National Conference of State Legislatures at the Scottish Parliament

I learned of this event and my thanks to the Scottish Parliament for providing me with an overview of this event and a picture of the delegates.

Welcome from the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament

It is my pleasure to offer you a warm welcome to Scotland and to Edinburgh, our beautiful capital city.

As Presiding Officer, I am delighted that the Scottish Parliament has this opportunity to host the prestigious National Conference of State Legislatures – the first time NCSL has met outside of North America.

The Scottish Parliament is proud to be an affiliate member of the NCSL. As a relatively young legislature, the NCSL affords us a valuable opportunity to tap into the knowledge and experience of US legislators. Many of the issues that you will discuss over the next few days are extremely relevant to Scotland‘s parliamentarians too. Budget trends, the economy, energy and business: these are all issues that affect us all.

Scotland shares many significant links with the United States of America. Historically, at least nine Scots were signatories to the American Declaration of Independence, and eleven US Presidents have come from Scottish lineage. The number of American citizens who today claim Scottish ancestry is significantly larger than the population of Scotland itself.

I hope you enjoy your visit to Scotland and I wish you all an interesting and productive conference.
With best wishes,

Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP
Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament

The National Conference of State Legislatures 2013 meeting is opened by Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, the Right Honourable Tricia Marwick MSP and President of NCSL. Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Terie Norelli. This is the first time the NCSL have held their annual conference outside of the US. 10 July 2013. Pic - Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament.

Conference Handbook (pdf)
Includes biographies of the participants

Watch video of the official welcome (30 mins)

LIST OF DELEGATES AND NCSL STAFF

Name	Status	State	Position
Mike Hubbard	Delegate	Alabama	Speaker of the House
Charlie Huggins	Delegate	Alaska	Senate President
Lance Pruitt	Delegate	Alaska	House Majority Leader
Mike Chenault	Delegate	Alaska	Speaker of the House
Michael Lamoureux	Delegate	Arkansas	Senate President Pro Tempore
Bill Cadman	Delegate	Colorado	Senate Minority Leader
Dickey Hullinghorst	Delegate	Colorado	House Majority Leader
Casey Cagle	Delegate	Georgia	Lieutenant Governor
David Ralston	Delegate	Georgia	Speaker of the House
Don Balfour	Delegate	Georgia	State Senator
Donna Kim	Delegate	Hawaii	Senate President
Ronald Kouchi	Delegate	Hawaii	Senate Vice President
Brent Hill	Delegate	Idaho	Senate President Pro Tempore
Brandt Hershman	Delegate	Indiana	Senate Majority Floor Leader
Eric Turner	Delegate	Indiana	Speaker Pro Tempore of the House
Kraig Paulsen	Delegate	Iowa	Speaker of the House
Robert Stivers	Delegate	Kentucky	Senate President
Richard Moore	Delegate	Massachusetts	Senate President Pro Tempore
Stanley Rosenberg	Delegate	Massachusetts	Senate Majority Leader
Therese Murray	Delegate	Massachusetts	Senate President
Randy Richardville	Delegate	Michigan	Senate Majority Leader
Paul Thissen	Delegate	Minnesota	Speaker of the House
Sandra Pappas	Delegate	Minnesota	Senate President
Gregory Snowden	Delegate	Mississippi	House Speaker Pro Tempore
Philip Gunn	Delegate	Mississippi	Speaker of the House
Timothy Jones	Delegate	Missouri	Speaker of the House
Jeffrey Essmann	Delegate	Montana	Senate President
David Parks	Delegate	Nevada	Senate President Pro Tempore
Debbie Smith	Delegate	Nevada	Senate Assistant Majority Floor Leader
Marilyn Kirkpatrick	Delegate	Nevada	Speaker of the Assembly
Pat Hickey	Delegate	Nevada	Assembly Minority Floor Leader
Peter Bragdon	Delegate	New Hampshire	Senate President
Terie Norelli	Delegate	New Hampshire	Speaker of the House (also NCSL President)
Rick Miera	Delegate	New Mexico	House Majority Floor Leader
Al Carlson	Delegate	North Dakota	House Majority Leader
William Batchelder	Delegate	Ohio	Speaker of the House
Michael Jackson	Delegate	Oklahoma	Speaker Pro Tempore
Rob Johnson	Delegate	Oklahoma	Senate Majority Assistant Floor Leader
Scott Inman	Delegate	Oklahoma	House Minority Leader
Bruce Starr	Delegate	Oregon	State Senator
Ginny Burdick	Delegate	Oregon	Senate President Pro Tempore
Eduardo Bhatia	Delegate	Puerto Rico	Senate President
Jaime Perello-Borras	Delegate	Puerto Rico	Speaker of the House
Brian Gosch	Delegate	South Dakota	Speaker of the House
Beth Harwell	Delegate	Tennessee	Speaker of the House of Representatives
Mark Norris	Delegate	Tennessee	Senate Republican Leader
Leticia Van de Putte	Delegate	Texas	Senate President Pro Tempore
Curtis Bramble	Delegate	Utah	Senate President Pro Tempore
Rebecca Lockhart	Delegate	Utah	Speaker of the House
Shap Smith	Delegate	Vermont	Speaker of the House
Shawn-Michael Malone	Delegate	Virgin Islands	President of the Senate
Robin Vos	Delegate	Wisconsin	Speaker of the Assembly
Rosie Berger	Delegate	Wyoming	Speaker Pro Tempore of the House
Corina Eckl	NCSL Staff	Colorado	Director, State Services Division
Shannon McNamara	NCSL Staff	Colorado	Executive Division
Tim Storey	NCSL Staff	Colorado	Director, Leaders Services & Legislative Training
William Pound	NCSL Staff	Colorado	Executive Director
Kathy Brennan Wiggins	NCSL Staff	Washington, D.C.	Director, International Programs

I couldn't find any reports on how the conference went so if anyone reading this has any information would be happy to add it to this page.