PPAI Government Relations Manager Seth Barnett attended the National Conference of State Legislators in Seattle, Washington on August 3 to further the Association’s state-level outreach and further develop its government relations program. The four-day annual event’s education sessions brought together state legislators and their staffs, trade associations and government relations professionals to network and learn about the policies and politics that affect the U.S. economy.

Barnett, who attended the event last year in Minneapolis, Minnesota, joined nearly 5,500 participants from all 50 states and a number of U.S. territories and other counties. “The theme of the conference this year was more forward thinking and progressive than in the past,” says Barnett. “The focus was on encouraging state legislatures to maintain productivity despite what is happening at the federal level.”

The program featured a number of big initiative ideas for state legislators to better connect with advocacy groups and in turn advocacy groups were encouraged to connect with state legislators rather than use excessive resources at the federal level. Barnett adds, “The mood of the state legislators that attended was more optimistic. Many states have had a strong year of prosperity and state officials understand that this comes from cooperation between government, businesses and constituents.”

Speakers at the event included former Defense Secretary Dr. Robert Gates, who spoke about states aligning their strategic goals to work beyond the boundaries of the federal government; Orange Is The New Black author Piper Kerman, who spoke about state regulatory reform; and John Kelly, senior vice president of global responsibility at Starbucks, whose presentation focused on the need for states to understand and encourage social responsibility programs.

“The No. 1 thing I took away from the event is how far ahead of the curve PPAI and the industry are,” says Barnett. “We have implemented programs, such as state government outreach and social compliance, that other groups are just now beginning to learn about. We continue to be an effective and innovative advocacy resource for the industry.”