Webinars

States know that increased international exposure can contribute to economic growth and increased trade and foreign investment. While higher education institutions traditionally have focused on recruiting international students, several states now are formalizing their approach to attracting foreign students and encouraging foreign exchange in strategic economic and workforce development plans. This eCademy session identifies trends in state government activity supporting internationalization and examines why this is an area of increasing opportunity for states.

Distributed generation—mainly rooftop solar—is transforming the way electricity is generated, transmitted and distributed. In 2015, state lawmakers will likely continue debates about the most appropriate way to balance consumer demand for distributed generation while recognizing the real and substantial fixed and variable costs incurred by electric utilities and the potential impact of these policies on nonsolar consumers. This CSG eCademy session features perspectives from the electric power industry and a former utility ratepayer consumer advocate. Panelists share their thoughts on how to balance the challenges and opportunities the growth of distributed generation has brought to the forefront and how to address consumer concerns.

In an effort to develop alternate funding sources to implement critical transportation and infrastructure projects, states across the country increasingly are looking to public-private partnerships, known as P3s, as an important strategy. States in CSG's Southern Legislative Conference have been particularly active in pursuing the P3 format for a number of years. This webinar provides the latest perspectives and approaches from three SLC states—Florida, Texas and Virginia.

In the fall of 2014, the attention of state leaders and their constituents was focused on the Ebola epidemic in Africa and how to prevent its spread to the United States. In the days since the first U.S. case was diagnosed in Texas, federal and state leaders have strived to implement evidence-based responses to the disease. This CSG eCademy features Christine Kosmos, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of State and Local Readiness, who explores lessons learned about Ebola and states’ responses, as well as state/federal role differentiation.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in December 2013 announced a phased enforcement plan for the REAL ID Act of 2005. The act enacted a recommendation of the 9/11 Commission that the federal government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.” States and other jurisdictions have made significant progress in enhancing the security of their licenses in recent years, but hurdles and holdouts remain and key deadlines in 2015 and 2016 loom. This CSG eCademy provide an update from DHS on states’ progress, with discussion and questions posed by a representative of the REAL ID advocacy organization the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License.