NCSL Deputy Executive Director Carl Tubbesing Retires

by Karl Kurtz

Carl Tubbesing, one of NCSL's most senior, respected and revered staff members, retired this week so that he can spend more time with his wife, Sally, in Maine. He is sorry to leave NCSL but happy to end his 25 year practice of commuting every week between his home in the Portland area and Washington, D.C., where he directed NCSL's office of state-federal relations.

After completing his undergraduate and graduate (PhD.) degrees at Washington University in St. Louis (where he and I were roommates for a time in graduate school) Carl began his career as an assistant professor of political science at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 1969.

In 1975, just a few months after NCSL was officially formed, Jim Edgar, NCSL's director of state services (who later became governor of Illinois), recruited both Carl and Bill Pound to join the NCSL staff in Denver.  The two of them quickly became experts on state legislative management and procedure and developed NCSL's professional development and technical services programs.  When Jim left to pursue a career in Illinois politics, Bill became director of state services.  Carl served as assistant director of that division and eventually as director of seminars and technical services.

During what Carl laughingly refers to as his "sabbatical year" in 1979, he left NCSL to become director of operations for Legis50, The Center for Legislative Improvement.  After funding problems developed for that organization, he returned to NCSL.

When Earl Mackey, NCSL's then executive director, moved his base of operations from Denver to Washington, D.C., Carl also migrated to the nation's capital to support the executive management functions of the organization.  Earl left NCSL in 1987 and Bill Pound succeeded him as executive director. Bill immediately named Carl director of state-federal relations and the Washington office.  He has maintained that position ever since and added the title of deputy executive director in 1996.

During his time in Washington, Carl met Sally Diamond, then director of the Maine Legislative Council, and the two married in 1990.  They decided to make their home in Maine, and ever since Carl has been getting up every Monday morning at 3:55 to catch a plane to Washington, returning home to Freeport or their beloved summer cottage on Chebeague Island on Fridays.

Carl has been a tireless advocate for the states in Washington and is rightfully proud of NCSL's accomplishments.  Key pieces of state-federal legislation in which NCSL played important roles during his tenure include:

• Passage of the Child Care Development Block Grant (1990), which has provided federal funding to the states to assist low income families with child care
• Enactment of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), which was adopted in an effort “…to curb the practice of imposing unfunded Federal mandates on States and local governments”
• Creation of the flexible Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Block Grant (1996) under welfare reform, creating a new state/federal partnership and ensuring that the TANF and Child Care block grants were subject to appropriations by state legislatures under the Brown amendment (Senator Hank Brown of Colorado)
• Adoption of the Farm Bill (2000), with a major expansion of the Food Stamp program and a restoration of food stamp benefits to legal immigrants
• Inclusion in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 of $20 billion in temporary fiscal assistance for states and territories--$10 billion in flexible grants and $10 billion as an enhancement to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for Medicaid
• Obtaining provisions for state aid in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009) and providing technical assistance to the states to implement the provisions of ARRA.

Carl is a gifted and prolific writer, contributing some of the best writing in the country on federalism to State Legislatures magazine.  His talent for comic writing was seldom seen in public but much enjoyed by his colleagues at NCSL as he co-edited and wrote an internal staff newsletter, The Weekly, filled with clever running jokes and witty commentary making even the most mundane activities of the organization seem sprightly.

Carl and Bill Pound have had a remarkable partnership for 35 years.  He and I have been colleagues and good friends for 44 years going back to our time together in graduate school. His retirement marks the end of an era for our Washington office and a major transition for all of NCSL.

All of us join us in wishing him a happy retirement.  Enjoy the birding, Carl.

Comments

[Jeff Wice]

I've grown up with Bill, Carl, and Karl during my 33 years with the New York State Legislature. As the federal coordinator for both the Senate and Assembly, I've also had the advantage of working with Carl in the Hall of States building in DC.

Karl said it all very well, there's not much more I can add except to say that Carl was one of best people I've worked with during my tenure as a legislative staffer. And he'll always remain a friend.