Senate Concurrent Resolution 511

(As Adopted by Senate)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING LONGTIME NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES (NCSL) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BILL POUND ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AND COMMENDING HIS LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP.

WHEREAS, having led the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) for over 30 years, Executive Director William T. Pound has announced his plans to retire in 2019; and

WHEREAS, William Pound has been the Executive Director of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) since 1987. Mr. Pound has been with NCSL since its founding in 1975 and has been instrumental in the development of many of its innovative programs and services designed for legislators, legislative leaders, and legislative staff; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Pound has researched and written extensively on legislatures, the legislative process, and fiscal and public finance issues. He speaks to both national and international audiences on topics of state government fiscal conditions, public policy issues, and on the activities of state legislatures and federalism. He also taught Political Science at the University of Colorado, the University of Denver, and Colorado State University; and

WHEREAS, "I have found it very rewarding working with state legislatures and the elected officials and legislative staff who make them function and the quality people who have worked at NCSL over the years," Pound said. "State legislatures will face substantial challenges in years ahead, but their role in the federal system has grown stronger since NCSL was founded"; and

WHEREAS, Pound received his BA Degree in Political Science from the University of Denver, completed a U.S. Department of Interior Fellowship with Special Program, Water Resources Management, University of Wisconsin, and was a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Colorado; and

WHEREAS, NCSL was born when three prior organizations merged. During the 1960s, the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation took an interest in modernizing state legislatures, which were then backwater institutions with no hope of matching the power and expertise of governors and the executive branch. The foundations helped fund work by Rutgers University and the former Citizens Conference for State Legislatures that set the template for overhauls of legislatures around the country, including changes such as moving to annual sessions and creating nonpartisan staff positions for research and fiscal analysis; and

WHEREAS, NCSL started with a much smaller staff than it has now. It was a different era back then. As Pound notes, states were still enjoying revenue-sharing programs with the federal government. NCSL's work in Washington today is devoted largely to playing defense. "In recent years, it was more trying to prevent the federal government from doing things unless they find money. Protecting state role and authority is important." Pound says the majority of state-level bills still pass on a bipartisan basis; and

WHEREAS, NCSL remains a leading professional organization for clerks, sergeants-at-arm and other legislative staff. NCSL has stepped up its efforts at providing technical assistance and offering leadership training as well as testimony and expertise on legislation. Over the past three years, NCSL has averaged 100 in-state programs per year; and

WHEREAS, we pay tribute and cherish fondly a respected friend of the Mississippi Legislature who leaves a legacy of achievement in finding ways for legislators and staff to work together:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize the longtime National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Executive Director Bill Pound on the occasion of his retirement and commend his legacy of leadership.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be transmitted to Mr. Bill Pound and the Executive Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.