A press release from the Office of the Governor of Minnesota:

TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty today was elected chairman of the National Governors Association at the NGA's annual meeting in Traverse City, Mich.

In his first act as NGA chairman, Pawlenty announced his initiative entitled Securing a Clean Energy Future.

"America is at a tipping point," Pawlenty said. "Our country is too dependent on imported sources of energy and greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow too quickly. Governors have a tremendous opportunity to lead the country toward a cleaner, more independent, more secure energy future."

To address the myriad energy challenges the United States, Securing a Clean Energy Future will examine ways governors and states can:

- increase production of cleaner domestic fuels;

- promote advanced electricity generation;

- improve energy efficiency and conservation;

- and accelerate research and development of clean energy technologies.

Pawlenty takes over as NGA begins to celebrate 100 years since the first meeting of governors at the White House in 1908.

In addition to announcing his initiative, Pawlenty used this occasion to unveil the new NGA logo, designed to celebrate the association's centennial year, and a special centennial Web page. The centennial Web site is designed to showcase the history of NGA and the role of governors over the last century.

"It's a pleasure to hand over the leadership reins of NGA to my good friend and colleague Gov. Pawlenty," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, the outgoing NGA chairwoman. "He has been instrumental in our work with Innovation America. I benefited from his expertise during the past year, and I look forward to supporting his efforts as chair."

Before the gavel was passed, governors heard from the Hon. Sandra Day O'Connor, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and the Hon. Tom Phillips, former chief justice, Texas Supreme Court about the effect of judicial independence on states.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, the newly minted NGA vice chairman, spoke about the upcoming NGA centennial celebration and invited meeting attendees to join him in Philadelphia, from July 11-14 for the 100th meeting of the association.

The plenary session closed with governors hearing final thoughts on NGA committee reports and taking up consideration of proposed NGA policies.

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