The theme of the Council of State Governments' annual conference is "Preparing States for Tomorrow, Today." The CSG is a Lexington, Ky.-based organization that facilitates the exchange of ideas among state policy-makers.
Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening, the CSG's current president who returns to private life in January, will deliver the keynote address and guide a plenary session on quality-of-life issues relating to smart growth initiatives.
Another highlight of the meeting is a session Saturday on political trends. It will feature analyst Ted Halsted, founder and president of the New America Foundation and co-author of the acclaimed book on American politics, "The Radical Center."
The premise of the book is that the technological revolution will transform American politics in fundamental ways.
"Our nation's politics are dominated by two feuding dinosaurs that have outlived the world in which they evolved," Halstead and co-author Michael Lind wrote.
Halsted and a panel that includes Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner will examine driving forces in the electoral environment, including changes in the role of political parties, the state/federal relationship and power shifts in the states.
The recent mid-term election strengthened Republican power in the states, leaving the GOP in control of 21 state legislatures, a net gain of four. The Democrats control 16 legislatures and 12 are divided politically. Nebraska has a nominally non-partisan, GOP-dominated unicameral legislature.
Twenty-six states will have Republican governors in 2003.
In a series of workshops, CSG task forces and committees will identify emerging issues in agriculture and rural policy, public safety and justice, the environment and health capacity.
Other sessions will focus on international exchanges between states and foreign governments; governmental efficiency in a tough budgetary climate; heath care issues, including Medicaid; major demographic trends in the United States; e-governance; innovative state and private approaches to restoring corporate credibility; issues surrounding the controversial national driver's license; and electric-industry restructuring.
