Finance, Administration and Intergovernmental Relations
FAIR

Committee Leadership

                  Vice Chair                                 Chair                                 Vice Chair
                                                                                 
                       Jean Callison                       Randall Purvis                   Diana Cordray
              Deputy Mayor Pro Tem           Council Member                     City Clerk
                       Plano, Texas           Colorado Springs, Colorado       Carmel, Indiana

Full Committees
Policy and Advocacy Committee Roster         Appointment process 
Steering Committee Roster                            Appointment process 

Policy & Advocacy
FAIR Policy Chapter
FAIR Resolutions

For more information, visit the NLC issue pages about  Public Finance  and Federalism & Unfunded Mandates

Committee Process and Purpose
NLC policy is developed in seven committees of municipal officials.  Each committee consists of two bodies:

• A larger policy and advocacy committee, which chooses the policy agenda for the year and reviews the proposed policy proposals and resolutions drafted on that agenda by the steering committee; and
• A Steering Committee, which researches the agenda topics chosen and drafts policy positions for policy and advocacy committee review.

Policy changes accepted by each policy and advocacy are subsequently forwarded to the entire membership for approval and inclusion in NLC's National Municipal Policy (NMP).  The NMP is a collection of position statements on a variety of issues with immediate and long-term implications for the nation?s cities and towns.  Developed through the deliberative, member-driven policy development process described above, the NMP states the policy positions that frame NLC's advocacy efforts.

Each of the seven committees has a specific set of issues under its jurisdiction, and policy development in each committee is limited to these issues.  The Finance, Administration and Intergovernmental Relations (FAIR) Committee deals with national economic policy, general financial assistance programs, liability insurance, intergovernmental relations, Census, municipal bonds and capital finance, municipal management, antitrust issues, citizen participation and civil rights, labor relations, Native American sovereignty and municipal authority.

In 2008, the committee will be looking at how the housing market crisis has impacted the municipal bond market, the need for an additional fiscal stimulus package, the need to reconvene the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR), and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

Presentations
March 2008 - FAIR Policy and Advocacy Committee Meeting, Congressional City Conference
John Petersen, George Mason University - "Rocky Road Ahead: How Financial Market Turmoil is Affecting State and Local Governments"

Brett Palmer, National Association of Insurance Commissioners - "Bond Insurance, An Overview"

Jill Hershey, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association - "The Men With a Plan"

Upcoming Events
May 8-10, 2008: Spring Steering Committee Meeting, Brevard, North Carolina
Meeting Materials: 2008 FAIR Spring Meeting Book

September 11-13, 2008: Fall Steering Committee Meeting, Aurora, Colorado

For more information about the FAIR Committee, please contact Julia Pulidindi, Policy Analyst, at pulidindi@nlc.org or 202-626-3176.