The 2012 Domenici Public Policy Conference is now accepting registrations.

The conference takes place Sept. 19-20 at the Las Cruces Convention Center. The cost to attend the event is $50. The conference is free to New Mexico State University students. Members of the public, as well as NMSU faculty, staff and students, can register for the conference at domenici.nmsu.edu.

This year's conference speakers include Democratic campaign strategist James Carville, former President George W. Bush adviser Karen Hughes, Colorado Rockies co-owner Linda Alvarado and former 9/11 Commission member Michael Hurley. The themes being addressed are the 2012 elections, national security and entrepreneurship.

Now in its fifth year hosting the conference, the Domenici Institute for Public Policy is named after New Mexico's longest-serving U.S. senator, Pete V. Domenici. Every year, the conference brings together some of the country's top experts to discuss a variety of important issues facing the nation. The Domenici Institute is housed on the campus of NMSU.

A combined 20 students from NMSU, the University of New Mexico and Northern New Mexico College have been selected to ask questions of the Domenici Conference speakers. The students are the only conference attendees allowed to question the speakers.

Hughes and Carville will tackle the issues at the forefront of this fall's national elections during a session on Sept. 20. Later in the day, the U.S. Senate candidates angling to succeed retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman, former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) and U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), are scheduled to make presentations.

Each candidate will take the stage separately and have 20 minutes to present their goals and plans for the future of New Mexico. They will then take 10 minutes of questions from Domenici student panelists. Heinrich's participation remains tentative pending the congressional voting schedule.

For more information on the conference and registration, call 575-646-2066.