By Benita M. Dodd
One of the greatest compliments paid to the Georgia Public Policy Foundation after the first Georgia Legislative Policy Briefing last year came from a representative of the think tank trailblazer in educating policy-makers: the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Marc Levin, panelist in a criminal justice session that highlighted the progress in his home state of Texas, declared Georgia’s foray an “incredible conference!”
“We’ve been doing this for eight years in Texas and I can’t believe this was your first one,” said Levin, whose Texas policy group’s two-day legislative policy briefings draw more than 600 participants annually. Specifically, Levin was impressed at how many of Georgia’s legislators attended: “We have to put them on panels in order to get them to come!”
This year, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s second annual Legislative Policy Briefing promises even greater depth than the first, which drew more than 250 attendees. Co-hosted once again by the Conservative Policy Leadership Institute, the daylong event on Friday, September 30 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre will feature sessions on tax reform, digital education, criminal justice, tort reform, transportation and health care.
The bipartisan panels in the day’s five sessions draw from the business world, academia, national think tanks and leaders in the medical and education field. In keeping with the theme of “Wisdom, Justice and Innovation,” these state and national experts will bring new ideas to Georgia legislators and re-energized voters as the 2012 General Assembly approaches.
Keynote speakers are Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Atlanta-based Home Depot; John Goodman, president and founder of the National Center for Policy Analysis, who is known as the father of Health Savings Accounts; and entrepreneur Lee Hicks, founder and CEO of Georgia-based C Port Solutions. Hicks will tell policy-makers and legislators how to stop the bleeding as Georgia loses jobs with three-quarters of its start-up companies leaving the state.
Georgia Rep. Lynne Riley (R-Johns Creek), who attended the inaugural event last year, said participants were provided with “fully researched, fact-based information that is the basis of sound policy.”
“We benefited enormously as experts in multiple areas shared their insights on the best courses of action to implement while holding government in check,” Riley added. “The event is definitely on my schedule again this year.”
North Georgia radio talk show host Al Gainey of W-DUN Newstalk 550, who interviewed speakers and panelists before and during last year’s event, will again be interviewing speakers to spread the message to Georgians. Gainey said the briefing attracts both voters and elected officials because, “If Georgians are to hold their legislators accountable, they need to be armed with the facts and ideas, too.”
“Last year’s speakers initiated the conversation on innovation in Georgia’s struggling economic climate,” said Kelly McCutchen, president and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
“This year, we look forward to furthering that conversation with commonsense proposals that can be built into legislation based upon the foundation of limited government. And the depth and knowledge among our speakers this year promises to provide that.”
The cost to attend this year’s event is $100, which includes breakfast and lunch. The event is open to the public. Find out more about the 2011 Georgia Legislative Policy Briefing at http://tinyurl.com/3mhvam2.
Benita M. Dodd is vice president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, an independent think tank that proposes practical, market-oriented approaches to public policy to improve the lives of Georgians. Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before the U.S. Congress or the Georgia Legislature.
© Georgia Public Policy Foundation (September 16, 2011). Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided the author and her affiliations are cited.
By Benita M. Dodd
One of the greatest compliments paid to the Georgia Public Policy Foundation after the first Georgia Legislative Policy Briefing last year came from a representative of the think tank trailblazer in educating policy-makers: the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Marc Levin, panelist in a criminal justice session that highlighted the progress in his home state of Texas, declared Georgia’s foray an “incredible conference!”
“We’ve been doing this for eight years in Texas and I can’t believe this was your first one,” said Levin, whose Texas policy group’s two-day legislative policy briefings draw more than 600 participants annually. Specifically, Levin was impressed at how many of Georgia’s legislators attended: “We have to put them on panels in order to get them to come!”
This year, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s second annual Legislative Policy Briefing promises even greater depth than the first, which drew more than 250 attendees. Co-hosted once again by the Conservative Policy Leadership Institute, the daylong event on Friday, September 30 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre will feature sessions on tax reform, digital education, criminal justice, tort reform, transportation and health care.
The bipartisan panels in the day’s five sessions draw from the business world, academia, national think tanks and leaders in the medical and education field. In keeping with the theme of “Wisdom, Justice and Innovation,” these state and national experts will bring new ideas to Georgia legislators and re-energized voters as the 2012 General Assembly approaches.
Keynote speakers are Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Atlanta-based Home Depot; John Goodman, president and founder of the National Center for Policy Analysis, who is known as the father of Health Savings Accounts; and entrepreneur Lee Hicks, founder and CEO of Georgia-based C Port Solutions. Hicks will tell policy-makers and legislators how to stop the bleeding as Georgia loses jobs with three-quarters of its start-up companies leaving the state.
Georgia Rep. Lynne Riley (R-Johns Creek), who attended the inaugural event last year, said participants were provided with “fully researched, fact-based information that is the basis of sound policy.”
“We benefited enormously as experts in multiple areas shared their insights on the best courses of action to implement while holding government in check,” Riley added. “The event is definitely on my schedule again this year.”
North Georgia radio talk show host Al Gainey of W-DUN Newstalk 550, who interviewed speakers and panelists before and during last year’s event, will again be interviewing speakers to spread the message to Georgians. Gainey said the briefing attracts both voters and elected officials because, “If Georgians are to hold their legislators accountable, they need to be armed with the facts and ideas, too.”
“Last year’s speakers initiated the conversation on innovation in Georgia’s struggling economic climate,” said Kelly McCutchen, president and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
“This year, we look forward to furthering that conversation with commonsense proposals that can be built into legislation based upon the foundation of limited government. And the depth and knowledge among our speakers this year promises to provide that.”
The cost to attend this year’s event is $100, which includes breakfast and lunch. The event is open to the public. Find out more about the 2011 Georgia Legislative Policy Briefing at http://tinyurl.com/3mhvam2.
Benita M. Dodd is vice president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, an independent think tank that proposes practical, market-oriented approaches to public policy to improve the lives of Georgians. Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before the U.S. Congress or the Georgia Legislature.
© Georgia Public Policy Foundation (September 16, 2011). Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided the author and her affiliations are cited.
