The Current State | Saturday

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Saturday

CSG | 2017 National Conference

Saturday, Dec. 16 CSG Registration/Information Desk Open

PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN & BEST-SELLING AUTHOR MICHAEL BESCHLOSS GIVES KEYNOTE ADDRESS

7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Jasmine Registration

Michael Beschloss, an award-winning historian, best-selling author of nine books, The New York Times columnist and Emmy-winning contributor to “NBC News,” will be the keynote speaker for today’s luncheon.

8:30 – 10 a.m. | Jasmine ABEF

Beschloss, who The New York Times Book Review has called “easily the most widely recognized presidential historian in the United States,” will provide a fascinating look behind the curtain at historical and current political figures. He will discuss his book, Presidential Courage—which covers nine presidents from George Washington to Ronald Reagan. It was a No. 1 Washington Post best seller, and a threemonth New York Times best seller. In addition to Presidential Courage, Beschloss co-authored Kennedy: Historic Conversations with Caroline Kennedy in 2011. The book was No. 1 on The New York Times best seller list. He has authored many other books as well, including Taking Charge and Reaching for Glory, the first two volumes of his projected trilogy on President Lyndon Johnson’s secret White House tapes. Beschloss also writes a monthly business history column on Sundays for The New York Times. But Beschloss isn’t just an author. He also currently serves as NBC News’ presidential historian—the first time any major TV network created such a position. In 2005, he won an Emmy Award for his role in creating the

Book

Signing 2 ‑ 2:30 p.m. South Seas Foyer North

Buffet Breakfast 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. | South Seas Ballroom ABE

CSG Campaign Against Hunger Service Project Coffee Service 10-10:30 a.m. | South Seas, Palm & Jasmine Foyers

Tobacco, Ebola and Public-Private Partnerships – Harnessing Innovation for Public Good and Economic Growth 10 – 11 a.m. | Palm Foyer

CSG Midwestern Legislative Conference Executive Committee 10 a.m. – Noon | South Seas Ballroom F

Improving the State and Federal Connection 10:30 a.m. – Noon | South Seas Ballroom IJ

Success Improving Voting for Overseas Citizens Discovery Channel
series “Decisions that Shook the World,” of which he was the host. Also during today’s luncheon, the CSG 2017 Toll Fellow class will graduate from one of the nation’s premier leadership development programs for state government officials, the Henry Toll Fellowship. For more than 30 years, the Henry Toll Fellowship has selected 48 of the nation’s top officials who represent all three branches of state government for a professional development experience unlike any other. Not only will this luncheon provide an overview of significant past and current leaders, but it will also be an opportunity to celebrate outstanding leaders across the states.

10:30 a.m. – Noon | Jasmine G

NCIC Summit of the States: Legal Roundtable 10:30 a.m. – Noon | Jasmine C

Using Technology to Create and Inform Your Opioid Strategy 11 a.m. – Noon | Palm Foyer

CSG 2017 Toll Fellowship Graduation and Luncheon Noon – 2 p.m. | South Seas Ballroom ABE

Michael Beschloss Book Signing 2 – 2:30 p.m. | South Seas Foyer North

Coffee & Soda Service 2 - 2:30 p.m. | South Seas, Palm & Jasmine Foyers

CSG Executive Committee 2:30 – 4 p.m. | South Seas Ballroom F

NCIC Summit of the States Closing Session: Occupational Licensure Compacts 2:30 – 4 p.m. | Jasmine C

CSG 2018 National Conference: Kentucky Kick-off CSG Chair-Elect Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers invites you to “Come Fly with Me” to the CSG 2018 National Conference in Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati. The conference kick-off will be an elegant "Vegas style" evening of food, music and dancing at Mandalay Bay's Skyfall Lounge. Skyfall Lounge, Delano (Connected to the Mandalay Bay Resort) 5:30 – 8 p.m., Saturday

Continued on pg. 3...


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PLANNING FOR THE ELECTRIC GRID OF THE FUTURE

Saturday, Dec. 16 (Continued)

Modernizing the electric grid has implications beyond more reliable electricity services. According to Sonia Aggarwal, vice president of Energy Innovation, modernizing the electric grid can also mean lower energy costs, new jobs, investment opportunities, fewer and shorter power outages, and cleaner air.

Break

In the CSG Energy & Environment Public Policy Committee’s session yesterday, Aggarwal recognized that while there are many

benefits`to grid modernization, it will require substantial up-front planning. “As policymakers and regulators, we need to step back and realize the grid is a delicate machine and start from a planning perspective,” she said. Across the nation, states and utilities are investigating how best to upgrade the electric power grid to enhance its efficiency and integrate more clean energy technologies. At the same time, large scale investment in grid modernization triggers a key question: Is it worth it? According to Aggarwal, it is, but it requires weighing costs of new technologies with outcomes. “Some countries have made huge investments in smart meters, but there wasn’t a lot of forethought on how the smart meters should be used,” Aggarwal said. “The key question we need to be asking is how do we get the most out of these grid modernization efforts.”

4 – 4:30 p.m.

CSG Regional Receptions 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. • CSG Eastern Regional Conference Palm A • CSG Midwestern Legislative Conference Palm B • CSG Southern Legislative Conference Palm C • CSG West Palm D

CSG 2018 National Conference: Kentucky Kick-off Skyfall Lounge, Delano (Connected to the Mandalay Bay Resort) 5:30 – 8 p.m. Suggested Attire: Cocktail/Business

For daily highlights, check the CSG Knowledge Center knowledgecenter.csg.org

Jeffrey Ackermann, chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, reiterated the vast undertaking that modernizing the electric grid will be, but also noted that new technologies will play an important role in the effort.

CSG Energy and Environment Committee Co-Chair, Ohio state Rep. Al Landis and Vice Chair Brad Johnson, with the Montana Public Service Commission, hear proposed resolutions in committee.

“We talk about the autonomous vehicle, but we are getting closer to the autonomous grid,” Ackermann said. “We are in the 21st century. How do we keep up with the world around us?”

NEVADA TAKES LEAD IN TRANSPORTATION Texas state Rep. Larry Phillips said he often thinks about all the vehicle crashes on the roads in his state and all the lives lost. “With new technology, we can reduce that,” said Phillips, who also serves as co-chair of the CSG Transportation and Infrastructure Public Policy Committee. During a Friday session hosted by the committee, titled Nevada Drives Transportation Policy into the Future, Phillips said improving safety is every state’s number one goal, and Nevada has been at the forefront of transportation innovation. Nevada Department of Transportation Director Rudy Malfabon discussed recent initiatives and new technologies in his state, including software that helps patrol traffic on highways; multistate collaborations, which can be useful

when applying for federal grants; technology that can make snow plows more efficient in bad weather; drones that can document construction progress or changes in the terrain; and driverless vehicles. In a small section of Las Vegas, sensors have been installed to communicate with a driverless shuttle downtown. “It’s not a huge footprint, but it’s pretty cool to have this deployed and tested,” he said. The self-driving shuttle, which is owned by French company Keolis, started service in November in Las Vegas following a two-week pilot test in January. In 2011, Nevada became the first state to authorize the operation of autonomous vehicles.

Nevada Department of Transportation Director Rudy Malfabon discusses technology and innovation in his state.

“Nevada is a state of firsts,” Malfabon said.

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Clockwise from top left: 1. CSG 2015 National President Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval speaks in the opening plenary session about policy issues facing Nevada and other states across the nation. 2. CSG 2017 Vice Chair Delaware Rep. Helene Keeley kicks off the opening plenary session with the pledge of allegiance. 3. CSG 2014 National Chair Tennessee Sen. Mark Norris speaks to conference attendees between policy sessions.

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Sharing Capitol Ideas in Las Vegas

Clockwise from top left: 1. CSG 2017 National Chair Nevada Sen. Kelvin Atkinson welcomes conference attendees to his state and thanks everyone for staying #VegasStrong. 2. CSG 2017 National President Oregon Gov. Kate Brown expresses sympathy for the victims of gun violence in Nevada and other states during the opening plenary session. 3. CSG 2017 Chair-Elect Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers and CSG CEO/Executive Director David Adkins met in the Associates Advisory Committee yesterday.

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PANELISTS ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION TO TACKLE CYBERSECURITY Many people have treated cybersecurity like watching someone else’s house burn to the ground, but that has to change, Oregon State Chief Information Officer Alex Pettit said. “We have to see this as a community problem,” Pettit said. “It’s an ‘us’ problem that we’ve got to fix together.” In a session about cybersecurity during the CSG 2017 National Conference, Pettit and Doug Robinson, executive director of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers—or NASCIO—talked about the current landscape of cybersecurity. NASCIO recently released the results of a survey of state chief information officers that showed cybersecurity as the number one issue of the top 10 policy and technology priorities in 2018. Cybersecurity has been a top issue for state CIOs since the report’s inception in 2006. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, CSG 2017 national president, recalled a security breach to the state’s one-stop-shop business registry and the campaign finance reporting websites that occurred when she was secretary of state. She said it was likely that the breach came from another country. The websites had to be shut down for about a month.

“It was very traumatic for my team,” Brown said. “We worked really hard throughout that period of time. We also reached out to the private sector to rebuild the security.” In addition, her team worked to rebuild the public’s trust in their systems. Brown made cybersecurity a priority when she became governor, and she urged the state leaders in Friday’s session to engage their executive branches in the issue. “Work closely with your executives to make sure this becomes a priority because all of your lives will be impacted in the event of a hack or a breach on your systems,” Brown said. In discussing trends in cybersecurity, Robinson said cybersecurity is becoming part of the fabric of government operations. Instead of being sprinkled on the top, cybersecurity is being baked in at the beginning of new systems or initiatives. “It shouldn’t be something to think about later,” Robinson said.

ALEX PETTIT, Oregon state chief information officer, discusses Oregon’s cybersecurity initiatives.

FEDERAL HEALTH UNCERTAINTY PRESENTS CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES State leaders and health policy experts discussed ways in which states are both reacting to federal efforts and leading the charge to create health policies at The Uncertain Future of Health Care session on Nov. 15 at the CSG 2017 National Conference. While the federal government focused this year on the question of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, no proposal was

enacted. Nonetheless, one of the challenges facing states in the next year will be navigating signals sent from Washington, D.C., around the Medicaid program. Laura Summers, senior director of state intelligence at Leavitt Partners, spoke about the stability of the states’ individual health insurance markets for 2018 and what challenges and opportunities states face to stabilize the individual markets beyond 2018. Summers said the key signals to states around health insurance markets from the federal administration and Congress include a lack of support for ACA individual markets, budgetary pressures that affect the marketplace, and executive orders and legislation that segment the market. The federal government has also indicated to states its desire to decrease federal Medicaid costs, increase state flexibility and reduce Medicaid enrollment.

Karin VanZant, executive director of the Life Services Division at CareSource, spoke about Medicaid innovations to address the social determinants of health.

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Section 1115 Medicaid waivers, which allow states to shape their Medicaid programs to meet their unique needs, and 1332 waivers, which allow them to customize their health insurance marketplace, will be used by

states to combat federal uncertainty around health care. “There are some states that are proactively seeking ways to bypass this uncertainty through 1332 waivers,” Summers said. “We are seeing states take a much more proactive approach with state-specific reforms.” “1115 waivers are the primary mechanism for states to change their Medicaid programs,” she added. “With a new administration we have a clean slate. It is yet to be seen what might be approved. There are a lot of waivers waiting to be approved.” In the future there will be continued efforts to stabilize the markets within the structure of the ACA by customizing them to meet states’ needs. Also, we can expect to see states moving toward a fundamental redesign of ACA markets by altering benefits, reprioritizing subsidies and removing nonessential costs. The future of state Medicaid programs, like the individual markets, will happen on a state by state basis, said Summers. There will be moves to reduce benefits and eliminate all nonessential costs and increased efforts to maximize efficiency and reduce duplicate services.


Exchanging Insights & Ideas

900+

ELECTED OFFICIALS, STAFF AND PRIVATE-SECTOR REPRESENTATIVES REGISTERED FOR THE CSG 2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE.

by Lisa McKinney CSG brings state officials from across the country together each year to foster the exchange of insights and ideas that help leaders shape public policy and successfully navigate the year ahead. This year, the magic of Las Vegas permeated the CSG National Conference as leaders from different states, backgrounds and political parties gathered for fellowship, edification and a little bit of fun.

39 Session s were offered in topics such as transportation, marijuana, health care, cybersecurity and more.

42 states REPRESENTED AT THE CONFERENCE

THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR THE

National Center for Interstate Compacts Summit of the States

COINCIDED WITH THE CSG NATIONAL CONFERENCE.

Over 100 speakers presented engaging content to conference attendees.

CSG has packed

MEALS FOR THE HUNGRY

at its national conference

for 4 years

1

Michael Jackson present at the conference

Keynote speaker,

award-winning historian and best-selling author,

Michael Beschloss

has authored nine books.


S A V E

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T H E

D A T E


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