Updates from the NGA Membership Team for February 2023. For more about the programs below and a list of upcoming events please email us at: membership@nga.org.
NGA Winter Meeting Recap
115th NGA Winter Meeting Addressed Governors’ Key Priorities
In a forward-leaning program that comprised the 2023 Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., Governors from states, commonwealths and territories across the country joined in compelling conversations about best practices and bipartisan collaboration across an array of top-line issues.
NGA’s three task forces met to consider academic and career success, Governors’ leadership in technology and energy innovation, and how Governors can respond to energy disruptions.
Priorities addressed in the plenary sessions included: NGA Chairman New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s Chairman’s Initiative: Strengthening Youth Mental Health, with a focus on New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy’s maternal and infant health initiative, and current challenges in the labor market.
NGA was joined by many special guests who shared their time and expertise, including: Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General; Richard Besser, CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, Founder, The AAKOMA Project; Reina Chiang, Founder, u matter apparel; Jennifer Aument, Global Transportation Chief Executive, AECOM; Ravi Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Cognizant; and Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President, Microsoft.
Governors went to the White House for a meeting with President Biden, and the Governors called on the Administration and Congress to work together to ensure a bipartisan solution to address the debt ceiling.
In addition to leading a media availability during the Winter Meeting, Governor Murphy and NGA Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox appeared together on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and gave a press conference upon departing the White House. The following Governors appeared together on CBS’s “Face the Nation:” Maryland Governor Wes Moore, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
NGA announced a meeting will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, July 12-14.
Plenary Session I – Chair’s Initiative: Strengthening Youth Mental Health
During the Winter Meeting’s first plenary session, NGA Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy presented on his NGA Chair’s Initiative: Strengthening Youth Mental Health, providing an overview and update on the work taking place to advance his initiative, including details about convenings held in Utah and California to meet with mental health experts.
New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy took part in the conversation to highlight her work to address maternal and infant health, a matter, she shared, that is closely related to youth mental health.
Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General, spoke during the plenary session about federal level policies to address youth mental health. Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, Founder, The AAKOMA Project, moderated the plenary session that also featured Dr. Richard Besser, CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and mental health advocate Reina Chiang.
Plenary Session II – Labor Market Challenges
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte moderated a discussion with business leaders regarding current challenges in the labor market and to highlight ways Governors can work with the private sector to implement scalable solutions to addressing worker shortages.
Executives from leading companies, representing diverse sectors of the economy, joined Governors in a robust conversation about best practices.
The following executives participated in the plenary session: Jennifer Aument, Global Transportation Chief Executive, AECOM; Ravi Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Cognizant; and Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President, Microsoft.
Spouse Program
First Spouses Meet During NGA Winter Meeting
The NGA Spouses Program convened at the 2023 Winter Meeting with an agenda that included policy sessions focused on rare diseases and incarcerated women.
First Spouses attended a luncheon at the White House. Dr. Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff joined First Spouses in a service project with United Through Reading, a nonprofit that works to “unite military families facing physical separation by facilitating the bonding experience of reading aloud.”
New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy took part in the plenary session focused on NGA Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s Chair Initiative: Strengthening Youth Mental Health as well as her initiative on maternal and infant health. During the plenary session, Governor and Mrs. Murphy spoke with expert speakers, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, about best practices and common challenges.
Chair’s Initiative
NGA Holds Second Youth Mental Health Roundtable
In January, NGA Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Colorado Governor Jared Polis held a roundtable discussion in Santa Monica, California, with those on the frontlines of youth mental health care to advance the NGA Chair’s Initiative: Strengthening Youth Mental Health in Los Angeles, California.
New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper also spoke at the event, highlighting holistic efforts to support children and parents, including through Tammy Murphy’s Nurture NJ initiative focused on maternal and infant health.
In response to rising rates of mental health distress among young people, Governor Murphy introduced his NGA Chair’s Initiative in July. Through the Strengthening Youth Mental Health initiative, Governors from across the nation are collaborating to develop bipartisan solutions.
During the two-day roundtable, Governors Murphy and Polis held discussions with parents, physicians, pediatric psychologists, educators, policymakers and other mental health experts. Conversations focused on challenges and solutions connected to raising awareness and reducing stigma.
At the event, Governor Murphy unveiled a new video about the Chair’s Initiative, which will be shared in a multi-state outreach campaign.
The California event was the second of four roundtable discussions Governors will convene in multiple states in support of the Strengthening Youth Mental Health initiative. A previous roundtable was hosted in Utah by Utah Governor and NGA Vice Chair Spencer Cox.
Governor Murphy announced the next roundtable will be held in Detroit, Michigan, April 19-20.
NGA Releases Commentaries on Chair’s Initiative Second Convening
NGA released the commentary Strengthening Youth Mental Health by Building Awareness and Reducing Stigma to provide an overview of the youth mental health discussions held during the second convening of the 2022-2023 NGA Chair’s Initiative: Strengthening Youth Mental Health.
NGA also released the commentary Governors’ Convening Highlights Ways Data Can Impact Maternal and Infant Health to provide an overview of the maternal and infant health discussions held during the convening.
Communications Spotlight
NGA Promotes Governors’ Bipartisan Leadership During Winter Meeting
In the leadup and duration of the 2023 NGA Winter Meeting, NGA Communications has been working to elevate examples of Governors’ bipartisan leadership on key issues like workforce development and mental health.
NGA Holds Roundtable with Governors’ Communications Staffers
NGA held a breakfast roundtable for Governors’ Communications Directors and staff during the Winter Meeting.
The meeting served as an opportunity for Governors’ communications staff members to meet and share best practices.
The discussion was moderated by Alex Altman with the office of NGA Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Jennifer Napier-Pearce with the office of NGA Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
John Truscott, CEO, Truscott Rossman, served as a featured speaker.
NGA Resources about Gubernatorial Addresses, Biographies and Social Media Accounts
NGA maintains a resource to provide details about Governors’ inaugural addresses and state of the state, territory or commonwealth addresses, including the dates of the addresses as well as links to transcripts and/or video of the addresses.
Each year, NGA closely monitors Governors’ inaugural and state of the state addresses to help inform the organization’s overall communications strategy.
NGA is also currently continuing to promote details about Governors’ addresses, such as video highlights, through NGA’s social media accounts, including Twitter and YouTube.
NGA’s website maintains other informative gubernatorial resources, including current and recently elected Governors’ biographies and links to their official social media accounts.
Government Relations
NGA Announces New Leadership, Name Changes for Governor-Led Task Forces
NGA Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox released a statement regarding new leadership and name changes for NGA’s three Governor-led task forces.
The task forces foster a collaborative environment for Governors to focus on NGA’s top federal priorities for the 118th Congress now and in the future.
The task forces and their co-chairs are:
Public Health and Disaster Response: Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Vermont Governor Phil Scott. Issues include Federal Emergency Management administration (FEMA), National Guard, cybersecurity, health care, immigration, human services and COVID-19 issues related to testing, vaccines, supply chain and personal protective equipment.
Economic Development and Revitalization: South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. Issues include energy, environment, infrastructure, land management, state stabilization and taxes.
Community Renewal: U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan and Idaho Governor Brad Little. Issues include agriculture, broadband, criminal justice, education, housing, nutrition and workforce.
The task forces will work with NGA’s nine-member Executive Committee, which oversees the association’s operations on behalf of the entire membership.
NGA Chair, Vice Chair Send Letter to Fellow Governors Regarding TikTok
NGA Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and NGA Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox recently sent a letter to their fellow Governors regarding the growing number of states taking action “to prohibit the use of TikTok on state-issued cellphones, computers, and other devices.”
Both Governors have recently issued Executive Orders on this matter, and they encourage “our fellow Governors to join the growing number of states taking action. By acting against foreign cyberthreats like TikTok, Governors can protect our states, bolster national security, and ensure our citizens can trust our states’ systems.”
Governors Call for Fiscal Stability
Last week, NGA Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox released the following statement after the Treasury Department began taking measures to avoid breaching the national debt limit.
“Our nation’s Governors call on Congress and the Administration to work together to ensure a bipartisan solution to address the U.S. statutory debt ceiling. Failure on the part of the Treasury Department to meet its federal obligations would create significant uncertainty and risk to American citizens, government services, and global financial markets
“We call on Congress to increase or suspend the debt limit as soon as possible. And we call on both the Administration and Congress to consider serious long-term reforms that will reduce the national debt and put the country on more sustainable fiscal footing. States and territories succeed when there is certainty and stability in federal resources.”
Center for Best Practices – Vice Chair’s Corner
NGA’s Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox leads the Center for Best Practices.
NGA Releases Commentary on CHIPS Act Implementation
To support Governors as they implement the CHIPS and Science Act, NGA released the commentary Understanding the State and Territory Role in Implementing the CHIPS for America Fund.
The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022 was signed into law by President Biden on August 9, 2022. The law provides a total of $280 billion in federal funding to encourage the construction of semiconductor facilities in the United States, boost science and technology research, address anti-competitive trade practices and promote STEM education and workforce training.
In addition to the commentary, NGA maintains a CHIPS and Science Act resources page to support Governors and their offices as they implement the CHIPS Act.
NGA Releases New Publication on Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement
NGA released the new publication State Strategies to Support Marketplace Plan Enrollment as the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement Winds Down.
The piece explores how states have been developing innovative approaches to prepare for the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement.
The temporary 6.2 percent Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increase will gradually decline, each quarter, from April 1 through December 31 for states and territories that follow certain redetermination and renewal rules. States and territories will have up to 12 months after April 1 to initiate eligibility redeterminations and enrollment renewals for those eligible for Medicaid, and they will have 14 months to complete these actions.
NGA Releases Publication on Transmission Siting and Permitting
NGA released the brief Transmission Siting and Permitting: How Governor Leadership Can Advance Projects to provide important background for Governors and Governors’ staff and to highlight the tools Governors have at their disposal, based on state best practices, to help navigate and advance transmission projects.
State Data Ecosystem Request for Participation
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), in partnership with the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), is accepting requests for participation in a state data ecosystem to help Governor’s offices and other state officials better understand and optimize their state longitudinal data systems.
Specifically, the goal of this project is to help states align across postsecondary and workforce systems and to help them consider promising practices for utilizing and scaling those systems to meet data and evaluation needs for other state-level programs.
This peer learning community will engage state teams and national experts over nine months through workshops and convenings focused on mapping current data assets, understanding the benefits of statewide longitudinal data systems, and working towards modernizing and connecting current systems.
Four States to Participate in NGA Learning Collaborative on Strategies to Support the Development of State-Level DPAD Initiatives
Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania will participate in NGA’s Learning Collaborative on Strategies to Support the Development of State-Level Deflection and Pre-Arrest Diversion (DPAD) Initiatives.
This Learning Collaborative is a six-month-long opportunity designed to support the Governor’s office and other senior state officials in the development and implementation of a sustainable state-level DPAD initiative addressing the needs of individuals with substance use disorders (SUD).
NGA Briefing on the Unwinding of the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement
NGA recently held a briefing on the Unwinding of the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirement, Behavioral Health and Other Health Care Coverage Provisions in the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
A recording of the briefing is available here.
February in Focus
NGA routinely shares photos of Governors at work through the organization’s social media channels. A sampling of this past month’s photo highlights follows.
