NCSL Legislative Video Resource Center

Latest reports show that total household debt in the United States reached $15.58 trillion, increasing by $333 billion (2.2 percent) in the fourth quarter of 2021, while credit card balances increased by $52 billion. Millions of Americans are sued each year for the collection of these consumer debts and encounter a complicated, backlogged civil legal system. State policymakers are beginning to examine their debt collection policies and trends and assess how these fit into a broader discussion of modernizing civil courts. Join public policy and industry experts to learn more about debt collection lawsuits and what state legislators can do to improve the courts' efficiency and ensure equitable outcomes for all parties involved. This webinar is open to legislators and legislative staff only. Moderator: Michael Hartman, Policy Associate, National Conference of State Legislatures. Speakers: David Reid, General Counsel, Receivables Mgmt. Assoc. Intl., Delegate Alfred C. Carr Jr., Member of the Maryland House of Delegates, District 18, Erika Rickard, Project Director, Civil Legal System Modernization, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Heather Morton, Senior Fellow, National Conference of State Legislatures.

Updates on major policy issues in higher education to include 2021 legislative overviews and NCSL postsecondary education databases are shared. Speakers from the NCSL Postsecondary Education Team include Sunny Deye, Associate Director, Marilyn Villalobos, Policy Associate, and Andrew Smalley, Policy Associate.

States and school districts are facing challenges and seeking both short and long-term solutions. NCSL’s local and state education employee comparison tools will be presented followed by Teacher Shortages & Strategies to Address them, and an update on short-term measure being enacted by states and legislation to increase teacher compensation, expand pathways, increase teach diversity, and improve teacher working conditions. Hear from NCSL’s Michelle Exstrom, Education Program Director, Dan Thatcher NCSL Education Finance Fellow, Steve Wojcikiewicz, Learning Policy Institute Education Quality Team, and Molly Gold, NCSL Educator Quality Senior Policy Specialist.