Human Services & Education Policy Steering Committee

Follow along with County News during NACo’s Legislative Conference: policy steering committees, General Session speakers, educational workshops and more.

On February 20, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced that counties across the country will receive payments through the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program for the first time in nearly two years. The release of payments will deliver critical relief to timber-dependent counties that rely on these funds to maintain essential services as they transition toward long-term fiscal stability.

Yolanda Smith Charles has championed a small municipality in her Oakland County, Mich. district that has been dismantled as others grow.

More than 2,000 county officials from across the nation are visiting Washington, D.C., for NACo 2026 Legislative Conference, at the Washington Hilton Feb. 21-24.

On February 16, nearly 80 state associations of counties and municipal leagues representing local governments in all 50 states sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works expressing their support for the Bridges And Safety Infrastructure for Community Success (BASICS) Act (H.R. 7437) and urging its inclusion in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill.