Southern Legislative Conference

This SLC Regional Resource raises policy considerations and highlights the connections between the ongoing opioid crisis and the national shortage of organs for transplantation. In addition, this report looks at the history and process of organ donation and transplants; actions taken at the state and federal level to facilitate organ donation; and how the national opioid crisis is affecting transplant rates.

Part II in a series, this report explores the resources, capacity and transmission; policies and incentives; and economic impacts of wind energy generation in three Southern states: Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia.

Part I of this SLC Special Series Report detailed many of the broader concerns that long-term care poses for Southern states, including challenging demographic shifts, deteriorating health status among key segments of the population and prohibitively high costs of various LTC services. Part II outlines the role that insurance plays in financing long-term care and reviews potential insurance-related solutions that could create more affordable care in the future for states and LTC recipients.

Since NAFTA’s implementation in 1994, trade between the SLC region and Canada and Mexico has changed dramatically. As officials from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. attempt to renegotiate the agreement’s stipulations, it is instructive for policymakers to understand the current position of their states’ exports and imports with these trading partners. A renegotiation could have significant ramifications across state economies, including in the agriculture, automotive, and manufacturing industries.