Seamus Dowdall
Legislative Director, Telecommunications & Technology
About Seamus Dowdall
Seamus is the legislative director for telecommunications & technology on NACo's government affairs team. In this role, Seamus serves as the liaison to NACo's Telecommunications & Technology Policy Steering Committee and advocates directly to federal partners in the Administration and on Capitol Hill to advance policy priorities on issues including broadband deployment and accessibility, wireless technology siting, and emergency communications policy. Seamus also works with county officials from across the country to set organizational priorities and policies for telecommunications & technology issues through hosting regular webinar programming and providing technical assistance resources.
U.S House Subcommittee Considers Reauthorization of the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program
The SLCGP provides critical funding to state and local governments to enhance cybersecurity readiness and protection but is set to expire on September 30, 2025.
Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) loses federal funding
On March 11, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced a $10 million cut in funding for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), which provides critical local assistance for cybersecurity threat detection and analysis resources and support.
NACo Submits Comments to the White House on Development of a National AI Action Plan
On February 6, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced its first steps towards creating an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan by seeking public comments on what priority policy action items should be implemented at the national level.
FCC withdraws proposed rulemaking to ban bulk-billing arrangements
The FCC’s withdrawal marks the preservation of bulk-billing arrangements by managed service providers in multiple tenant environment
Congress reintroduces 9-1-1 SAVES Act
On January 16, the 9-1-1 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services (SAVES) Act was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation aims to officially reclassify 9-1-1 dispatchers as first responders, granting these professionals the recognition they deserve for their vital contributions to public safety.
Congress makes incremental progress on AI policy
On Nov. 19, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation convened its last major hearing pertaining to artificial intelligence of the year — in this case, on the topic on Protecting Consumers from Artificial Intelligence (AI) Enabled Fraud and Scams.