all about csg
THE COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS WEST Montana State Rep. Kimberly Dudik CSG West 2019 Chair
2019 EVENTS 2019 Western State Visits
I look forward to working
January–April 2019 l All Western States Contact: eruiz@csg.org
with my fellow colleagues to showcase important regional issues such as the great outdoors and its connection to our regional economy and heritage as well as best practices for managing and protecting our natural resources and forests.”
ISSUE 1 2019 | CAPITOL IDEAS
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As CSG West chair, Dudik said she looks forward to drawing attention to key topics of concern for Western legislators.
ontana state Rep. Kimberly Dudik, the CSG West 2019 Chair, believes the region faces “Bringing bipartisan groups of leaders together many important issues. to focus on areas of common concern provides the most universally accepted and well-rounded “One of the most important issues facing state solutions to policy issues,” she said. leaders is how to successfully curb the growing problem of substance abuse,” she said. “This Dudik serves on the Appropriations Committee; includes illegal substances, as well as prescrip- Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Judicial tion drugs, and the many related issues it brings. Branch, Law Enforcement, and Justice; Rules When we successfully address this problem, Committee; Finance Committee; and was chairmany of the other issues we face—public safety, person of the Office of State Public Defender Task Force. workforce development, job creation and government expenditures—will be positively Maintaining strong ties to her community, Dudik impacted.” also devotes time to civic duties. She serves on Dudik began her career as a domestic violence the board of the local hospital, St. Patrick Hosadvocate, helping families in abusive situations, pital, and chairs the Mission and Community and continued to care for those in need as a Needs Committee where she focuses efforts on registered nurse. She became an attorney en- identifying community needs and program forcing Montana’s laws as both a deputy county funding. attorney and assistant attorney general. In this Dudik said she’s eager to host the CSG West 2019 capacity she determined that Montana’s laws Annual Meeting in Big Sky, Montana, July 16–20 needed improving, not just enforcing, leading where sessions will explore a range of policy her to the legislature. issues important to the West. Introduced to CSG through her involvement in “The Western U.S. is a vast, rich and unique the Western Legislative Academy, Dudik said the region of our country with a resourceful popexperience was invaluable to her as a new legulation and much potential,” she said. “I look islator. Many of the relationships formed with forward to working with my fellow colleagues colleagues during the program have endured. to showcase important regional issues such as the great outdoors and its connection to our “CSG West provides a unique framework for Western leaders focused on common concerns regional economy and heritage, as well as best to share ideas and legislative successes to impractices for managing and protecting our prove state policy throughout the region,” Dudik natural resources and forests. I am also excited said. “By fostering a nonpartisan environment to collaborate and share innovations on policy for legislators to convene, CSG West allows the concerns that transcend state and international opportunity for innovative solutions to evolve boundaries, such as criminal justice reform and and improve state governments.” child safety.”
72nd CSG West Annual Meeting Expand Your Horizons in Big Sky July 16–20, 2019 l Big Sky, Montana The CSG West Annual Meeting invites legislators, legislative staff, and private-sector representatives to come together for an opportunity to collaborate and share best practices related to regional policy issues. Through the convening of policy committees, forums, and other scheduled sessions, attendees engage with topic experts as they review a range of concerns important to the West. Legislative Council on River Governance August 18–20, 2019 l Washington state Contact: jtinetti@csg.org csgwest.org/programs/LEGISLATIVECOUNCILON RIVERGOVERANCE.aspx
Border Legislative Academy September 2019 l Mexico City, Mexico Contact: eruiz@csg.org www.csgwest.org/legislativeacademy/ BorderLegislativeAcademy.aspx Offered to select state legislators from the U.S. and Mexico border region, the Border Legislative Academy provides an opportunity for participants to foster binational cooperation, benefit from professional development training, and informational sessions focused on resources key to governing in the border region.
Border Legislative Conference September 2019 l Mexico City, Mexico Contact: mcastaneda@csg.org www.borderlegislators.org/home_eng.htm
