credit for digital media content expenses) 
• Speaker Biographies

Streamlined Sales Tax Update Luncheon
Joint with Budgets & Revenue Committee
Twenty-two states have complied with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement and over 1,000 out of state sellers are collecting sales taxes for these states. The Sales Tax Fairness and Simplification Act has been introduced in Congress with bipartisan support. This session will examine the prospects for passage in the 110^th Congress and provide an update on state efforts for 2008.

Presiding:

• Representative Pete Anderson, Wyoming

Speakers:

• Deborah Bierbaum, Director, External Taxes, AT&T, New Jersey
• Scott Peterson, Executive Director, Streamlined Sales Governing Board, Tennessee

Identity Theft Update
Identity theft is a serious crime affecting millions of people. Victims spend months or years and thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess the thieves have made. State legislatures have taken the lead on crafting legislation to combat identity theft and to assist victims. Come discuss the innovative strategies state legislators have devised to prevent identity theft. 
Moderator:

• Senator Delores Kelley, Maryland, Chair, CFI Committee

Speakers:

• Representative David Clark, Utah
• Senator Carol Fukunaga, Hawaii
• Betsy Broder, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 
• Todd Lawson, Fraud and Public Corruption Unit, Office of the Attorney General, Arizona

Handouts:

• Identity Theft Statutory Chart
• 2007 Identity Theft Legislation

21^st Century Communications NCSL Policy
The way states have regulated telecommunications services has gone the way of the plain old telephone service (POTS). Communications services today are no longer contained within the borders of intrastate services but are national and even global in scope. What role do elected policymakers play in the new world of communications services? The members will consider a policy statement to guide NCSL’s state-federal relationship on communications services before Congress and the Administration.
Presiding:

• Senator Karin Brownlee, Kansas, Vice Chair, CFI Committee

Speakers:

• Representative Bob Hasegawa, Washington
• Chuck Davidson, Director, Advanced Communications Law & Policy, NYU, New York
• Coralette Hannon, AARP, Washington, D.C.
• Hon. Steven Rauschenberger, NCSL Past President, Illinois 

The CFI Committee 21st Century Communications policy was approved.  Twenty-First Century Communications
Presiding: 

• Senator Delores Kelley, Maryland

Opening General Session
Dr. Marianne Legato has spent her career studying the health differences between men and women. The founder of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University, she believes that men are equally important and much more neglected in terms of their unique vulnerabilities that women are. Men's lifespan is at least five years shorter than women's, and Dr. Legato is focusing her efforts on why men die first.
Speaker:

• Dr. Marianne J. Legato, Professor of Clinical Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and the Founder and Director of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University, New York

5:15 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Casa Grande 

Steering Committee Meeting
The Steering Committee is comprised of the overall Standing Committee Officers and the Chair and Staff Chair, or their designee, of each Standing Committee. This meeting will review the Committees’ plans for the Forum and preview any policies anticipated for debate and make determinations regarding joint and re-referral of the resolutions. 

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Gold Room & Patio

Opening Reception
NCSL gratefully acknowledges the support of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association for its sponsorship of this event.

Thursday, November 29

8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Grand Ballroom 

General Session Breakfast
The Transportation Secretary brings a unique perspective to her role as the nation's transportation chief. She has spent her career working on transportation issues in both the private and public sectors, and has led both federal and state transportation agencies. She will discuss the nation's critical transportation needs and how states and the federal government can enhance their partnership.
Speaker:

• Mary Peters, Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.

The Steven D. Gold Award
The Steven D. Gold Award for Significant Contributions in Public Finance, presented by William Pound, NCSL Executive Director. The 2007 recipient is Robert W. Lang, Director, Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Wisconsin Legislature.

Payday Lending and the States
Payday loans, also known as deferred presentment loans, are short-term loans of relatively small amounts based on a personal check that is held for future deposit. A majority of states allow payday loans to be made. However, concerns are on the rise regarding the interest rates, Internet payday loans and loans for military members. Come discuss state payday lending laws.

Presiding:

• Delegate Terri Suit, Virginia, Vice Chair, CFI Committee

Speakers:

• Leslie Parrish, Center for Responsible Lending, Washington, D.C.
• Lee Miller, Community Financial Services Association, Arizona
• Laura Udis, First Assistant Attorney General, Colorado Attorney General's Office, Colorado

Handouts:

• Payday Lending Statutory Chart
• 2007 Payday Lending Legislation
• Lee Miller PowerPoint Presentation
• Leslie Parrish PowerPoint Presentation

Discriminatory Taxation of Communications and the Impact on Economic Development
Joint with Labor and Economic Development Committee
The telecommunications monopoly system is a thing of the past--most Americans enjoy having the ability to select their communications providers. However, state and local taxation is still in the age of the monopoly, and taxation of communications services is often three to five times higher than the general sales tax. This session will discuss the impact of discriminatory communications taxes on our state and local economies. 
Presiding:

• Senator Orville Smidt, South Dakota, CFI Committee

Speakers:

• Deborah Bierbaum, Director, External Taxes, AT&T, New Jersey

• Scott Mackey, Kimbell Sherman & Ellis, Vermont

Handouts:

• Communications Tax Reform - Deborah Bierbaum's handout

Working Lunch: Committee Business Meeting
Members will have the opportunity to consider any policy statements and resolutions, hear a report of the Task Force on Corporate Formation, the Connecting America Project and discuss issues they would like to hear about in the next year.
Presiding:

• Senator Delores Kelley, Maryland, Chair, CFI Committee
• Jonathan Ball, Staff Chair, Utah, CFI Committee

Organized Retail Theft: A Revenue Loss for State and Local Governments
In 2006, retailers lost about $41.6 billion to theft and fraud, about a third of that loss was due to shoplifting and organized retail theft gangs.  These criminals make their money through fencing these stolen goods and the Internet has provided a new unregulated frontier.  Organized retail theft has cost states over $ 1 billion in lost sales tax revenues. This session will provide an overview of state legislative efforts and the prospects for federal legislation next year.
Presiding:

• Mike Sunseri, Kentucky, Staff Vice Chair, CFI Committee

Speakers:

• David London, Director, State Government Affairs, eBay, California
• Joseph LaRocca, National Retail Federation, Washington, D.C.
• Maureen Riehl, Vice President, State Government Affairs, National Retail Federation, Washington, D.C. 
• Keith Swanson, Detective, Scottsdale Police Department, Arizona

Update on the Interstate Insurance Regulation Compact and Optional Federal Charter
Legislation has been introduced in Congress to set up a bifurcated system of insurance regulation. Many believe that such a system would seriously weaken, if not end, state insurance regulation. NCSL, state insurance commissioners and the National Conference of Insurance Legislators have supported streamlining the current system of state insurance regulation. This session will provide an overview of the Interstate Insurance Compact on Product Regulation and other regulatory modernization issues, as well as the impact of the federal legislation on state regulation and state premium taxes.
Presiding:

• Senator John Still, Delaware, Vice Chair, CFI Committee

Speakers:

• Representative Brian Kennedy, Rhode Island
• Representative Greg Wren, Alabama
• Frances Arricale, Executive Director, Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission, Washington, D.C.
• Kevin McKechnie, American Bankers Insurance Association, Washington, D.C.

Handouts:

• IIPRC Press Release: Insurance Compact Commission Elects 2008 Officers at Annual Meeting
• IIPRC Annual Report

Steering Committee Meeting
Standing Committee Chairs and Staff Chairs, as members of the Steering Committee, should plan to attend. The Steering Committee will review policy statements reported out of Committees and determine the calendars for the Fall Forum Business Meeting on Friday. 

Reception - Arizona Biltmore 
NCSL gratefully acknowledges the support of the Schaller Anderson Aetna for sponsorship of this event.

Friday, November 30

Registration 

8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Grand Ballroom 

General Session

The 21^st Century Belongs to China
The New York Times review of Ted Fishman's China, Inc. began, "If the 20th was the American century, then the 21st belongs to China. It's that simple, Ted C. Fishman says, and anyone who doubts it should take his whirlwind tour of the world’s fastest-developing economy." Now in its eighth printing, China, Inc. charts the effects of China’s economic transformation on the lives and businesses of people everywhere in the world. Mr. Fishman, whose talks "reflect the intelligence and wit readers find in his writing," writes frequently for such publications as Harper's, Money and Esquire and has been featured on National Public Radio, Fox, CNN and the BBC.
Speaker:

• Ted Fishman, Veteran Journalist, Expert on the People's Republic of China, and Author of China, Inc., Illinois

Implementation of the Real ID
Development of the regulations to implement the controversial Real ID law has taken more than two years. The Department of Homeland Security is now on the verge of releasing the rules, which, according to DHS officials, have undergone a significant revision since a first draft was released in March. Richard Barth, the DHS assistant secretary who is charge of Real ID implementation, will outline the regulations and describe the administration's estimates of the how much it will cost the states to comply. Mr. Barth is a former executive for Motorola and held positions in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.
Speaker:

• Richard Barth, Assistant Secretary for Real ID Implementation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C.

NCSL Business Meeting
Forum delegates will debate and vote on NCSL's policy statements and resolutions passed out of the committees. All Forum participants are invited to attend.