States are rapidly deciding whether to conform to or decouple from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, creating a patchwork of responses with significant implications for taxpayers. Colorado and Connecticut have already rejected select provisions, while Congress took the unusual step of preventing the District of Columbia from decoupling, raising broader questions about state tax autonomy and federal authority. This discussion will examine the emerging conformity landscape, the policy considerations driving state decisions, and what these developments mean for tax administration, compliance, and federal-state relations. 

Tax Analysts is offering this episode of Taxing Issues as a free service to the public, and all attendees can receive CPE credits. To do so, you must register for the webcast before it starts and log in no later than the scheduled start time. You also must request CPE credits before each webcast, and you must answer the polling questions that will be asked throughout the event. 

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Cara Griffith
President and CEO, Tax Analysts

As the moderator for our Taxing Issues webinars, Cara objectively analyzes issues and asks probing questions that challenge panelists to explain and defend their positions.

When she’s not moderating Taxing Issues webinars, Cara provides strategic oversight for Tax Analysts. She has led efforts to improve the Tax Notes suite of products and to aggressively pursue transparency in the administration of tax systems. Previously, Cara managed the editorial department, including the flagship daily news publications and weekly magazines. She has written for a broad range of tax policy publications, including Tax Notes State, The Tax Adviser, The Hedge Fund Law Report, and The Hill. She regularly speaks at tax conferences and other events, discussing a variety of technical tax issues as well as the need for transparency in tax administration.

Cara has a BA in political science and a BA in international studies from the University of Evansville and a JD from the George Washington University Law School.

Jeffrey A. Friedman
Partner at Eversheds Sutherland

Jeff Friedman is a partner at Eversheds Sutherland (US). Previously, Jeff was a partner in KPMG’s Washington National Tax Practice. He also served as an attorney-adviser in the Treasury Office of Tax Policy, where he assisted with the development of the U.S. government's position on domestic and international electronic commerce tax issues, and he served as vice president and counsel of the Council On State Taxation. 

At Eversheds Sutherland (US), Jeff provides sophisticated state and local tax planning, strategic advice, and advocacy to numerous Fortune 100 and industry-leading companies. 

His practice includes state and local tax planning, compliance, legislation and policy, and litigation and controversy matters involving income, franchise, sales and use, and property taxes. 

A recognized thought leader on state and local tax issues, Jeff works on high-profile and precedent-setting litigation and controversy matters across the country. These matters affect critical questions on nexus, apportionment, the Multistate Tax Compact, and the Constitution’s equal protection, due process, and commerce clauses. Jeff is also a well-respected advocate on issues of tax policy, including the taxation of digital economy transactions. 

Brian Hamer
Senior counsel at the Multistate Tax Commission

Brian Hamer is senior counsel at the Multistate State Commission. Previously, he served for 12 years as director of the Illinois Department of Revenue, making him the longest-serving Illinois revenue director. During his tenure as director, he served for more than a decade on the board of directors of the Federation of Tax Administrators.  

Before joining Illinois state government, he headed the Tax Division of the Chicago Department of Law and then was first deputy director of the Chicago Department of Revenue. He writes an occasional column for Tax Notes State titled Revenue Matters. He attended Yale University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and Columbia Law School, where he served as an editor of the Columbia Law Review. 

Lucy Dadayan
Principal research associate with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute

Lucy Dadayan is a principal research associate with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where she leads the State Tax and Economic Review project. 

Previously, Dadayan was a senior research scientist at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, where she wrote extensively on state and local government fiscal issues, including tax revenue trends, personal income taxes, tax revenue forecasts, property taxes, gambling tax revenue, government employment, spending on social services, education spending, and state spending on children’s programs. She has authored or coauthored four chapters of the Book of the States (2015, 2016, and 2017 editions). Dadayan’s work is frequently cited in major news media. 

Dadayan has been a reviewer for the peer-reviewed journals Public Budgeting and Finance, State and Local Government Review, and the Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research. In addition, she is a reviewer for the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 

Dadayan holds an MA in public policy and affairs and a PhD in informatics from the State University of New York at Albany.