78th MLC Annual Meeting

Thank you to all of the speakers, sponsors and attendees who contributed to the success of the 2024 Midwestern Legislative Conference Annual Meeting. Led by Ohio Sen. Bill Reineke, chair of the MLC, the Ohio General Assembly hosted hundreds of state and provincial legislators, their families and others to its capital city of Columbus in July.

Over the course of four days, participants took part in a wide variety of learning and networking opportunities, all of which were geared toward advancing the work and service of the region’s state and provincial legislators. Every year, the MLC Annual Meeting features a mix of expert-led policy sessions (view presentations here), renowned speakers, professional development workshops, and special evening events. The family-friendly event also includes daytime activities for attendees’ guests of all ages.

At the meeting, the MLC approved three resolutions related to reauthorization of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, border rules on dogs entering the United States from Canada, and relations between the 11 states of the MLC and Taiwan.

The Midwestern Office of The Council of State Governments provides staff support to the MLC, which counts 11 Midwestern states and the province of Saskatchewan as members, as well as three Canadian provinces as affiliate members.

The 2025 MLC Annual Meeting will be held July 27-30 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Stateline Midwest coverage of the 2024 MLC Annual Meeting

• Cover article of featured session at meeting on MLC Chair’s Initiative on Workforce Innovation and Transformation »
• Articles on presentations from three of the meeting’s featured speakers: Technology writer Kevin Roose, White House correspondent April Ryan, and political strategist and historian Karl Rove »
• Articles on sessions led by the MLC’s policy committees and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus:
  • Agriculture & Rural Affairs/Energy & Environment: “A peek at the post-Chevron world of state and federal regulations” »
  • Criminal Justice & Public Safety: “A blueprint for evidence-based policies to improve outcomes in youth and adult justice systems” »
  • Education & Workforce Development: “Colleges, states rethink approaches to remediation for postsecondary students” »
  • Fiscal Affairs: “Entering an era of ‘unsettled normalcy’ for budget leaders” »
  • Great Lakes: “New investments and strategies to manage phosphorus, and reuse it” »
  • Health & Human Services: “Ohio’s value-based payment model to transform maternal care »”
  • Midwest-Canada Relations: “Binational push to build out infrastructure for electric vehicles” »
• Full PDF of MLC Annual Meeting Edition of Stateline Midwest »