CPA events at the conference included a meeting for legislators who are part of the CPA Action Network — now numbering nearly 300; a State Issues Forum (SIF) workshop on steps to prevent violence in schools; panels on a women-led economic agenda and HIV prevention; and the State Issues Forum breakfast meeting where discussion by participants focused on policy issues to be acted on at the Annual Business Meeting.

Violence in schools was a critical concern for legislators across the country and the SIF Workshop on the topic drew a wide audience. Panelist Mary Sosa, of the National Education Association (NEA), noted the importance of encouraging students to talk to adults at school about potential signs of trouble they see among their peers, and offered suggestions to enable schools to recognize the warning signs of student violence. Participants and speakers agreed that parents and teachers need to work together to ensure that behavioral standards are enforced that will protect students.

A panel on HIV prevention in the states, co-sponsored by CPA, focused on how women legislators can take the lead in fighting the spread of this disease.

In a survey of the states released at the meeting, NCSL pronounced the fiscal health of the states to be strong and reported that state legislatures "dramatically lowered taxes for the fourth consecutive year as budget balances reach historic highs during fiscal 1998." The 42 states responding to the survey reported a net tax reduction of $3.8 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

SIF participants from the NEA, American Federation of Teachers, the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) focused on proposed resolutions involving Presidential `Fast Track" authority on trade legislation; application of minimum wage standards for participants in welfare-to-work programs; and application of E-Rate funds for telecommunications technology for schools and libraries. Ohio State Senator Linda Furney, a member of the Action Network steering committee, stressed the need to strengthen the E-Rate resolution. Florida State Representative Tony Hill, a CPA Action Network member also active in CPA’s Southeast Community Policy & Leadership Forum, led a successful floor fight to include labor and environmental standards in any new trade agreements.

Pennsylvania State Senator Allyson Schwartz, also a CPA board member and co-chair of the Action Network, was elected to the NCSL Executive Committee.