NCSL Podcasts

Latest Episodes:

States and the Deployment of New Electric Transmission Lines | OAS Episode 204 Feb 18, 2024

Show notes

A key part of modernizing the nation’s electric grid involves adding long-distance transmission lines, the power lines that carry electricity over hundreds of miles.

To better understand this critical part of the electrical infrastructure, we sat down with Melissa Birchard, a senior adviser in the Grid Deployment Office of the U.S. Department of Energy. The office was created in 2022 to work on a variety of issues related to the electrical grid and, in particular, integrating power from new renewable energy projects.

Melissa talked about some of the issues involved particularly in the planning and siting of transmission lines. She explained the need for new transmission lines to bring renewable energy from remote areas of the country to the cities and towns where it’s needed.

Our other guest is Alex McWard from NCSL, who tracks legislation related to the state role in transmission line planning and siting. He discussed the role of state legislatures in transmission projects and in working with other states on regional projects.

Resources

Exploring Federalism | OAS Episode 203 Feb 04, 2024

Show notes

Federalism is the foundational structure of our nation’s government. The dynamic sharing of power among federal, state and local governments is the key to understanding American governance in the view our guest on this podcast, Don Kettl, professor emeritus and the former dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an expert on federalism.

Kettl, who is the author of more than two dozen books and also writes a monthly column for Governing, joined the podcast to discuss the current state of power sharing between the state and federal governments. He explained why he thinks states increasingly are the center of domestic policymaking, talked about the power relationship between legislatures and governors, and how he expects the balance of federalism to shift in the coming decades.

Texas Senator Breaks Records in Bipartisan Style | Episode 12 Jan 28, 2024

Show notes

Texas Senator Judith Zaffirini has broken state records by a long shot. She has cast more than 72-thousand consecutive votes. She has had a perfect attendance record—except that one time she skipped on purpose to make a point. She has passed 1,388 bills—more than any other legislator in Texas history. All with bipartisan support—no matter who was in the majority. After becoming the first Hispanic woman elected to the Senate in 1986, the Democrat will become Dean of the Senate as the most senior member this session.

Exploring Innovative Paths to Pay for College | OAS Episode 202 Jan 21, 2024

Show notes

Paying for college and other post-secondary education continues to be a challenge for many. Already, 44 million Americans owe more than $1.7 trillion in student loan balances. At the same time, there's strong evidence that lifetime earnings increase for those who attend and complete college or other post-secondary education.

The guests for this podcast are Ethan Pollack , a senior director at Jobs for the Future, a national nonprofit aimed at expanding economic opportunity, and Andrew Smalley, an education policy expert at NCSL.

Pollack discussed a number of innovative financing strategies involving philanthropic organizations, employers, government and financial institutions that offer the promise of helping students pay for their education at a lower cost. And in some instances that better scale the cost to the potential earnings of the graduate.

Smalley explained the steps states are taking to help facilitate these innovative approaches and also broke down what most students and families pay for post-secondary education.

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A 2024 Legislative Preview | OAS Episode 201 Jan 07, 2024

Show notes

Tim Storey, NCSL’s CEO, joined the podcast to discuss the year ahead in legislatures and what we can expect in policy and politics in 2024.

Storey said most state budgets will start the year in excellent shape, though legislators will continue to cast a cautious eye on economic conditions. He also pointed out that it’s important to keep in mind that 2024 is an election year and that tends to influence what happens in legislatures, including what is often a somewhat less active legislative agenda than you usually see in the first half of a two-year session.

Storey expects concerns about technology, especially artificial intelligence, to be high on the priority list. Housing challenges and the fentanyl overdose crisis are also likely to get a great deal of attention in most legislatures. At least some legislatures also are likely to look at legislation affecting migrants, especially in light of inaction at the federal level. And, of course, education and health care, two big budget items for states, also will get considerable attention.

Resources

Special Report: A Look at 2024’s Trending Legislative Topics

Getting Ready for Primary Season | OAS Episode 200 Dec 17, 2023

Show notes

While many voters may think of primaries as the warmup act for the general election, many races in this country at the local, state and federal level are decided by primaries. By some estimates, fewer than 40 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are actually competitive between the parties. In most districts, whoever wins the primary in the dominant party wins the general election.

The 2024 primaries are right around the corner so on this podcast, we sat down with Ben Williams, an elections expert at NCSL, to talk about the different types of primaries and why primaries are so important. Williams explained the different approaches states take to the primary system and some of the election history that brought us to this system we now use. He also discussed NCSL’s recent publication, “The State’s Primary Toolkit,” that includes extensive background information on primaries’ changes in states since 2000 and a great deal more.

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State Primaries Toolkit

Remote Work and State Tax Systems | OAS Episode 199 Dec 03, 2023

Show notes

The popularity of remote work soared during the pandemic, but only for those is some jobs, particularly tech focused or computer-based jobs. While exact figures are not available, some estimates are that more than 25% of the workforce still is working remotely or in a hybrid arrangement, where employees spend some time in the office and some working remotely. That’s a decline from the pandemic but still a significant portion of the workforce.

On this episode, we explore the tax ramifications for states of remote work. We’re joined by Charlie Kearns, a tax attorney, and James Privette, until recently a legislative specialist in NCSL’s Washington, D.C., office.

They discussed how remote work affects personal income taxes and business taxes, and how states are responding to the changing landscape. They also had suggestions for learning more about the issue.

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NCSL Legislator Police Academy Sparks Bipartisanship | ATA Ep. 11 Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

NCSL’s yearlong Legislator Police Academy brought together lawmakers from very different backgrounds to work across the aisle and across the country on policy topics related to police accountability. In this episode, we learn how the legislators put aside seemingly insurmountable differences and, with patience and constructive conversation, discovered plenty of common ground.

Emergency Medicine in Rural America | OAS Episode 198 Nov 19, 2023

Show notes

Emergency medical services face significant challenges in rural America. Just one is the time it takes to summon an ambulance. While most people living in urban and suburban areas expect an ambulance to show up within minutes of making a 911 call, the situation is very different for about 4.5 million Americans who live in ambulance deserts, according to a nation study conducted by Maine Rural Health Research Center and the Rural Health Research & Policy Centers. Those folks can expect to wait 25 minutes or more for emergency services to arrive.

We sat down with two experts on the subject -- Dia Gainor, executive director of National Association of State EMS Officials, and Davis Patterson, director of the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center at University of Washington—to discuss that and other challenges to EMS in rural areas. Other issues they discussed included the severe workforce challenges in staffing rural EMS services, the role of legislatures in addressing rural EMS needs and the promise of community paramedicine in addressing both emergency and nonemergency care in rural areas.

RESOURCES

Ambulance Deserts: Addressing Geographic Disparities in the Provision of Ambulance Services, Rural Health Research Gateway (May 2023)
Beyond 911: Expanding the Primary Care Role of First Responders through Community Paramedicine
Community Paramedicine: Connecting Patients to Care and Reducing Costs
EMS Legislative Database
The EMS and Community Paramedic Workforces Respond to COVID-19, WWAMI Rural Health Research Center (June 2023)
The National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials
State Actions To Address EMS Workforce Shortages
You might need an ambulance, but your state may not see it as ‘essential,’ Stateline (September 2023)
WWAMI Rural Health Research Center

Understanding the Drivers of Health Care Costs | OAS Episode 197 Nov 05, 2023

Show notes

Health care costs in the U.S. over the last 20 years have grown faster than the cost of other goods and services. Commercial health care costs, which include about half the health care market, have grown faster than Medicaid and Medicare spending.

Our guest on this episode is Alyssa Vangeli, a senior consultant with Bailit Health, a consulting firm in Massachusetts where she works with states to provide health policy analysis and consulting around the commercial health market. Vangeli explained what's driving the increase in costs, which segments of the health care economy are seeing the greatest cost increases, and the efforts by the federal and state governments to better understand the cost drivers and try to contain them. She also offered examples of what different states are doing and the success of those efforts.

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