Membership Monthly – October 2024

Pictured Above: North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster

NGA held its annual fall networking reception, bringing together Governors' staff members with NGA partners and other business, philanthropic and government leaders. NGA thanks the team at Schneider Electric for hosting the event.

NGA has partnered with the military and veteran family support organization Blue Star Families to announce the launch of the initiative "Do Your Part: State Leadership to Support Military Families."

Maryland Governor Wes Moore participated in an event Blue Star Families hosted to announce the partnership. At the event, Governor Moore was named the first Governor to serve as an honorary chair of this work.

Through the collaboration, NGA and Blue Star Families will develop a toolkit designed to help states and territories identify, prioritize and implement the most effective policies and programs to support military families, providing a clear path to help enhance the well-being of military communities across the country, recognizing community support for military families is crucial to military recruitment, retention and readiness.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs recently issued an executive order designed to coordinate the state's workforce development strategy. Following this announcement, NGA released a new publication regarding the three Governors who, to date, have taken "executive action that addresses the lack of a legislated role and dedicated funding for workforce development across IIJA, CHIPS, and IRA." Read more here.

NGA held a meeting for Governors' staff members on AI Strategies. A number of private and public sector experts participated in the meeting that included discussions on the key enablers required to capture the value of GenAI. Read NGA's publication "Governors Leading on Artificial Intelligence" to learn more about the work Governors are doing to mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits related to AI.

NGA and the National Association of State Energy Officials are conducting a series of webinars on various aspects of the comprehensive state energy planning process. Watch the latest webinar, "Communicating and Implementing the Comprehensive Energy Plan," here.

NGA recently welcomed Governors' advisors and policy leaders from 32 states and five territories to the annual Health and Human Services Policy Advisors Institute. The event featured presentations from several Governors' offices, including the offices of Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. An overview of the meeting can be found here.

National Youth Justice Action Month is observed each October. NGA's new publication "Recognizing National Youth Justice Action Month" provides an overview of some of the work Governors' offices and states have taken to implement programs and initiatives to help promote successful outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system. Read the publication here.

Governors and their teams are responding to a rapid rise in syphilis and congenital syphilis cases. NGA is working to support states and territories in implementing a "syndemic" approach to this and other infectious diseases, recognizing that these outbreaks are intertwined with substance use. NGA's new publication "State Syndemic Approaches and Congenital Syphilis" provides more information and resources Governors' offices can use to lend to this work.

NGA launched Skills in the States to support 23 states and territories in implementing skills-based hiring and talent management initiatives in the public sector. NGA's new publication "Insights and Opportunities on Public Sector Skills Based Strategy Efforts" provides an overview of some of the ways states are adopting best practices around skills-based hiring. Learn more about skills-based hiring in the public sector here.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott spoke to the Governors' legal counsel who met in Burlington last month to attend NGA's 2024 Governors' Legal Counsel Convening. Meeting topics of discussion included: harnessing executive authorities, strengthening counsel operations, and ethics and compliance. A summary of the meeting can be found here.