Southern Pulse Newsletter, February 2024

It is the month of love, and there is no one we love more than our Members!

Our team has been traveling nonstop across the South to meet members in the thick of their labor of love: working through the legislative session! We thank our legislators and legislative staff from Virginia, West Virginia, Missouri, Georgia, Florida, and Kentucky for taking time out of their incredibly busy schedules to meet with us. We can’t wait to sit down with Mississippi, South Carolina, and Oklahoma in the coming weeks!

On February 1st, we officially launched registration for the most anticipated regional conference in the nation. The 2024 Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) will be held over five action-packed days in the historic Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, and the registered attendees are already pouring in! Keep an eye out for our emails and social media for updates on overflow hotels and our guest and youth programs. 

From state visits, one-on-one meetings, policy information requests, and SLC planning, we proudly showcase how we continue to be the best regional resource for our Southern legislators and staff.
 

All the best,
Lindsey G.

Click Here to Read Southern Pulse – February 2024

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CSG Justice Center Appoints Cam Ward as New Advisory Board Chair

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center has announced the appointment of Cam Ward, the Director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, as the new Chair of its Advisory Board.

Cam Ward is the Director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, where he is responsible for all agency operations in support of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. From 2011 to 2020, Ward served in the Alabama State Senate, where he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee for nine years. In 2014, he was appointed by Governor Robert Bentley to serve as the chair of Alabama’s Prison Reform Task Force, which is a group of state policymakers and practitioners that guides the Justice Reinvestment Initiative in Alabama. Ward previously served two terms in the Alabama House of Representatives. He received his bachelor’s degree from Troy University and his JD from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.

You can read more here.

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Cody Allen Named 2024 Catalyst Fellow

CSG South Senior Policy Analyst Cody Allen was named to the 2024 Cohort of EDSafe AI Alliance of Catalyst Fellows.

The AI Catalyst Fellowship is a year-long program that supports exceptional and impact-minded individuals by providing an outstanding platform to learn and work on questions of AI in education. Fellows have the opportunity to work with world-renowned experts in AI safety, ethics, and policy. They also participate in a rigorous seminar series, where they learn about the latest advances in AI research and discuss the potential impacts of AI on society.
 
Designed for leaders in the education sector from industry and the field, this interdisciplinary fellowship brings together leaders on the supply and demand side to reimagine education as a learning system enabled by AI.
 
About EDSAFE: 
Founded in 2020, the EDSAFE AI Alliance is a global initiative led by InnovateEDU and powered by a coalition of organizations representing stakeholders across the education sector to provide global leadership for developing a safer, more secure, more equitable, and more trusted AI education ecosystem through a focus on research, policy, and practice.

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Southern Pulse Newsletter, January 2024

Hello 2024! After a restful holiday season, the CSG South team is refreshed and ready to kick off an amazing year! We hope you and your family enjoyed the break as much as we did.

2024 State Visits are underway!  We have already visited 2 of our states – January 16-18 (Virginia) and January 23-25 (West Virginia) – and look forward to seeing the rest of you over the next few months. February 6-8 (Missouri), February 13-14 (Georgia), February 20-22 (Kentucky), February 27-28 (Mississippi), and March 5-7 (South Carolina) gets us through the beginning of March with more to come.  Our staff will contact your offices via phone and email to schedule meetings. We know you’re busy – so if your schedule is packed, grab us in the halls or wave us down from the floor! We’ll leave you with all the information you need to contact us via phone and email.

And don’t forget, Thursday, February 1st at 10:00 AM EST, SLC Registration opens!  We want to see you at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, July 21-25, 2024.  

All the best,
Lindsey G.

Click here to read Southern Pulse- January 2024

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CSG South Launches Permitting Reform Federal Affairs Initiative

JANUARY 25, 2024, ATLANTA, GA — The 2023-2024 Council of State Governments, Southern Region (CSG South) Chair, Senate President Craig Blair, West Virginia, announced his 2024 Chair’s Initiative: Permitting Reform.

In an increasingly stagnant federal landscape, the united voice of the leaders of the states of CSG South can leverage their collective strength and advocate on national issues such as permitting reform, federal mandates tied to federal funding, energy independence, and energy resilience.

“Our goal is to light a fire under our colleagues at the federal level and lead by example by passing bipartisan resolutions all over this country urging good faith work across the aisle on this critical issue,” said Blair of his Chair’s Initiative. “This permitting reform federal affairs initiative draws attention to the overly regulated, slow-moving federal permitting processes that inhibit economic development, job growth, energy innovation, and the ability of states to update aging infrastructure.”

Senate President Blair sponsored Senate Concurrent Resolution 16, passed by the West Virginia Senate on Monday, January 15, and the House of Delegates on January 24, to urge the federal government to enact much-needed reforms to federal permitting policies to accelerate the deployment of new energy infrastructure.

“We’re on our way to a crisis in this country, and unless our Congress acts to reform these permitting laws, we’ll all be seeing higher costs and fewer jobs,” said West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw. “We simply cannot afford any more limitations to our energy infrastructure, and if Congress refuses to do something, it will be a direct line from their inaction to rolling blackouts, national security risks, and even more crumbling infrastructure throughout the country.”

Through a federal affairs-focused survey conducted by CSG South in the fourth quarter of 2023, permitting reform was identified as the top issue of interest to state leaders in the Southern region. Lindsey Gray, CSG South Regional Executive Director, stated, “At the direction of the Senate President Craig Blair and the Executive Committee, CSG South will support the 15 states within the Southern region and carrier forward a unified voice regarding the issue of permitting reform for the states we serve.”

About CSG South

Established In 1947, The Council of State Governments Southern Office (CSG South) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that exists to support members in all three branches of state government. At CSG South, we act as an extension of state government, fostering the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials and staff shape public policy and create problem-solving partnerships.
The mission of CSG South is to promote and strengthen intergovernmental cooperation among its 15 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Legislative leadership, members, and staff depend on CSG South to identify and analyze solutions for the most prevalent and unique policy issues facing Southern state governments. We facilitate outreach in state capitols, leadership development, staff exchange programs, domestic and international policy delegations, and other efforts to support state policymakers and legislative staff to build stronger, more prosperous states.

See More Here:

Blair calls on federal government to reform energy permitting process – WV MetroNews

W.Va. Senate President Craig Blair, Council of State Governments (CSG) South launch permitting reform federal affairs initiative – West Virginia Press Association (wvpress.org)

West Virginia Senate passes resolution in support of federal permitting reform

CSG South launches permitting reform federal affairs permitting reform | WV Legislature | wvnews.com

West Virginia Senate Calls for Reform in Federal Energy Permitting Policies (bnnbreaking.com)

Senators: Liquefied Natural Gas Pause Hurting W.Va. – West Virginia Public Broadcasting (wvpublic.org)

Blair calls on federal government to reform energy permitting process | Metro Valley (spotonwestvirginia.com)

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CSG South Senior Policy Analyst Cody Allen Presented to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission on Legislative Trends in Higher Ed.

On Thursday, January 25, CSG South Senior Policy Analyst Cody Allen attended the Tennessee Higher Education Commission’s (THEC) Winter Quarterly Meeting presenting on Southern state legislative trends in higher education policy. His presentation to this state commission focused on national and regional trends, including direct and statewide admissions policies, military and veteran-friendly campuses, enrollment and retention measures, campus food deserts, and the growing world of artificial intelligence policy in education. Notably, with the THEC staff presenting on food insecurity on campuses across the state, his presentation touched on recent proposals and laws in Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia to establish Hunger-Free Campuses. These states took various approaches to address this critical issue, whether providing start-up funding, removing restrictions to allow students to donate meal plan credits, or creating competitive grant programs to incentivize institutions and community organizations to partner on food pantries. These efforts, along with others to provide housing assistance or protections for pregnant and parenting students, represent new efforts to support students holistically – and increase retention and enrollment – given the continued issue of low enrollment, even with more widespread free and reduced-cost higher education opportunities. Additionally, Allen praised the commission for its strong legacy of regional leadership in higher education, as evidenced by its winning the CSG South State Transformation in Action (STAR) Award three years in a row from 2017 to 2019.* He closed by highlighting the ongoing work to restrengthen higher education by eliminating silos and aligning all postsecondary options to provide students with flexible and affordable education pathways.

Download the presentation here:

Click Here

*For more information on the STAR Award program and application instructions, please visit here.

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The National Summit to Advance States’ Criminal Justice Priorities

States face numerous and pressing criminal justice challenges that directly impact communities and agencies across multiple levels of government. State leaders—governors, legislators, and agency officials—play a critical role in ensuring public safety by setting priorities, identifying policies and programs to achieve them, and allocating finite resources that impact every area of the justice system. At the same time, state leaders are struggling to address challenges in accessing treatment across the continuum and acute shortages in the workforce, improve services for victims of crime, and increase opportunities for people returning to their communities from incarceration. Effectively addressing these challenges requires state leaders to examine system operations carefully, define the outcomes they want to see, and work collaboratively to adjust key policies, practices, and budgets to bridge the gaps.

You can view your state’s criminal justice snapshot here:

Alabama

Arkansas

Florida

Georgia

Kentucky

Louisiana

Mississippi

Missouri

North Carolina

Oklahoma

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

West Virginia

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Southern Pulse Newsletter, December 2023

It’s a wonder-yule life here at CSG South!  This year has been nothing short of amazing, but we couldn’t do it without the incredible support from each of you.

As we wrap up the busy season, we know another one is on the horizon for our staff and members alike. The ringing of legislative bells is quickly approaching, and the CSG South team is here for you.  We offer specialized policy analysis and leadership and professional development, all wrapped up in state-specific bows.  Please don’t hesitate to contact our office for any extra holiday magic you may need.

On behalf of your CSG South family, have the happiest holidays and a blessed New Year. We can’t wait to see you in 2024!  
 

All the best,
Lindsey G.

Click here to read Southern Pulse- December 2023

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