Updates from the NGA Membership Team for March 2023. For more about the programs below and a list of upcoming events please email us at: membership@nga.org.
Women’s History Month
This year marks a historic milestone with a record number of 13 women simultaneously serving as Governors.
In honor of this achievement and the annual March celebration of Women’s History Month, NGA recognizes the women currently serving as Governors:
- ● Alabama Governor Kay Ivey
- ● Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs
- ● Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders
- ● Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero
- ● Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds
- ● Kansas Governor Laura Kelly
- ● Maine Governor Janet Mills
- ● Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey
- ● Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
- ● New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
- ● New York Governor Kathy Hochul
- ● Oregon Governor Tina Kotek
- ● South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem
The Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics provides more historical insights about the 42 women who have served, to date, as Governors.
Chair’s Initiative
Third Chair’s Initiative Roundtable to Occur in Detroit
NGA will host the third roundtable convening for NGA Chair New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s 2022-23 Chair’s Initiative on Strengthening Youth Mental Health in Detroit, Michigan.
This meeting will begin the morning of Wednesday, April 19, and conclude around lunchtime on Thursday, April 20.
The roundtable will bring together Governors, First Spouses, private sector leaders, and policy and subject matter experts for a conversation on states’ roles in strengthening youth mental health.
In addition to discussions on youth mental health, this event will also focus on maternal and infant health, a top policy priority of New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy.
New Energy and Infrastructure Working Group
NGA Starts New Bipartisan Working Group
NGA Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards recently announced the formation of a bipartisan working group that will collaborate to improve the energy and infrastructure delivery process to provide better results for states, commonwealths and territories.
The Working Group will focus on solutions to streamline the permitting process, address legal challenges and tackle procurement issues to speed delivery for projects across four categories: 1) energy transmission (pipeline and electric transmission lines); 2) utility-scale energy generation (including oil and gas, renewable and nuclear); 3) transportation and 4) mining and materials.
The following Governors are participating in the Governors Energy Infrastructure Working Group on behalf of all 55 states, commonwealths and territories:
- ● Utah Governor NGA Vice Chair Spencer Cox (Working Group co-chair)
- ● Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (Working Group co-chair)
- ● Illinois Governor JB Pritzker
- ● Maine Governor Janet Mills
- ● Montana Governor Greg Gianforte
- ● North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum
- ● Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt
- ● New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu
- ● Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi
Communications Spotlight
NGA Website Promotes Governors’ Biographies & Social Media Accounts
NGA’s website provides informative gubernatorial resources, including current Governors’ biographies and terms in office, First Spouses’ biographies, former Governors’ biographies, Governors’ staff contact information and a resource linking to Governors’ official social media accounts.
Each month, NGA’s website receives considerable traffic from visitors accessing Governors’ biographies and links to their official social media accounts.
Governors’ offices are encouraged to contact NGA’s communications team to make any updates to a Governor’s official biography or linked social media accounts.
NGA Amplifies Governors’ State of the State Addresses
NGA works to help amplify Governors’ bipartisan leadership by sharing Governors’ social media posts through NGA’s website and Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube accounts.
Currently, NGA is working on a campaign to highlight Governors’ State of the State and budget addresses, focusing on many of the key issues, such as housing, Governors detailed in their addresses.
Governors’ offices are encouraged to contact NGA’s communications staff if they would like NGA to highlight a specific item.
Government Relations
Letter on Federal Data Transparency Act Provisions
The Public Finance Network sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Department Secretary Yellen and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gensler regarding the Financial Data Transparency Act, which requires governments to tag their financial information using a machine-readable format.
In the letter, the collective organizations, including NGA, request the opportunity to provide a municipal securities issuers and financial reporting briefing, engage in ongoing dialogue and participate in industry working groups to prevent unnecessary confusion, burdens and costs for members upon implementation.
Senate Appropriators Release Guidance on FY 2024 Earmarks
The Senate Appropriations Committee released its guidance for earmarks, setting deadlines for late March and early April. Earmarks will remain capped at 1 percent of total discretionary spending. Subcommittee deadlines and eligible agencies and accounts can be found here.
House Appropriators Release Guidance on FY 2024 Earmarks
The House Appropriations Committee released guidelines for requesting earmarks in annual spending bills this year. The total funding that can go to earmarks across fiscal 2024 funding bills will be capped at .5 percent of discretionary spending, down from the one percent that House Democrats established in 2021.
White House Releases National Cyber Strategy
The National Cyber Strategy has been released by the White House. Put together by the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONDI), it is the first new cyber strategy in five years and serves as a roadmap for setting out the Biden Administration’s goals for securing the nation in cyberspace.
A Fact Sheet provides an overview of the strategy.
Center for Best Practices – Vice Chair’s Corner
NGA’s Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox leads the Center for Best Practices.
NGA Welcomes Ten States to the Children and Families Core Advisory Board
The National Governors Association announced its new Children and Families Core Advisory Board (CAB) members for 2023.
Each year, a small group of Governors’ human services policy advisors and agency leaders are selected to provide critical input and feedback on the structure and content of the NGA Center’s work with the states on human services and early childhood education and care issues.
The CAB will support NGA in staying abreast of the most pressing issues affecting states, afford NGA with up-to-date perspectives on Governors’ priorities and provide state leaders with an opportunity to give input on the content of meetings and materials offered by the Children and Families team.
The following states are represented on the CAB: Hawai‘i, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah.
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 Paper on State Approaches to Equitable Distributed Energy Resource Deployment
NGA released the new publication State Approaches To Equitable Distributed Energy Resource Deployment.
In 2022, NGA hosted an expert’s roundtable with the National Association of State Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) focused on energy equity issues.
The paper details some of the discussions and examples from this expert’s roundtable on ways for Governors to advance equitable access to distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar, wind, battery storage, energy efficiency and other projects.
NGA Releases Publication on Affordable Housing
NGA has been highlighting Governors’ 2023 State of the State addresses, focusing on policy initiatives that illustrate bipartisan solutions to many of the challenges impacting states.
As part of this initiative, NGA has released the publication Governors Focus on Affordable Housing to help amplify work Governors are leading to address states’ housing challenges as well as the details Governors outlined in State of the State addresses about efforts to increase housing availability and improve affordability.
NGA Releases Commentary on Expanding Child Care
NGA’s new publication Expanding Child Care for Student Parents and Training Pathways for Early Childhood Educators offers insights into a virtual action lab the NGA Center held in partnership with Education Strategy Group regarding expanding access to and affordability of childcare for student parents and the development of quality training pathways for early childhood educators.
Updated NGA Infrastructure Resource Page
NGA has updated its Infrastructure Resource page to provide Governors’ offices the latest information about a number of infrastructure related initiatives, including work states are doing to implement infrastructure measures enacted through recent federal legislation.
Resources include information on: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) implementation, CHIPS and Science Act implementation, the Inflation Reduction Act, broadband, electric vehicles and more.
NGA Releases Paper on Strategies to Address the Needs of Juveniles Impacted by Collateral Consequences
NGA released the new publication State Strategies to Address the Needs of Justice-Involved Youth Impacted by Collateral Consequences.
In 2022, NGA conducted a series of learning calls and hosted a virtual roundtable titled “Strategies to Address the Needs of Juveniles Impacted by Collateral Consequences” to better understand the range of consequences youth may face as a result of interaction with the juvenile justice system.
The paper details the discussions and conclusions reached about the impact of these consequences on both youth and their families. The paper includes policy strategies for reducing collateral consequences and considerations for Governors’ offices and state administrative agencies when implementing these policies.
NGA Releases Publication on COVID-19 Vaccines
NGA released the publication Messaging In A Bottle: Evaluating Behavioral Insights to Build Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence to detail work related to COVID-19 vaccines and children.
The paper explores work NGA conducted with the Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) to help Governors’ offices and state leaders develop effective COVID-19 vaccine campaigns.
March 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.
Top Row (L to R): Missouri Governor Mike Parson takes part in a Super Bowl celebration; Washington Governor Jay Inslee presents an award to recognize a Washington resident’s public service; Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders meets with school children
Middle Row (L to R): New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham receives the Visionary New Mexico Award; Colorado Governor Jared Polis participates in a Black History Month event; Montana Governor Greg Gianforte reads with school children
Bottom Row (L to R): North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum meets with scouts; Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero, American Samoa Governor Lemanu P. S. Mauga and Northern Mariana Islands Governor Arnold Palacios meet in Washington, D.C.; New York Governor Kathy Hochul celebrates the Lunar New Year in Flushing, Queens
