Dispatches.

• Position: POINT OF ORDER

Every state has an NCSL staff liaison assigned to it to be a point of contact. Three NCSL staffers recently visited their states and shared these highlights. (For the name of your state liaison, visit www.ncsl.org and type "state liaisons" in the search box.)

Alaska: Lawmakers are keeping their ears to the tundra on five controversial issues: the growing movement to overturn the constitutional prohibition on public funding for private schools; construction of the proposed $50 million All-Alaska gas pipeline, which enjoys support in both houses; development of the Pebble Mine Project, which supporters say would yield hundreds of millions of dollars in gold and minerals and critics say could pollute the rich salmon runs; and ways the state can replace declining severance taxes. I met with 28 lawmakers and their staffs, but also was treated to a couple great adventures outside the Capitol, including a night in an old Forest Service hunting cabin on an island 25 miles from Juneau and crystal clear views of the Northern Lights.

--Morgan Cullen, NCSL senior policy specialist and Alaska liaison

Indiana: I learned legislators have tackled a number of tough issues this session--including concussions in youth football. Both chambers recently passed a measure requiring all youth and high school football coaches to complete a certified concussion...