01:00 AM EST on Friday, December 3, 2010
PROVIDENCE — More than 500 state government officials and experts will meet at the Rhode Island Convention Center for the Council of State Governments national conference this weekend.David Gergen, a senior political analyst for CNN who was a White House adviser to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, and Gwen Ifill, managing editor of PBS’ Washington Week, will headline the conference, which is being held from Friday through Monday.
Governors, legislators, justices, appointed officials and agency directors, as well as other public-policy experts from 36 states, 3 U.S. territories and 3 Canadian provinces, are expected to attend, according to Jo Brosius, communications director for the Council of State Governments.
The 77-year-old Kentucky-based organization provides policy analysis and tracks national issues for all three branches of state government (executive, legislative and judicial).
The four-day event is expected to bring a boost of $750,000 to $1 million to the state and the city’s hospitality, restaurant and tourism industries, according to state Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed.
“This event brings the best and brightest minds to the city of Providence and will showcase our state on a national level,” House Speaker Gordon D. Fox said.
About 50 state lawmakers are registered to attend the event, according to Brosius. Governor Carcieri will give welcoming remarks on Saturday morning and participate in a panel discussion on Sunday. Governor-elect Lincoln D. Chafee declined to attend, according to a spokesman.
A major focus of the conference will be the impact of national health-care reform.
One session, for example, will discuss the health-insurance exchanges that are due to launch in every state by January 2014. Outgoing Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican, will be among a panel discussing the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama earlier this year.
Another focus of the conference will be what’s ahead for state governments next year in key policy areas such as education, transportation, energy and the economy. Conference attendees will enjoy several other activities scheduled during the busy weekend, including the Rhode Island School of Design’s alumni holiday art sale, tours of Newport and Providence and a performance of “A Christmas Carol” by the Trinity Repertory Company.
They’ll also attend a reception at the State House on Saturday, take in a special “WaterFire” on Sunday and tour the ChemArt Company, the Lincoln-based manufacturer of custom brass ornaments and keepsakes, including the official White House Christmas ornaments, on Monday.
The conference has reserved rooms at the Providence Biltmore and the Westin Providence, but no conference-related meetings or events will take place at the Westin, where hotel ownership and the hotel workers’ union are embroiled in a labor dispute.
pmarcelo@projo.com