BOSTON — When thousands of state lawmakers, legislative aides, industry lobbyists and other politicos flock to the newly renamed Thomas Michael Menino Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston next week, it may mark a record-breaking affair.

More than 8,000 people have registered for the National Conference of State Legislatures' annual summit, a tally that is "almost certainly the second-largest legislative summit NCSL has ever held," according to Tim Storey, the bipartisan organization's CEO. Legislative leaders said they expect 9,000 people to travel to Massachusetts for the event.

And as the nationwide organization representing state legislatures across the country celebrates its 50th anniversary, the summit "will make a pretty strong run" at the all-time summit attendance record, which also happened in Boston in 2007.

House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Limachr(59) Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Greenchr(59) Rep. Bob Peterson, R-Sabina will be among those in attendance. They will also be participating in panels, as will John Barron, the chief of staff and general counsel for Ohio Senate Republicans.

Other Ohio lawmakers confirmed to attend are: Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbuschr(59) Sen. Nathan Manning, R-N. Ridgevillechr(59) Rep. Kellie Deeter, R-Norwalkchr(59) Rep. Angela King, R-Celinachr(59) Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Havilandchr(59) Rep. Gayle Manning, R-N. Ridgevillechr(59) Rep. Ty Mathews, R-Findlaychr(59) Rep. Melanie Miller, R-Ashlandchr(59) Rep. Sharon Ray, R-Wadsworthchr(59) Rep. Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hillchr(59) and Rep. Heidi Workman, R-Rootstown, along with another 15 or so House Democrats.

Numerous staff members are also planning to attend.

The three-day conference that begins Monday will touch on many of the biggest issues lawmakers face in Massachusetts and dozens of other states. Panel topics range from artificial intelligence to Medicaid cuts to cannabinoids to name, image and likeness rights.

It will also be, for many attendees, a networking and social bonanza. The first night features a kickoff event at TD Garden, and Olympian and Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi will help host a 5K fun run at Castle Island early Tuesday morning.

More than 1,600 legislators are expected to attend, representing over one-fifth of all state lawmakers across the country, according to Storey, who on Tuesday previewed the summit in a webinar hosted by State Affairs and Pluribus News.

Nine of the sessions will be livestreamed to assist those unable to travel to the convention center. Over the course of the three days, dozens of different discussions and events will take place.

"Gosh, there's so many, man," Storey mused while recounting what he's most excited to see.

Lawmakers will also get exclusive access to one of two speaking programs.

On Monday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will address Democratic legislators at a closed-door lunch, while Chris LaCivita, the 2024 co-campaign manager for President Donald Trump, will speak to Republican state legislators at a similar event. Attendance is limited only to lawmakers.

Huffman will moderate the conversation with LaCivita. He will also join a panel Wednesday at 10 a.m. for a session called "Federalism in Action: States' Roles in Our Constitutional Framework."

Also on Monday, Barron will serve as a moderator for a discussion about the evolution of legislative staffing levels.

Gavarone will speak as part of a panel about foreign influence in state politics, which will be livestreamed Monday at 4 p.m.

A panel that will include Peterson will discuss historic preservation tax incentives at the same time.

Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka is set to speak at the opening session at 9 a.m. Monday, according to NCSL's agenda. She'll be joined by Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Utah Senate President Pro Tem Wayne Harper, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and columnist and radio host Michael Smerconish.

Spilka will also talk at the closing session at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, where stage actor Leslie Odom Jr. "will perform and inspire," according to NCSL.

Supporters expect the event to be a financial boost to Boston, especially with so many guests from other states heading to town. Spilka on Monday said the event has a projected "positive economic impact" of $11.2 million.

Editor's Note: This story was written by State Affairs Massachusetts, a Gongwer partner organization. Gongwer and its partners will have extensive coverage of the NCSL conference, which lasts from Monday to Wednesday.

Mike Livingston, Gongwer's long-time assistant editor and former staff writer, has been named editor of the Gongwer News Service Ohio Report.

Krista Kano, Gongwer's beat reporter on the state budget and human services issues, has been named assistant editor.

Livingston joined Gongwer in 2015, primarily covering energy and utility issues. He was named assistant editor in 2022. A graduate of Purdue University, he is the treasurer of the Ohio Legislative Correspondents Association and president of the Society of Professional Journalists Central Ohio Chapter. Prior to joining Gongwer, he reported for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette, Indiana. He can be reached at mlivingston@gongwer-oh.com.

Kano joined Gongwer in 2022 after working as a community reporter at the Akron Beacon Journal. She also worked previously at the Record-Courier in Kent and at Chagrin Valley Publishing. Kano graduated from Boston University, where she covered the Massachusetts State House. She can be reached at kkano@gongwer-oh.com.

Joining Gongwer as a staff writer is Paige Fisher, a graduate of Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Communications. Fisher is a former reporter with The Post in Athens and reported for The Portager in Kent. A native of Thornville, she was also editor and reporter of her hometown's The General Idea and a department editor for Southeastern Ohio Magazine. At Gongwer, Fisher will cover several beats, including politics and elections. She can be reached at pfisher@gongwer-oh.com.

Livingston succeeds Kent Cahlander, who has retired from Gongwer after 27 years. He was Gongwer's editor for more than 20 years, covering countless lawmakers and governors, and taking a special interest in state budgets and tax policy.

Gongwer News Service today announced a new feature that lets subscribers keep clients, associates and members informed about legislative activity: automated email scheduling and delivery of bill status reports.

With this new service, subscribers can now schedule their status reports to be automatically sent by email on the days and times that work best for their audience – eliminating the need for manual report generation and sending.

Subscribers can choose which reports they want to send and when. Once schedules are set, there is no need to manually create and send reports.

Scheduled sends can be activated by clicking the Share or Schedule link on the Gongwer Bill Tracking page. Clicking Schedule will launch a page that allows subscribers to pick the Tracking Group they want to schedule, choose the recipients and set the time and frequency of how often updates are distributed.

Whether you're updating clients on legislative developments, keeping association members informed, communicating with constituents or briefing internal teams, this new tool saves time and streamlines your reporting workflow. Simply choose your recipients, set your preferred schedule and Gongwer's system will deliver your reports.

Additional service enhancements are under development. Subscribers are welcome to send suggestions – or request a demo of the new automated send feature – to info@gongwer-oh.com or via this suggestion/tip form.

Gongwer's Statehouse Job Market has been updated. The update is available on the Gongwer website.

Subscribers interested in posting job openings on Gongwer's employment board can send job descriptions and other information to gongwer@gongwer-oh.com.

Gongwer News Service is pleased to announce its affiliation with State Affairs, a growing news company dedicated to expanding coverage of state capitols across the country.

The alignment matches Gongwer's expertise in covering state government and delivering best-in-class legislative information tools with a leading and talented group that understands the importance of issues decided at the state level.

Under the alignment, Gongwer-style news and information services will be available in more states, helping government leaders, policy professionals, advocates and the public be more informed about the essential operations of state governments.

State Affairs will also bring additional staff and support to bolster Gongwer operations.

There are no changes to Gongwer leadership, management or staff, or any services Gongwer provides to subscribers.

Gongwer and State Affairs look forward to rolling out several new products and enhancements to existing services, including the release this week of enhanced Ohio Report and Ohio Media Clips emails.

Gongwer News Service was founded in 1906 by Charles S. Gongwer. State Affairs was founded in 2021 with a mission to invest in and expand non-partisan news and information services across the country.

Gongwer News Service today announced the availability of a new feature that allows subscribers to listen to the Gongwer Ohio Report and individual articles.

To use the feature, just click on a Gongwer article or a daily report. Then click the Listen button and the content will begin to play. Users can pause and resume playback of the content.

The voice that reads Gongwer content may vary by device and is determined by your browser.

The new feature follows the deployment of a number of other service enhancements over the last several months.

Gongwer subscribers who have ideas for other new features or services are encouraged to submit suggestions to info@gongwer-oh.com or via a form on the Gongwer website.