From the President’s Desk
Senator Paul Utke (MN) – NCOIL President
Welcome to my first quarterly newsletter column as NCOIL President.
I hope the New Year is off to a strong start for everyone and that you’re energized for another productive and successful year ahead at NCOIL. I first want to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation to my predecessor, New York Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter, for her outstanding leadership last year. Under her guidance, NCOIL made meaningful progress in many ways, and her steady hand helped position the organization well for the work that lies ahead.
2025 was truly a great year for NCOIL both in terms of substantive advances on policy and in
growing the organization’s national prominence. There were six new Model Laws adopted on
timely issues including prior authorization reform, healthcare facility fees, health savings accounts, the rental home marketplace, combating fraud in auto repairs, and the workers’ compensation experience rating process. Each National Meeting had over 400 attendees with the Annual Meeting becoming the highest attended NCOIL Meeting ever. Additionally, in an NCOIL first, the organization heard from a sitting U.S. Cabinet Member with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressing attendees at the Spring Meeting in Charleston, SC.
As we move into my year as NCOIL President, I’d like to share more about my background and
how I got involved in public service and in NCOIL, as well as some of the things we have planned
for 2026.