
Upcoming Webinars
Results First: Moving States Forward
Tuesday, May 28, 3 p.m. EDT
CSG Policy Webinar Series
Join The Council of State Governments as we take a look at The Pew-MacArthur Results First initiative, a project of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The Results First initiative works with states to implement an innovative cost-benefit analysis approach that helps them invest in policies and programs that are proven to work.
Speakers:
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Gary VanLandingham, Director, Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative, The Pew Charitable Trusts
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Michael Coelho, Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Massachusetts
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Brian Dickerson, Program Evaluator, Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER), Mississippi
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Charles Sallee, Deputy Director, Legislative Finance Committee, New Mexico
Aging Inmates: The Continual 'Graying' of America's Prisons
Thursday, May 30, 2 p.m. EDT
CSG Regional Policy Webinar Series
Presented by CSG South
Each year, about 675,000 elderly people are arrested, the U.S. Department of Justice says. These inmates can cost four times as much as other inmates to incarcerate because they likely will require regular medical attention, specialized facilities that are wheelchair accessible and are generally in poorer health than their younger counterparts. In fact, some statistics note that the cost of housing an elderly inmate is comparable to incarcerating prisoners in maximum-security prisons. Experts say the explosion of elderly inmates in the American penal system is not attributed to an elderly crime wave, but rather several factors that will continue to put more elderly people behind bars and continue to keep them behind bars longer. The Council of State Governments’ Southern Legislative Conference issued reports on this topic in 1998 and 2006. This webinar will explore the graying of America’s prisons, with a look at how states can save money by consolidating elderly inmate populations, implementing early release for terminally ill or otherwise innocuous elderly prisoners, and implementing general policies that can limit victimization inside prison and address recidivism of elderly offenders upon release.
Speakers:
- Dr. Ronald Aday, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Middle Tennessee State University
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Dr. Donald L. Sutmiller, Chief Medical Officer, Oklahoma State Department of Corrections
Storm Recovery—Building Stronger, Smarter Electrical Grids
Wednesday, June 12, 2 p.m. EDT
CSG Policy Webinar Series
The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are still dealing with the destruction of Hurricane Sandy where total insured losses topped $20 billion. As states recover from that disaster, opportunities for grid modernization technology are emerging. Modernization would help improve the resiliency of the nation’s electrical infrastructure to help minimize outages and restore critically needed power to hard-hit areas. This informative and engaging webinar share proactive steps states can take to harden and improve the reliability and strength of the grid.
The webinar will feature presentations from Miles Keogh, director of grants and research for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and Paul Molitor, head of association communications for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of the panel of experts.
States Act to Bolster Transportation Funding
Friday, June 14, 2 p.m. EDT
CSG Regional Policy Webinar Series
Presented by CSG South
While the federal government was unquestionably the dominant player in building the nation’s transportation infrastructure network for most of the last century, states now have taken a lead role in infrastructure projects. The federal fuel tax was last increased in 1993 and the Congressional Budget Office forecasts the Highway Trust Fund will be depleted sometime in 2015. Federal policymakers will have to either bail out the trust fund again or raise revenue by hiking taxes.
As the federal role in transportation infrastructure wanes, state policymakers have devised and pursued a range of options to restore and rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. 2013 was a particularly productive year for these state transportation funding initiatives as dozens of states introduced, and sometimes enacted, a plethora of proposals.
This complimentary SLC webinar will feature the latest developments from several Southern states and provide an opportunity for webinar participants to learn more about some of these strategies. Participants will be able to direct questions to the legislators that spearheaded these vital transportation reforms in their states.
Moderator:
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Sen. Bill Sample, Chair, Arkansas Senate Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs and Chair, SLC’s Economic Development, Transportation and Cultural Affairs Committee
Speakers: