Topics, Presenters, and Resources
Legislative Leadership Program's
December 2000 Policy Session

U.S. Population Trends and Michigan Demographics
Presentation and follow up discussion of our nation's changing demographics and impact on Michigan and its public policies in general. Education and child care, health care and health habits, business development and job training, land use and planning are topics addressed in this session.

Harold Hodgkinson, Director, Center for Demographic Policy, Wash, DC

Michigan's Political Culture
Former legislative members and academic leaders provide discussion of the political setting in which the Michigan Legislature operates. This is an informative and thought-provoking session that will provide observation of how the role of the legislature has evolved, what the current legislature's relationship is to other institutions of government, and the direction the "newly elected" may take the legislative role.

Lynn Jondahl, Co-director, MSU Michigan Political Leadership Program and Executive Director of Michigan Prospect for Renewed Citizenship, Former State House Representative/Gubernatorial Candidate
Dennis O. Cawthorne, President, Cawthorne, McCollough and Cavanaugh, Former State Representative
William P. Browne, Professor, Central Michigan University
Bobby D. Crim, Former Representative and Speaker of the House of Representatives
John W. Fitzgerald, Professor, Cooley Law School and Former Chief Justice, Michigan State Supreme Court
Lana Pollack, President, Michigan Environmental Council, and Former State Senator

Working collaboratively in the heat of the policy debate
This session focuses on working collaboratively AND working effectively toward a positive end with those who have a different perspective than your own.

Paul Hillegonds, President of Detroit Renaissance, and Former State House Representative

The Financial Partnership Between Federal, State, and Local Government
Discussion in this session addressed such topics as sources of state revenue and the patterns for expenditures; trends in state finance; changing relations between state, federal and local levels of government; and how the funding of public education evolved in Michigan.

Lynn Harvey, Professor and Extension specialist, MSU Department of Agricultural Economics
Robert Kleine, Vice President and Senior Economist, Public Sector Consultants

Policy Research and Citizen Surveys
Much of the information policy makers need to understand the nature of particular problems faced by Michigan's citizens is available through social surveys. This presentation focuses on the characteristics of rigorous policy-related surveys. The valuable features of policy-relevant surveys will be illustrated with a number of findings from the State of the State Survey (SOSS). Plans for increasing the power and utility of SOSS for monitoring conditions in Michigan and increasing the accessibility of SOSS data and findings to policy-makers are presented.

Amy J. Baumer, Director of Policy Analysis, IPPSR
Larry Hembroff, Senior Survey Methodologist, IPPSR
AnnMarie Schneider, Director of Program Planning, IPPSR

Michigan's Natural Resources
Michigan's forests, wildlife, fisheries, water resources and related tourism contribute billions of dollars annually to the state. Maintaining the quality, quantity and availability of these assets is key to a vibrant economy and quality of life for Michigan citizens. What are the trends affecting natural resource management in the next decade? Can the economic contributions of natural resources be maintained while enhancing environmental quality? What essential policy decisions may face legislators regarding these issues during the next two years?

Dean R. Solomon, Extension Program Coordinator and Agent, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station
Michael J. Donahue, Executive Director, Great Lakes Commission
Daniel E. Keathley, Professor, MSU Department of Forestry
Charles M. Nelson, Professor, MSU Department of Park and Recreation Resources
R. Ben Peyton, Professor, MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Education
This session will address four key issues in Michigan's basic education system: school finance, accountability, teacher recruitment and teacher quality, and charter schools. Each presenter will focus on current policy questions, and limit his or her remarks to ten minutes to leave time for questions and discussion.

David N. Plank, Professor, MSU College of Education and Director of The Education Policy Center
Michael F. Addonizio, Associate Professor, Wayne State University
James N. Goenner, Director, Charter Schools Office, Central Michigan University
Suzanne M. Wilson, Director, Center for the Scholarship of Teaching, MSU College of Education

Health Care
Session panelists will highlight the issues associated with long-term care of the elderly in Michigan, a matter of concern for Michigan residents. Panelists will discuss issues of nursing homes, home health care, and assisted living. The major focus will be on current state policy in Michigan and innovative policy changes given demographic trends and activity in other states.

Andrew J. Hogan, Associate Professor, MSU College of Human Medicine
Ron Eggleston, Health Policy Consultant
Maureen Mickus, Assistant Professor, MSU Department of Psychiatry
John E. Peterson, Retired Director of Policy and Program Development at Michigan State Aging Office

Work Force Issues, Economic Development
This session will present a broad sweep of economic development practices and tools with an eye toward the implications and challenges for Michigan. Current practices in workforce development and Michigan's education and training effort will be presented. How these issues breakdown into community concerns and well being will lead to discussion of the challenges that Michigan faces.

Rex L. LaMore, Director, MSU Center for Urban Affairs Community and Economic Development Program
John Hanieski, Principal Partner, Economic Consulting, Inc.
Randall W. Eberts, Executive Director, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

The Devolution Initiative
Discussion of the complex shifting of responsibility and accountability from the federal government to the state governments with increasing transference to local governments

Patrick Babcock, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Land Use
This session will review current land use issues confronting Michigan. First, the current status of land resources in Michigan, as well as trends in land use will be reviewed. Next, the role of state and local governments in developing and implementing land use policy in Michigan will be described. Finally, a series of three specific land use issues will be discussed, each of which has received recent attention by the legislature. These issues include use value taxation of agricultural land, transfer of development rights as a farmland preservation tool, and redevelopment of brownfield areas.

Patricia E. Norris, Associate Professor and Extension Economist, MSU Departments of Agricultural Economics and Resource Development
June M. Thomas, Professor, MSU Urban and Regional Planning Program, MSU Extension
Richard Hula, Professor, MSU Political Science and Urban Affairs Programs
Patricia Machemer, Assistant Professor, MSU Landscape Architecture Program
William Rustem, Senior Vice President, Public Sector Consultants, Inc.
Mark A. Wyckoff, Planner, Zoning Specialist, and Founder of the Planning & Zoning Center, Inc.

Crime/Corrections
This session will present a synopsis of current issues facing policy makers and communities in the area of crime and corrections, and a presentation of the demographics of Michigan's prison population and the corrections budget. Among the issues discussed will be domestic violence, racial profiling, school safety and community policing, and privatization of correctional facilities and services.

Merry Morash, Professor and Director, MSU School of Criminal Justice
David L. Carter, Professor, MSU School of Criminal Justice and Director, National Center for Community Policing
Audrey Z. Martini, Director, Outreach, MSU School of Criminal Justice
Terrance H. Murphy, Michigan Department of Corrections
Michael D. Reisig, Assistant Professor, MSU School of Criminal Justice

For more information about the Legislative Leadership Program topics and resources or how to reach any of the people listed above, please contact AnnMarie Schneider, program Co-director, 517-355-6672, annmarie@msu.edu.