Subscribe
Newsletters
Advertise

Events

| More

Outlook in the States & Localities Conference - 2012

Jan. 31 - Feb. 1, 2012 | National Press Club | Washington, D.C.

January 31, 2012

8:00 am
Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 am
Welcome

Fred Kuhn, Publisher, GOVERNING

9:15 am
Solutions for the New Normal: How Do We Dig Out?

The financial crisis impact on states continues, touted by many as the “new normal”. How do we put this in more of a context for the states and localities? As conversations of fiscal responsibility and sustainability take center stage, where are the solutions? What role should the private sector play?

Introduction: Jonathan Walters, Executive Editor, GOVERNING

The Honorable David M. Walker, Founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative and Former Comptroller General of the United States

Walker served as Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) from 1998 to 2008. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, his tenure as the federal government's chief auditor spanned both Democratic and Republican administrations. While at the GAO, Walker embarked on a Fiscal Wake-up Tour, partnering with the Brookings Institution, the Concord Coalition, and the Heritage Foundation to alert Americans to wasteful government spending. In 2008, Walker was personally recruited by Peter G. Peterson, co-founder of the Blackstone Group, and former Secretary of Commerce under Richard Nixon, to lead his new foundation. The Foundation distributed the documentary film, I.O.U.S.A., which follows Walker and Robert Bixby, director of the Concord Coalition, around the nation, as they engage Americans in town-hall style meetings, along with luminaries such as Warren Buffett, Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker and Robert Rubin. David Walker stepped down as President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation on October 15, 2010 to establish his own venture, the Comeback America Initiative.

9:45 am
NO REHEARSAL Response Panel

Panelists will be asked to speak extemporaneously to questions posed by Mr. Walker and the audience.
Moderator: Paul Taylor, Ph.D., Editor at Large, GOVERNING

David Adkins, Executive Director, The Council of State Governments
Donald Boyd, Executive Director, State Budget Crisis Task Force
Dan Crippen, Executive Director, National Governor's Association (NGA)
Chris Hoene, Director, Center for Research and Innovation, National League of Cities
Scott Pattison, Executive Director, National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO)

10:30 am
Break

10:45 am
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

President Obama's American Jobs Act message is one of rebuilding the jobs market by rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
Introduction: Fred Kuhn, Publisher, GOVERNING

Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor

Questions and Answers with the Secretary
Moderator: Zach Patton, Senior Editor, GOVERNING

11:15 am
Big Picture Infrastructure

Introductions: Tod Newcombe, Editor, GOVERNING

Smart and Sustainable Infrastructure: Water, Buildings, Roads and What’s Next

The Honorable Edward G. Rendell, former Governor, Pennsylvania

Response Panel:
Andrew W. Herrmann, P.E., President, American Society of Civil Engineers
The Honorable Kenneth McClintock, Secretary of State, Puerto Rico
David Sherman, Director, Department of Public Works, City of Indianapolis
The Honorable Glen Whitley, County Judge, Tarrant County, Texas

12:00 pm
Lunch

12:45 pm
One Governor’s Perspective

Introduction: Ryan Holeywell, Staff Writer, GOVERNING

The Honorable Dannel P. Malloy, Governor, Connecticut

Governor Malloy was Stamford's longest serving Mayor, serving for 14 years from 1995 to 2009. Under his leadership, Stamford underwent a drastic transformation and became one of the country's top ten most livable cities, according to Forbes magazine. He brought nearly 5,000 new jobs to the city, led the fight for more affordable housing, championed transportation efforts such as the Stamford Urban Transitway, and helped to reduce the crime rate by 60 percent.

On November 2, 2010, Dannel P. Malloy was elected the 88th Governor of the State of Connecticut and the first governor to have been elected under the state's clean elections program. He is committed to strengthening the state's economy, growing Connecticut businesses, and bringing jobs back to cities and towns.

Town Hall Discussion with Audience
Facilitator: Jonathan Walters, Executive Editor, GOVERNING

1:30 pm
Concurrent Sessions

Health and Human Services: The Months Ahead

Innovation, transformation, cost cutting and the never ending demand to balance what’s needed with fiscal resources will be the themes explored during this session.
Moderator: John Buntin, Contributor, GOVERNING

Kathy H. Kliebert, Deputy Secretary, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals
Stanley Stewart, Deputy Chief of Staff, Eligibility Integrations, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Tracy Wareing, Executive Director, American Public Human Services Association

Energy: State Portfolios and Smart Grid Updates

Today’s economy is dependent upon reliable sources of energy. Demand for energy has gone up over 25% since 1990 and based on population growth projections for the US demand will only increase. Planning for the energy future of the states and localities and the infrastructure it will depend on will be discussed during this session.

Moderator: Tod Newcombe, Editor, GOVERNING

Dan Delurey, President, Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition (DRSG)
Derek Dyson, Attorney, Duncan, Weinberg, Genser & Pembroke, P.C.
Ward Lenz, Director, North Carolina Energy Office, N.C. Department of Commerce

Pension Pile On: How will states and localities respond in 2012?

2011 was a year of incremental change on the pension front with battle lines between organized labor and elected officials. What lies ahead?
Moderator: Jonathan Walters, Executive Editor, GOVERNING

Robert Attmore, Chair, Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
Robert Flanders, Receiver, Central Falls, Rhode Island

2:45 pm
Break

3:00 pm
Concurrent Sessions

Transportation

What is on the landscape regarding public transportation? How are state and local governments accelerating trolley, rail, buses, street and road projects to positively impact their communities? What is on the federal horizon in 2012?
Moderator: Ryan Holeywell, Staff Writer, GOVERNING

Diane Barrett, Chief Projects Officer, Office of Mayor Michael B. Hancock, City and County of Denver. Colorado
Emil Frankel, Director, Transportation Policy, Bipartisan Policy Center
Art Guzzetti, Vice President-Policy, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
Peter McLaughlin, Commissioner, Hennepin County, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Government Finance Trends

What is the financial outlook for cities and states? How have they coped with the financial crisis over the last several years? What can we expect from them in 2012?
Moderator: Mark Funkhouser, Ph.D., Director, the GOVERNING Institute, former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri

Ritta McLaughlin, Senior Director, Market Leadership, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board
Amanda Noble, Deputy City Auditor, City of Atlanta, Georgia
Carl W. Stenberg, Professor of Public Administration and Government at the School of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Technology Trends with a Twist

Consolidation, optimization, mobility, cloud computing, improving service capacity with less money, what are the stand-out trends for the coming year? What do leading CIO’s predict in the next 18 months and beyond?
Moderator: Doug Robinson, Executive Director, NASCIO

Jerry Fralick, Chief Information Officer, Office of Information Technology Services, North Carolina
Dugan Petty, Division Administrator and State CIO, Department of Administrative Services, Oregon
Kyle Schafer, Chief Technology Officer, State Office of Technology, West Virginia
W. Harold Tuck, Chief Information Officer, County of San Diego

4:15 pm
A Plenary Panel Predicts 2012

Moderator: Mark Funkhouser, Ph.D., Director, the GOVERNING Institute, former mayor Kansas City, Missouri

Sherri Greenberg, Director, Center for Politics and Governance, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
Loren Kaye, Foundation President, California Foundation for Commerce and Education
Thom Little, Director, Curriculum Development and Research, State Legislative Leaders Foundation
Carl W. Stenberg, Professor, Public Administration and Government, School of Government, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

5:15 pm
Wrap Up

5:30 pm
Reception

February 1, 2012

7:30 am – 8:00 am
Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:00 am
Early Bird Concurrent Sessions

Health Reform

Where are states headed with implementation of health reform?
Moderator: John Buntin, Contributor, GOVERNING

Kathleen Nolan, MPH, Director of State Policy and Programs, National Association of Medicaid Directors
Jonathan Seib, Executive Policy Advisor for Health Care Reform , Governor Chris Gregoire, Washington
Joy Johnson Wilson, Health Policy Director and Senior Federal Affairs Counsel, National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

2012 Landscape for Public Private Partnership

Where are interesting partnerships in water, transportation and waste? What is new on the horizon for green infrastructure financing opportunities? This session will also share P3 policy updates from across the US.
Moderator: Marina Leight, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, GOVERNING

Richard Norment, Executive Director, National Council for Public-Private Partnerships
Bruce Parker, President & CEO, National Solid Wastes Management Association
Alisa Valderrama, Financial Policy Analyst, Center for Market Transformation, Natural Resources Defense Council

Government Consolidation Insight and Updates

State and local government leaders are making big organizational changes to cut the cost of running government. This session will discuss organizational consolidation efforts that are underway along with how technology is assisting the process.
Moderator: Tod Newcombe, Editor, GOVERNING

Jacqueline Byers, Director of Research and Outreach, National Association of Counties
Sherri Greenberg, Director, Center for Politics and Governance, LBJ School of Government, University of Texas at Austin
Betty Hudson, Public Service Faculty, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia

9:30 am
Welcome Back

Paul Taylor, Ph.D., Editor at Large, GOVERNING

9:45 am
To Tell the Truth: Former Governors Chime in on the State of the Union, the upcoming elections, strategies for states and localities and more……………
Moderators:
Kathy Gambrell, Editor, GOVERNING.com
Ryan Holeywell, Staff Writer, GOVERNING

The Honorable Howard Dean, former Governor, Vermont
The Honorable John Engler, former Governor, Michigan

10:30 am
Break

10:45 am
Money and More-The Word from the White House

Daniel Werfel, Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget

11:15 am
GOVERNING: Perspectives and Commentary
Moderator: Paul Taylor, Ph.D., Editor at Large, GOVERNING

Kathy Gambrell, Editor, GOVERNING.com
Peter Harkness, GOVERNING Founder and Publisher Emeritus
Ryan Holeywell, Staff Writer, GOVERNING
Tod Newcombe, Editor, GOVERNING
Dylan Scott, Staff Writer, GOVERNING
Jonathan Walters, Executive Editor, GOVERNING

12:00 pm
Lunch

12:45 pm
Special Presentation: The Hovey Harkness Award in Public Service Journalism
Recognizing excellence in political investigative journalism, presented by GOVERNING

1:00 pm
Luncheon Keynote

What’s in a Name?
Call it what you want: double dip recession, the great contraction, budget battles, the new normal, deficit reduction,—how does it all add up for the mindset of America? What does it mean to the states and localities?
Introduction: Erin Waters, Associate Publisher, GOVERNING

Marilyn Geewax, Senior Business Editor, NPR
Marilyn Geewax is the senior business editor for NPR's National Desk. Besides assigning and editing business stories, Geewax regularly discusses economic issues on Weekend Edition Sunday

1:45 pm
Wrap Up

Fred Kuhn, Publisher, GOVERNING