More from the 2016 NACo Legislative Conference
February 26, 2016
The 2016 NACo Legislative Conference had a great turnout this year with more than 1,600 county officials in attendance. The conference showcased NACo’s new “Counties Matter” campaign designed to communicate the essential role counties play in everyday life.
Meetings of the various NACo Steering Committees and Subcommittees comprised the first two days of the conference where a wide range of topics were discussed. A subcommittee of the NACo Finance, Pensions and Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee heard from the U.S. Justice Department regarding their plans to pay close attention to county courthouses this year for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Attendees to the joint educational forum put on by the NACo workforce and economic development subcommittees learned about attracting foreign investment to counties.
Further demonstrating the wide range of topics addressed at the conference, the NACo Public Lands Steering Committee heard the local perspective from Harney County Judge Steven Grasty regarding the 40-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Judge Grasty explained that, “…without the intimidation factor, the occupation of the refuge would have been completely different. The presence of firearms in both the tower on the refuge and out and about in town muddled the issue of federal land ownership in a rural county to a wide audience.”
The NACo Steering Committees and the Board of Directors also considered a number of policy resolutions which are used to guide the organization’s federal lobbying efforts. The adopted policy directives will be valid as “interim” policy until the 2016 NACo Annual Conference in July.
On Monday the conference officially opened with Chris Wallace, Fox News Sunday host, headlining the General Session, which also featured Dr. France Cordova, director of the National Science Foundation, and White House Drug Policy Director Michael Botticelli. A special Governors’ Roundtable Discussion also occurred on Monday which focused on rural childhood poverty. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack moderated the panel, which featured Govs. Bill Haslam (Tenn.); Terry McAuliffe (Va.); Gary Herbert (Utah), chair of the National Governors Association; and Tom Wolfe (Pa.).
The keynote speakers of the closing day session on Tuesday included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ken), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, and CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein. The closing day session also included a Washington Post-moderated discussion on rural childhood poverty with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Acting Education Secretary John King Jr.
NACo also hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on criminal justice reform, which featured Sen John Cornyn (R-Texas) and a Rural Poverty Summit, co-sponsored with the White House Rural Council.
A wide range of workshops were also offered that allowed attendees to pick and choose from county pertinent subjects. The educational workshop recordings, handouts and slides are available on the NACo website.