January 8-13, 2012   Public Affairs Council Institute, Laguna, Calif.

January 19, 2012        NCSL Executive Committee Meeting, Kaiwah Island, South Carolina

January 30 – February 2, 2012      National Grassroots Conference, Miami, Florida

February 25 – February 27, 2012 NGA Winter Meeting, Washington, D.C.

February 27 – March 1, 2012        National PAC Conference, Orlando, Florida

If things are running slowly in your office this afternoon, don’t miss out on this fun photo slideshow from the National Conference of State Legislatures: “Holidays at state capitols around the country”

Here is their description on the NCSL website: “Legislative staffers from across the nation shared their capitol Christmas decorations with NCSL. You can view the entire slideshow in full screen mode on NCSL’s Flickr homepage.”

Photo of holiday ornament by Kris De Curtis on Wikipedia.

A post on NCSL’s The Thicket has a list of changes in top legislative staff positions. Even though it is not an election year, there has been an unusual number of replacements among the top staff in many states.

Among these top staffers is Tim Massanelli who is retiring after over 35 years of serving as Arkansas House Parliamentarian and Laura Clemens, clerk of the Ohio House, who has left that position to become director of government affairs for the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

See the full list here.

State and Federal Communications President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz is attending the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Fall Forum 2011 in Tampa, Florida.

The conference runs from November 30 until December 3, 2011.

November 9, 2011 WASRG Summit, Washington, D.C.

November 16, 2011 American League of Lobbyists Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.

November 19-22, 2011 SGAC Foundation Leaders’ Policy Conference, Miami, Florida

November 29-December 2, 2011 NCSL 2011 Fall Forum, Tampa, Florida

December 4-7, 2011 Council on Governmental Ethics Laws, Nashville, Tennessee

NCSL’s blog The Thicket at State Legislatures put up a post yesterday that discusses where legislators turn in order to get information to help them make public policy decisions.

The blog cites two sources of information and makes a comparison. The first source is a survey by NCSL, the Council of State Governments, and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation from 2002. The second source is a book called Power, Knowledge, and Politics: Policy Analysis in the States by John Hird from 2005.

The two surveys approached the question in different ways, but according to the blog post, they came up with the same rankings. Take a look at this chart, which summarizes it with bar graphs. Interest groups and lobbyists appear in eighth place on the list.

Elizabeth Bartz was elected president of the State Government Affairs Council (SGAC) at the annual Member Business Meeting and Luncheon held in San Antonio.

She succeeds departing president Joseph Crosby for the 2011-2012 term.

In addition to our congratulations, we would like to share a video of Elizabeth’s speech at the event, which was held during National Conference of State Legislature’s 2011 Legislative Summit in San Antonio Texas:

NCSL Late Night was hosted at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum. It was a packed house in the museum which offered an eclectic mix of Texas-centric wildlife hanging from the walls, as well as an optical illusion fun-house.

It was a night of “big fun.” After all, as they say, “Everything is bigger in Texas.”

Ohio Night was a big success. We had an amazing view of San Antonio’s Riverwalk from Biga on the Banks. A variety of Ohio-based businesses and firms enjoyed the opportunity to come together.

Here are some pictures from the event:

Today at the State Government Affairs Council (SGAC) annual Member Business Meeting and Luncheon held in San Antonio, Elizabeth Bartz was elected the organization’s president for 2011-2012.

Departing President Joseph Crosby was presented the Steuben Eagle by Elizabeth Bartz in recognition for his leadership and his past year of service.

We are working hard, meeting new people, and seeing old friends! Here are some pictures of the day:

For those of you who will be attending the NCSL Legislative Summit this coming week in San Antonio, you will have the chance to hear from the astronauts of NASA’s final space shuttle mission during Wednesday’s General Session.

These four extraordinary people have travelled millions of miles through space and certainly have plenty to share about their experiences in space.

Not many people get to hear first hand stories of experiences in space directly from an astronaut. Be one of the lucky few!

Have you made your reservation for NCSL Legislative Summit 2011? I hope so. State and Federal Communications, Inc. will be there in full strength and ready to meet you!

This is our (lucky) 13^th year attending this annual meeting of legislators and government affairs executives. The exhibit booth has been packed and is ready for the trek to San Antonio along with our computers, brochures, and our fabulous lanyards that we are resurrecting after a two-year hiatus.

This year we have six people from the company joining us. Stop by Booth 217 to see Nola Werren, John Chames, Ren Koozer, Rebecca South, Joe May, and yours truly!

Where else will you see us? Name it. We are attending the Women’s Legislative Network Executive Board meeting, Foundation for State Legislatures Board of Directors Meeting, Executive Meeting, Foundation events, and every event sponsored by State Government Affairs Council (SGAC). We will be all over San Antonio…And, you will be able to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and on our blog, www.lobbycomply.com. Joe May, our social media coordinator, is joining us this year to keep you up-to-date on the speakers (Jim Collins author of Good to Great is set to speak). Joe will also cover events and while we will miss the tour of the Alamo, we will attend the armadillo race. (Now, I assure you that is something we do not have in Akron, Ohio. Feel free to ask me about our Soap Box Derby.)

NCSL is not for the weak because we are up at the crack of dawn for a hearty breakfast and then off to meetings and booth duty. By Thursday night, we will all be ready for a fabulous dinner as we unwind from a busy week…And, thinking of what we will do in Chicago in 2012!