Chair's Message By Richard Hill Thanks to the many policy changes taking place in Washington, D.C., state and local government law issues are hot topics in the nation's press. As our Section begins a new year, we will continue to provide leadership and educational resources in urban, state, and local government law and policy. Our focus in 1995-96 will be to provide opportunities for members to participate meaningfully in the national debate and to improve the quality and effectiveness of state and local government law practice. Section Committee Initiatives Our Section committees will pursue a number of initiatives in the coming year. The Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee (Brad White, Chair) is addressing the surge of federal and state takings legislation that threatens to impose significant limitations on traditional zoning and land-use powers of local government. The Committee will assist in the public debate by proposing a better balance between the rights of private property owners and the obligation of the state and local governments to assist in protecting the quality of life and public benefits that land-use regulations seek to guarantee. The Committee plans to work with other ABA sections to propose an ABA policy on the subject. The Public Finance Committee (Bob Baker, Chair), along with other Section committees, is focusing on the controversial "pay to play" issue, dealing with the ethical challenges and likely upcoming regulatory restrictions on contributions to candidates for political office by lawyers who do business with municipalities. The Committee will sponsor a CLE program on the subject at the upcoming Spring Section Meeting in Cancun. The Government Operations Committee (Mary Massaron Ross, Chair) will initiate a review of the recent U.S. Supreme Court affirmative action decisions as they affect state and local government, with the goal of assisting governmental clients in complying with the new rules, and improving the tone of the national debate on affirmative action by redirecting it to the true policy issues at question. Anyone interested in assisting the Section in addressing these important issues is encouraged to do so. Please contact the appropriate committee chair or one of our Section's excellent staff, Jackie Baker or Sharon Tindall, and they will see that you are immediately put in contact with the appropriate committee chair. Disaster Video From the Caribbean to Oklahoma City, natural and human-initiated disasters continue to challenge the resources of state and local governments. I am pleased to report that the Section has completed a video and written materials presentation entitled Coping With Chaos: Disaster Planning. The video consists of the August 1994 Annual Meeting CLE program on disaster planning. Written materials include very practical "how to" models for short form contracts, emergency ordinances, board resolutions, and other matters. The package is available to all of our members at a reasonable price. The Section hopes to build on the success of this package to provide ongoing assistance to state and local governments dealing with disasters. If you would like to volunteer in this effort, please call us. Cancun Section Meeting: April 18-21, 1996 We are excited to hold our Section meeting this spring in Cancun, Mexico. All Section members are invited to attend this meeting on April 18-21, 1996. We will have CLE programs including the ethics of the "pay to play" controversy, land-use hot topics, and a program on impact fees. We will have social events, including a Section reception, and various committee and Council meetings. This is a great opportunity to make new friends and professional contacts, and re-establish old ties with experts in the field. We have obtained very favorable room rates. Feel free to bring your spouse, friend, or family. We look forward to seeing you there. Long-Range Planning We will conduct a long-range planning session at our Council Meeting in October. The Section last reviewed its mission statement and goals five years ago. With the many changes and challenges that have taken place since then, the Section has decided to conduct new planning to insure that its mission is clear, its goals respond to the needs of its members, and that it implements those goals. Carol Dinkins, past Section Chair and current Section Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates, will oversee revisions to the plan. We benefit tremendously from your input into the plan. Please let us know what we are doing that meets your needs and how we can improve our service to you. Please let us know also how we can make it easier for Section members to participate in and benefit from Section activities. Section Books Are Best-Sellers We have recently published exciting new state and local government law books and look forward to a year of new books on the horizon. Books recently published include The ABCs of Arbitrage, Public Employee Privacy, and Exactions and Impact Fees. Sholem Friedman, our Section's Communications Director, who is ably assisted by Publications Director Tom Roberts, reports that a book sure to be a best-seller, After Lucas: Land Use Regulation and the Taking of Property, will be published in the near future. Numerous other books are in the drafting stages. Our Publications Director is constantly looking to our Section members for ideas for new books. If you have an idea for a book which you would like to have the Section consider, please don't hesitate to contact Tom Roberts directly. Membership Task Force Last spring, then-Chair Jim Baird created a Membership Task Force to identify and implement an action plan to increase Section membership through outreach and improved Section activities. In connection with that program, we will be preparing a membership survey asking you for your advice and counsel. Please make an effort, when you receive the survey, to take a few minutes to complete it and return it to us. It will help us serve you better. I look forward to seeing you all in Cancun. If you have any questions or suggestions about the Section, please feel free to call me directly. I look forward to working with all of you make the coming year a success. Richard Hill is Chair of the Section and practices law in Seattle, Washington, with Foster Pepper & Shefelman.