September 11 (Sunday)

Fiscal Affairs - Economic Bubble? Economic Trouble
William B. Conerly, Ph.D., of Lake Oswego, Oregon, will explore the national and global forces driving western states' economies, highlighting those factors that are especially important to state revenues. Bill will address the possible housing bubble, what a housing downturn would mean to western states and a look at the long-term drivers of western states' economies.

Exploring Dynamic Revenue Analysis
This panel presentation will explore successes and challenges of dynamic analysis application and provide a forum where western state fiscal leaders and members can exchange information and learn from each other.

• New Mexico's Experience with Dynamic Analysis of State Fiscal Policy
  Thomas Clifford, Ph.D., Chief Economist, New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department
  Santa Fe, New Mexico

• Oregon's Tax Incidence Model (OTIM)
  Paul Warner, Ph.D., Oregon Legislative Revenue Officer
  Salem, Oregon

• California's Dynamic Revenue Analysis Model (DRAM)
  Martin Helmke, Chief Consultant
  California Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee
  Sacramento, California

Western Water & Environment - 

• Integrating Water and Land Use Planning
  Sarah Bates Van de Wetering, Public Policy Institute
  University of Montana
  Missoula, Montana

• The Future of the Colorado River: Upper and Lower Basin Perspectives
  Don Ostler, Director, Upper Colorado River Commission
  Salt Lake City, Utah
  Herb Guenther, Director, Department of Water Resources, State of Arizona
  Phoenix, Arizona

• Water and Power on the Columbia River Basin: Striking the Balance Between Meeting the Region's Energy Demands and Protecting the River's Natural Resources
  Greg Delwiche, Vice President, Environment, Fish and Wildlife
  Bonneville Power Authority, Portland, Oregon
  Joe Stohr, Special Assistant to the Director of Water Policy, Department of Ecology
  State of Washington

• Committee Roundtable:
  Discussion on Proposed Amendments to the Endangered Species Act

State Efforts to Promote Active Lifestyles and Healthy Eating Session
Hosted by CSG Task Force on Health
Sponsored by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC

Obesity is on the rise in the United States and threatens to undo the health gains that Americans have enjoyed over the last century. Research indicates that, if current trends continue, children today may be the first generation to be less healthy than their parents. State legislatures in more than half the states have considered or enacted legislation to address the increase in adult and youth obesity. Legislation ranges from youth related initiatives aimed at school lunches and vending machines, physical activity and safe walkways to adult related programs addressing nutrition, physical activity and community design elements. This session will provide an overview of trends and impacts of youth and adult obesity and highlight policy responses in Western states to address obesity and overweight.

Moderator:
Mary Skinner, Washington Representative and Co-Chair, The Council of State Governments' Health Task Force

Presenters:
Casey Hannan, Team Leader, Office of Policy, Evaluation & Legislation, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia

Victor Colman, JD, Senior Policy Advisor, Division of Community and Family Health Office of the Assistant Secretary, Department of Health, State of Washington
Olympia, Washington

Rex Burkholder, Metro Councilor, Portland Metropolitan Area Regional Government
Portland, Oregon

Agriculture Forum Hosted by CSG Agriculture Task Force

The 2007 Farm Bill represents the next in a long line of reauthorizations of farm legislation dating back to the Great Depression. The current farm bill reauthorization takes place in an environment more heated than any in recent times. Trade and budget combined with growing domestic policy demands will make the 2007 Farm Bill a very difficult piece of legislation to craft. This year's agriculture forum will look at the sections of the proposed legislation that have the greatest impacts on western agriculture.

Moderator: Valerie Brown, Deputy Secretary, California Department of Food & Agriculture
Sacramento, California (invited)

Presenter: Dr. Jay E. Noel, Director, California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops
California Polytechnic State University, College of Agriculture, 
San Luis Obispo, California

Professional Development Training: Practical Negotiations for Lawmakers Facilitator: Bryan Johnston Bryan Johnston Consulting Salem, Oregon

Don't miss this practical, hands-on workshop designed for legislators who want to become more effective negotiators. Trainer Bryan Johnston is an attorney, former legislator and founding faculty member of the Willamette University Center for Dispute Resolution. He has taught mediation skills to members of the judiciary in California, Idaho and Oregon, as well as members of the federal judiciary , bar associations and corporate clients. In 2005, he taught negotiations at the Oregon Senate Leadership Institute. This training is part of CSG-WEST's on going commitment to professional development for Western state legislators.

(This workshop will be repeated at 1:30pm on Tuesday, September 13.)

WICHE Briefing: What's Up in Higher Education in the West?
Breakfast Buffet

Moderator: North Dakota Sen. David Nething, WICHE Chair Elect
Speaker: David Longanecker, WICHE Executive Director

Higher education in the West is evolving rapidly in response to the twin pressures of heightened demand and constrained resources. A host of tough and tricky policy decisions face Western legislators and educational leaders as they address issues of educational access, affordability, accountability, technological change, and workforce needs. David Longanecker will discuss how higher education is faring across the Western region amidst these challenges, emerging financing models, and other issues.

Energy and the West

• U.S. Energy Policy and Interdependence: Where in the World are We?
  Edgard H. Habib, Chief Economist, Chevron Corporation
  San Ramon, California

• Transmission in the West: An Update and New Efforts at Making it Happen
  Steve Waddington, Wyoming Infrastructure Authority
  Cheyenne, Wyoming

• Brian Silverstein, P.E., Vice President, Operations & Planning & Chief Engineer
  Bonneville Power Administration, Transmission Business Line, Vancouver, Washington

• Bradley J. Thomson, C.A., President, Northern Lights Transmission
  Calgary, Alberta

• Global Warming: An Energy Sector Perspective
  Speaker TBA

• Oil Shale: What Does the Future Hold?
  Tracy Boyd, Sustainable Development Manager
  Shell Exploration and Production Company, Denver, Colorado

Future Directions in American Education: What Legislators Need to Know

America's ability to maintain its place in the world hinges on the quality of our education system. Already, the U.S. is falling behind in the global education race, and millions of Americans lack the education and skills to compete in a postindustrial economy. This session will explore what policy makers need to know about emerging trends in U.S. education. Legislators are invited to join in the conversation about strategies to chart a better course for the future.

Moderator: Linda Flores, Oregon Representative

Presenter: Charles Merritt, Director of Government Relations
                   Education Commission of the States, Denver, Colorado

Unsettling the West: The Aftermath of Lewis and Clark

Surviving Adversity - Rebuilding Nations - Will the Next 200 Years Be Different?

Conner's ancestors were among the many Native Americans who ensured the survival of the Corps of Discovery. Conner will review the beliefs underlying the expedition and later treaties, as a way of understanding the situation of tribes today. Conner's goal fo rthe commemoration is to have a national dialog about what's happened in the West over the last 200 years, what lessons we can learn, and how the next 200 years should be different. Conner has a BA from the University of Oregon, a Masters of Management from Willamette University, and worked for 13 years for the U.S. Small Business Administration. She retured home and became director of Tamástslikt in 1997.

Robert Conner, Director, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
Pendleton, Oregon 

Presenters:

Professor David J. Olson University of Washington

The Honorable Sam Reed Washington Secretary of State

Neel Pender, President, Association of State Democratic Executive Directors Executive Director, Democratic Party of Oregon Portland, Oregon

The Urban/Rural Divide: Are Perceptions Realities?
Ben Tulchin, Associate Vice President and Western Region Director
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research
San Francisco, California

Searching for Common Ground: A Conversation from Both Sides of the Urban/Rural Divide
Reeves Brown, Executive Director, CLUB 20, Grand Junction, Colorado
Sheila Martin, Ph.D., Director and Associate Professor, Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon

West Toward Prosperity: Beyond Myth to a Sustainable Future
Mary Jo Waits, Senior Fellow, Center for the Future of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona

The Farthest Shore: The Future of the North American West in the Pacific Era
Michael Zielenziger, Senior Fellow, Institute of International Studies
University of California, Berkeley, California

Western Legislative Conference Committee Sessions:

Transportation & Trade Committee  

CAFTA, Airlines & Advocacy

• The Central American Free Trade Agreement: What Does it Mean for Western States? How Does it Compare to NAFTA?
  Peter Riggs, Director, Forum on Democracy and Trade,
  Brooklyn, New York

• U.S. Airlines: What is their Status and What Does the Future Hold for Western Airlines Transporation?
  Robert Dibblee, Director, State and Local Government Affairs, Air Transport Association
  Washington, D.C.

• Lessons Learned in TEA 21 Reauthorization: The Impact of the New Transportation Legislation on the West and how Western Legislators can become more Effective Advocates for the Region
  Tom Norton, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Transporation and President, Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
  Denver, Colorado

Future of Western Legislatures - Drawing the Line: A Forum on Ethics in State Legislatures

Join in discussions with experts and colleagues on one of the most controversial topics facing today's legislatures--ethics. What are the recent trends in state ethics laws? Can ethics commissions and committees keep partisanship out of the process? How can lawmakers avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety? In citizen legislatures, how can lawmakers advocate for their constitutuents without having conflicts of interest? Consider these and other pressing ethics questions. Participate in real-world ethics case studies. The Committee on the Future of Western Legislatures is charged with the review of issues that affect the institutional health of legislatures in the West.

Peggy Kerns, Director, Center for Ethics in Government
National Conference of State Legislatures, Denver, Colorado and Former state legislator

Steven Maser, Professor, Atkinson Graduate School of Management
Willamette University, Salem, Oregon

• Pam Inmann, Executive Director of the Western Governors' Association, Denver, Colorado, will brief members on the governors; issue agenda, including presidential primaries and the reform of the Endangered Species Act.
• Richard Ruda, Chief Counsel of the State and Local Legal Center in Washington, D.C., will discuss the implications of Kelo v. City of New London, the eminent domain case, and how other federalism issues fared in the U.S. Supreme Court's recent term as well as how the new court is likely to look at Tenth Amendment issues.

Other topics western leaders will her and discuss will be a legislative strategy for the Action Plan for Public Land and Education Initiative (APPLE) that was recently introduced in Congress as HR 3463. Perspectives on border issues between western states, Mexican states and Canadian provinces will be provided by the leadership of the Border Legislative Conference and members of the Alberta and British Columbia provincial assemblies.