The Council of State Governments Spring Meeting

State governors, legislators, state officials and representatives of other CSG affiliated organizations met in Lake Tahoe June 5 - 8 for the Council of State Governments (CSG) 2005 Spring National Committee and Task Force Meeting. American Nurses Association (ANA) staff also participated in the meeting which brought together participants from all over the county to share ideas for developing policy resolutions for problems common in their states.

ANA has a seat on the Health Task Force whose members include legislators and state officials from all over the country as well as members of professional organizations and public and private companies. The number of nurses on the Health Task Force is growing. In addition to ANA staff, other registered nurses include Rep. Jean Hunhoff, South Dakota, Rep. Kathy Miles, South Dakota, and Rep. Marilyn Lee, Hawaii. All are members of ANA.

The work of the Task Force included the passage of the following four resolutions: Resolutions

• Resolution on Methamphetamine Use: This resolution identifies the epidemic of methamphetamine abuse and supports the need for a comprehensive, multifaceted approach and solution.
• Resolution on Sudden Infant Death: CSG encourages state legislators and other elected officials to support the standardization of data collection related to cause-of-death data making it easier to monitor trends in infant death and conduct research that could lead to strategies to prevent and reduce unexplained, sudden infant deaths.
• Resolution on Obesity Prevention: Obesity is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the United States and a major cause of mortality. CSG urges the President, Congress, state legislatures and others to make the prevention and treatment of obesity a national priority.
• Resolution on Comprehensive Cancer Control: The comprehensive approach to cancer control is an emerging strategy that seeks to ensure that all of a state's cancer fighting resources are coordinated instead of focusing on a particular type of cancer alone.

The Task Force members also reviewed innovative legislation and made recommendations to the CSG Committee on Suggested State Legislation for the rejection or inclusion of the legislation for the 2006 volume of Suggested State Legislation. State legislators often take ideas from this volume and use it as a basis for future state legislation. ANA staff was concerned about legislation that develops a scope of practice for genetic counseling that could negatively impact the nurses who practice genetic counseling. The Task Force voted to reject the legislation from being included in the volume.

CSG also released a new report that outlines the major long-term trends shaping our society and their implications for state governments. Trends in America: Charting the Course Ahead describes 10 major change drivers that will influence the direction of public policy in the next five years and beyond:

• Silver Society: Aging of America
• Immigrant Nation: Changing Face of America
• Growth Dynamics: Regional Hot Spots
• Economic Transformation: Knowledge is King
• Globalization Era: New Forces at Work
• Information Revolution: Sorting it Out
• Privacy and Security: Balancing Act
• Resource Management: sustaining Our Future
• Polarized Populace: Eroding common Ground
• Ambiguous Authority: Who's in Charge

Understanding these trends is important for nurses as they seek to influence public policy and provide essential health care to a changing population in a time of uncertainty and change.

Susan Whittaker, MSN, RN