Human Services & Education Policy Steering Committee

The Department of Justice announced $211 million in grant opportunities for counties to improve their criminal justice systems, specifically reentry, substance use, crisis response and behavioral health programs.

The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision to allow the Trump administration to move forward with its Executive Order 14399 directing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to compile official U.S. citizenship lists to be used in voter citizenship verification and the U.S. Postal Service to impose new mail-in ballot restrictions.

On August 8, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a proposal to extend government funding and many expiring program authorities until December 11, 2026. Notably, this bill would provide a short-term extension of many federal surface transportation programs authorized in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (P.L. 117-58). However, the bill would not extend the advance appropriations for many transportation programs made in Division J of the IIJA. This means that many programs would lose portions of their funding, while many other programs would have their funding lapse altogether. 

Roadless Rule

On August 20, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. The rule prohibits road construction, reconstruction and most timber management on almost 45 million acres of National Forest land, and its repeal would give federal forest managers significant flexibility to manage forests in accordance with local need. 

On August 13, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced it was reopening the nomination process for Resource Advisory Committee (RACs) that direct certain funding from the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. County elected officials are eligible and encouraged to apply to serve on a RAC by November 12, 2026.