Unlocking Federal Reform: What the FEMA Act Means for Counties
This webinar is available on-demand. If you have issues accessing the recording, please email nacomeetings@naco.org.
Join NACo for a national membership call to learn about the newly released FEMA Act and its potential to transform how counties prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters. This session will highlight key provisions - such as the universal disaster application, improvements to Public Assistance, and increased transparency - and outline what they mean for local governments.
Watch Recording
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Speaker
Brett Mattson
Advocacy
House T&I Committee passes bipartisan FEMA reform package with major wins for counties
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released the bipartisan Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act
DHS funding set to lapse, putting key county partners at risk of a partial shutdown
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is headed toward a funding lapse at 12:01 a.m. ET on Feb. 14 after the Senate failed this week to advance legislation to fund DHS for the remainder of Fiscal year (FY) 2026.
SBA issues new rule affecting local permitting in post-disaster rebuilding
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued an interim final rule that changes how rebuilding projects financed with SBA disaster loans following a Presidentially declared disaster interact with state and local permitting requirements.
U.S. House passes final minibus funding package
Congress introduced the final FY 2026 Appropriations package, including key county priorities related to transportation, housing, health, emergency management and public safety
U.S. Congress passes minibus funding package
U.S. House and Senate appropriators passed a “minibus” appropriations package containing Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Interior-Environment, Commerce-Justice-Science and Energy-Water spending bills.
Federal district court issues ruling preventing the federal government from imposing immigration compliance mandates on grant recipients
On November 4, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation cannot condition federal grant funding on a recipient’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts.