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Utah Sen. Curt Bramble was elected as the vice president of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) on Wednesday, setting him up to become president of the organization in two years.
NCSL is a bipartisan organization that acts as a policy clearinghouse and research center, sharing information with state lawmakers and staff nationwide.
Bramble, who is the Utah Senate president pro-tem and former Senate majority leader, will serve a year as vice president, a year as president-elect and become NCSL president in 2015. He was elected to the state Senate in 2000.
"Congress has been totally ineffective. They can't seem to find agreements on both sides of the aisle to do anything, from budget to deficit reduction, immigration, marketplace fairness," said the Provo Republican. "You can look down a litany of issues where the states, the 50 laboratories of democracy, are finding ways to come forward with strong, bipartisan support for various polices."
NCSL, Bramble said, serves as a melting pot where states can share their best practices and other legislatures don't have to start from scratch in solving problems. "Being an officer of NCSL, I think, brings a level of focus to what's happening in Utah," he said.
Bramble has served on the governing board of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a business-backed organization dedicated to enacting pro-business policies at the state level.
Bramble earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Brigham Young University. He is a CPA with the firm of Gilbert & Stewart CPAs in Provo.
Utah Senate President Wayne Niederhauser said that Bramble is "passionate about finding solutions to the complex issues that face our country.
"Curt has proven to be a capable leader here in Utah, and we're excited to share that ability with NCSL as they work toward their mission of ensuring that state legislatures have a strong, cohesive voice in the federal system," Niederhauser said in a statement.