California Counties Drive Federal Advocacy at NACo Legislative Conference 

California county leaders turned out in force at the 2026 National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference this week in Washington, DC. 

The highlight of the trip: a full California delegation meeting on Capitol Hill with U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff to press federal priorities impacting communities across the state. 

Facilitated by CSAC First Vice President Luis Alejo, the meeting provided an opportunity for California county leaders to hear from and engage directly with Senators Padilla and Schiff regarding a number of issues and shared priorities. Hot topics included the impacts of H.R. 1, disaster response and preparedness, and the administration of elections. 

More than 150 California supervisors, CEOs/CAOs, county staff and CSAC team members participated in this year’s conference in Washington, D.C., forming one of the largest state delegations in the country. 

California supervisors served several leadership roles at the conference: 

• Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore, NACo’s Immediate Past President, attended his final NACo Legislative Conference before leaving office at the end of the year. 

• Lake County Supervisor Bruno Sabatier chaired the Health Policy Steering Committee. 

• Merced County Supervisor Josh Pedrozo chaired the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Policy Steering Committee. 

• Mono County Supervisor John Peters chaired the Western Interstate Region (WIR) Board of Directors meeting and later delivered the WIR report to the NACo Board of Directors. 

Importantly, the NACo Board of Directors passed numerous resolutions put forward by members of the California delegation, including resolutions to: 

• Provide relief to counties from the H.R. 1 Medicaid and SNAP provisions — sponsored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger) 

• Support water reliability for agriculture and food security — co-sponsored by Merced County Supervisor Josh Pedrozo, Placer County Supervisor Shanti Landon and Kings County Supervisor Doug Verboon 

• Ensure adequate FEMA reimbursement rates for firefighting equipment  — sponsored by Inyo County Supervisor Jennifer Roeser 

Throughout the conference, California counties participated in policy workshops and summits addressing federal changes that directly affect local communities. Among them: 

• The impacts to CalFresh and Medi-Cal under H.R. 1 

• Effects on Continuum of Care and homelessness response systems 

• Public lands management 

• Energy data centers and land use 

• The future of federal transportation 

• Federal disaster policy 

In addition, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger moderated a fireside chat with Ronnie Kurtz, an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

And Napa County Supervisor Anne Cottrell led an interactive “Disasters and Donuts” session at the Resilient Counties Innovation Council Breakfast, focusing on resiliency, collaboration and disaster planning. 

NACo’s 2026 Annual Conference will be held in New Orleans from July 17-20.