Here, on the eve of my term as Chair of the State and Local Government Law Section, I am excited about the opprortunities and challenges ahead. Let’s kick off the year together at our Fall CLE and Networking Conference in St. Paul, MN, on October 10–13. The Women in Criminal Justice Task Force will host listening sessions during the first day, and, as always, the Conference will include a wide-range of informative CLE offerings, some particularly appropriate for our location, such the impacts and contributions of refugee communities (using the Minnesota experience with refugee populations dating back to the 1970s as a focal point), and others appropriate for the timing, such as a panel on campaign finance ethics and enforcement (as we approach the 2020 election season). Given the range of natural disasters around the country the past year—everything from fires and droughts to hurricanes, tornadoes, and torrential rain—the panel on post-disaster recovery will provide information valuable to all of us, both in our professional and personal lives. Rounding out our panels for the Fall Conference will be programs on up-zoning and inclusionary zoning, and strategies for funding major infrastructure projects.
July 23, 2019 Feature
Chair’s Message
Martha H. Chumbler
Equally as important as the CLE offerings at the Fall Conference are opportunities for networking and the sharing of professional ideas resources, contacts, and good fellowship. As a bonus, we will have a private tour of Paisley Park, the Prince mansion and museum. Be sure to pack your favorite purple outfit.
We also have big plans for our Spring 2020 Conference in Tampa, Florida, on April 23–26. As with the prior two years, our Spring Conference will be held jointly with the Land Use Institute, with a full-day of land use programming and a second full day (perhaps a day and a half) of panels focusing on other areas of state and local government law. Already in the planning stages are panels on public schools, student social media activity, and the First Amendment; cybersecurity; and government transparency. Plans are also being made for a tour of Ybor City, once known as the Cigar Capital of the World and the home of a large Spanish and Cuban immigrant population dating back to the late 19th century and now the site of shops, restaurants and a bustling night life.
While not offering as many programs, we will also be involved at both the ABA Midyear Meeting in Austin, Texas in February 2020—where we plan to partner with the Section on Civil and Social Justice on a program on population-based gerrymandering—and the Annual Meeting in Chicago in August 2020, which undoubtably will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment’s full ratification.
I encourage you all to attend at least one—if not all—of these live meetings. While we try to repackage our live CLE offerings for later broadcast, the opportunity to ask questions and engage with the experts on panels can never be the same as it is when you are physically present with the speakers. In addition, our live meetings provide attendees a chance to “try out” the Section’s various substantive and programming committees. And, perhaps most importantly, attending a live meeting offers the opportunity to become acquainted with other Section members. I think you’ll find them to be interesting and fun people to be around.
We know, however, that busy schedules and budgetary constraints make attendance at live meetings difficult, so we offer frequent webinars, some addressing topics that were covered during live meetings. Plans are also underway to enhance opportunities for members of substantive committees to share information and ideas. (Hint: if you haven’t joined a committee, you should. If you’ve only joined one committee, consider joining another.) We will also continue to provide scholarly articles relevant to state and local government law in the Urban Lawyer and in this newsletter.
With the rollout of the ABA’s new membership model, which, in part, seeks to enchance the value of ABA membership by providing more free content, we are tasked with ensuring that membership in our Section offers such value that we not only retain our current members throughout their careers but also attract new members at every career stage. Stay tuned for much more to come on how that will benefit you in the coming year. As always, you are invited to get involved. Write for Section publications, present at a live conference or a webinar, join a substantive committee, or become a Section leader. Just raise your hand. We’ll find a place for you. Send us your comments or questions and let us know how we can serve you better by emailing us at [email protected].