Resolutions

Western Governors' Association
December 5, 1997
Western Governor's Association Resolution #97 - 024

Sponsors: Governors Kitzhaber and Geringer

A. Background

  1. The challenges confronting today's governments are perhaps greater than ever before. Vital issues are not only complex, but also potentially more divisive, in part because they often involve a wide array of stakeholders representing different interests and perspectives. Yet the duty of government to establish and implement sound public policy remains unchanged.
  2. Among the greatest barriers to achieving that end is the increased opportunity for conflict, for interference of one policy with another, and for duplication of effort, which translates into waste - of time, energy and money - something no government today can afford.
  3. Meanwhile, changes occurring in state governments are actually reducing their ability to solve problems and reach consensus on major policy issues. Downsizing, for example, has led to reduced staffing, and term limits affect the knowledge base necessary to develop sustained, consistent solutions.
  4. While the needs of one state will obviously differ from those of another, there is a growing need for all states to be able to address issues and resolve problems involving multiple stakeholders, both private and public, and to do so with a maximum of efficiency and a minimum of conflict. It is essential for all stakeholders to be involved at some level in policy decisions. The experience of several western states suggests that this can best be accomplished through a structured process of consensus building.
  5. Consensus building represents a set of concepts and processes - collaborative problem solving, mediation, facilitation - that can be used by states to craft better policies and better tools for implementing them. Such methods are already being employed in the legal system but they are not yet widely accepted by state government.
  6. However, those states which have adopted consensus building processes as an essential tool of policy-making have met with considerable success in improving government performance. State programs and offices of dispute resolution are among the options available to state governments interested in applying the concept of consensus building to the formation and implementation of public policy.
  7. The federal government can play an important role in both encouraging consensus resolution of issues as well as supporting consensus decisions.

B. Governors' Policy Statement

  1. Because of the growing need for and interest in the use of consensus building and other problem-solving approaches at the state level, this is an opportune time to strengthen existing state programs, to establish new ones, and to promote the use of these tools throughout state government.
  2. Wide use of such programs would expedite the policy process by reducing conflict and focusing on shared objectives. This would hold true both within states and in the case of issues which cross state borders and require multi-state solutions.
  3. The WGA, therefore, supports the development and/or enhancement of structured consensus building programs as an essential part of state government.
  4. When appropriate, federal agencies should participate in consensus-building processes as one of the stakeholders, both for the legal parameters and the information the process provides, as well as for their subsequent role in the implementation of the agreement. Other affected governments (e.g. local and tribal) should also participate.
  5. Further, in both policy development and management activities, federal agencies should respect and work to accommodate state and multi-state consensus-building solutions which used consensus-building processes to resolve policy issues.
  6. Finally, many federal laws are currently up for reauthorization. Reauthorizations should encourage the use of state and multi-state consensus-building processes and solutions. They should do this by providing legal authority to accommodate state and multi-state consensus solutions as well as by providing resources to support state and multi-state consensus-building processes and solutions reached by broadly representative groups of stakeholders.

C. Governors' Management Directive

  1. Western Governors' Association shall convey this resolution to the governors of the Western States.
  2. Western Governors' Association shall convey this resolution to the Administration, the Western Delegation, and the chairs of congressional committees.