2023 NACo Annual Conference & Exposition

This year's annual CIO Forum is focused on moving beyond being successful and making an impact by building resiliency through neurodiversity and skills training for IT, as well as developing short term and long-term strategies that bring innovation and transformation and keeps pace with the changing landscape of technology. Technology areas that will be covered include workforce, cybersecurity collaboration, change management, criminal justice and innovative opportunities.

All first-time attendees are welcome to join us to learn about NACo and how to make the most of the Annual Conference. Due to limited space, this session is open to county officials and staff attending their first NACo conference. This event is invite only.

Community, Economic and Workforce Development Policy Steering Committee members will travel to the Austin Community College Highland Campus to discuss critical issues and policy priorities on all matters pertaining to economic and workforce development, public works, and increasing and preserving affordable housing. Members will also consider and vote on policy resolutions that will be used to guide NACo’s advocacy efforts.

Join the Transportation Policy Steering Committee to learn more about how counties are working together with our intergovernmental partners, as well as one another, to rebuild and modernize our nation's infrastructure. During this meeting, we will hear from subject matter experts who will discuss various aspects of the significant role counties play in transportation and infrastructure. The committee will also vote on policy resolutions during this meeting.

Federal partners and national policy experts will join the Environment, Energy and Land Use Policy Steering Committee to discuss committee policy priorities including the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; recycling and waste management; the status of the Waters of the U.S. regulation; addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; and building resilient water infrastructure.

NACo's Health Policy Steering Committee will be joined by national experts and thought leaders to discuss timely health policy issues relevant to counties, such as social determinant of health data integration, overdose prevention strategies for counties, and improving healthcare access through federally qualified health centers. The committee will consider also and vote on policy resolutions that will be used to guide NACo’s advocacy efforts before Congress and the administration during the 2023 – 2024 term.

Justice and Public Safety Policy Steering Committee members will be joined by Congressional and federal agency officials to discuss critical issues, including addressing mental health in the criminal justice system, disaster mitigation and response, and the outlook for the committee's policy priorities in the 118th Congress.

The Telecommunications & Technology Policy Steering Committee will discuss topics including broadband infrastructure funding, internet affordability and adoption measures at the local level, rural cellular initiatives, next-generation 911 funding support, cybersecurity initiatives at the local level, and more. The committee will also hold its business meeting to review and vote on policy resolutions proposed before the committee for consideration.

The PR doctors are in! Visit the National Association of County Information Officers to talk about communications and public relations challenges and opportunities in your county, and while you’re there, answer our question of the day for the chance to be featured on NACIO’s platforms.

The PR doctors are in! Visit the National Association of County Information Officers to talk about communications and public relations challenges and opportunities in your county, and while you’re there, answer our question of the day for the chance to be featured on NACIO’s platforms.

Join NACo and BikeTexas for a morning e-bike ride around downtown Austin! This outing is limited to 40 participants. Reserve your spot by registering through this link. Walk-ups are welcome the morning of the ride, space permitting.

Hear from policy experts on pressing federal issues impacting Gulf Coast counties and parishes. Caucus members will also discuss federal legislative priorities and strategize for future GSCPC events and initiatives. Caucus membership is open to all NACo county and parish government officials from Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.

County leaders who serve in or near jurisdictions with military installations are invited to join this breakfast meeting. Meet with officials from the U.S. Department of Defense and learn about opportunities to partner with local military installations for improved community outcomes.

NACo's Commission on Mental Health and Wellbeing will meet to conduct business, including recommendations for policy and programmatic best practices.

The PR doctors are in! Visit the National Association of County Information Officers to talk about communications and public relations challenges and opportunities in your county, and while you’re there, answer our question of the day for the chance to be featured on NACIO’s platforms.

The Information Technology Standing Committee, which consists of elected officials and county IT leaders, will focus on national trends and policies that could impact county technologies. Topics will cover cyber security resiliency, technology best practices, cloud vendor checklists. An overview of NACo pilots will be shared with members as well.

This invite-only luncheon will host leaders from Safety + Justice Challenge counties & NACo's County Officials advancing Racial Equity (CORE) in Justice network members. Participants will have the opportunity to hear updates on MacArthur’s Safety + Justice Challenge with a focus on initiatives to advance racial equity throughout the criminal legal system and hear about the role and voice of lived experience in this work. County officials will have the opportunity to share their current challenges and goals to advance racial equity.

The Membership Standing Committee advises and supports NACo’s membership recruitment and retention efforts while championing county engagement in NACo.

The Veterans and Military Services Committee will hear from county officials, advocates, federal experts and those with lived experience on the challenges and opportunities facing women in the veteran and military community and children and youth in military families. Committee members will also discuss federal policy priorities and the relaunch of Operation Green Light for Veterans as avenues for better serving our veterans, service members and their families. Content warning: this meeting will include discussion of military sexual trauma (MST).

County leaders are partnering with the arts to advance policy priorities and expand opportunities across our communities. Learn about federal policies and resources that affect the creative sector, the accomplishments and challenges facing Austin’s growing cultural scene, and strategies to deploy the arts to build more prosperous communities with highlights from both urban and rural initiatives. Hear from a national expert on economic development and from local representatives of Austin’s globally renowned arts and music scene, including an artist representative from the Austin Music Commission and the co-president of South by Southwest.

In today's global economy, local economic development often does not stop at the county, state or even national lines. Rather, international trade and business partnerships can help drive local economies forward. In this session, learn from county peers located on or near our northern and southern borders about the value of North American trade and managing economic relationships with our Canadian and Mexican counterparts. Hosted by the International Economic Development Task Force, this session is open to all attendees.

The NACo Programs and Services Standing Committee will receive updates on NACo’s programs and services and generate recommendations for the NACo officers and the board on future programming. This meeting is open to all conference attendees.

Join us for our Annual Conference service project, supported by NACo NextGen and our hosts, Travis County. This project will assemble 500 backpacks for K-12 school children in the Austin Independent School District, equipping students in need with vital supplies for the 2023-2024 school year. Through this project, you will aid the educational journey of young individuals, setting them on a path for academic success.

The PR doctors are in! Visit the National Association of County Information Officers to talk about communications and public relations challenges and opportunities in your county, and while you’re there, answer our question of the day for the chance to be featured on NACIO’s platforms.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers will conduct in-person enrollment interviews for CBP’s Global Entry program at the Austin Convention Center, 500 Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701 on Saturday, July 22 through Sunday, July 23 in conjunction with the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference.

Global Entry allows expedited clearance for preapproved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. Participants may enter the U.S. using automated kiosks located at 62 U.S. airports, and 15 preclearance sites. Global Entry approval also allows U.S. travelers to be eligible to participate in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Pre✓®program, which expedites screening through TSA checkpoints at participating airports.

For Global Entry applicants who are conditionally approved, you may be able to complete your interview without an appointment using Enrollment on Arrival (EoA).  When landing in a participating international terminal, follow the signage directing you to CBP officers who can assist you to complete your Global Entry interview during your admissibility inspection. Additional information, including a list of participating airports, can be found on CBP.gov.

How to Apply

To participate in the interview process, you must follow these steps:

Visit the Trusted Traveler Programs website https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov/ and review the available programs.
Step 1: Create a Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) account.
Here, you must first create an account and then log in to apply. When applying, be sure to only select the Global Entry option. A $100 USD nonrefundable application fee must be paid online at the time you apply.
Once your application has been reviewed, you will receive a message in your account notifying you of the results. If you are “conditionally approved” for Global Entry and are invited to schedule an interview,
Log into your TTP account and select “Schedule Interview”:

From the Schedule Appointment page, scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Do you have an access code?”.
Enter the "Access Code" 76ZBA5485 to schedule an interview appointment for the private event.
Enrollment location NACo 2023 will display, and you can select the date and time for your interview.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CBP is experiencing a significant backlog of applications. To complete your interview, it is recommended you submit your application as soon as possible. 

About Global Entry

Global Entry is available for citizens, and lawful permanent residents of the U.S., as well as citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, South Korea, the Netherlands, Mexico, Panama, Singapore, India, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Canadian citizens and residents can receive Global Entry benefits through membership in the NEXUS program. To find out if additional requirements must be met, please visit www.GlobalEntry.gov, select the “International Arrangement” link on the left and then the country of citizenship.

Questions? See CBP’s Frequently Asked Questions on the Global Entry website or Frequently Asked Questions about the Trusted Traveler Program (TTP). If you are unable to find the information you need, the CBP INFO Center is open Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. EDT. Inquire via email or by calling 1.877.CBP.5511. If you are outside the U.S., call 202.325.8000.

The PR doctors are in! Visit the National Association of County Information Officers to talk about communications and public relations challenges and opportunities in your county, and while you’re there, answer our question of the day for the chance to be featured on NACIO’s platforms.

Communities across the country are struggling to provide high-quality, affordable housing for local residents. For example, at last count, the nation needed to build 266,000 apartments each year to keep up with demand. In this session sponsored by Aetna, experts will present latest research and best practices on what’s happening in counties. The session also will showcase how counties are working with housing industry groups, private employers, and other partners to increase affordable housing supply in downtowns and other neighborhoods.

Learn from county officials who have successfully implemented two-generation approaches to improve economic stability and well-being for young children. The session will explore how working with children and the adults in their lives can support economic mobility.

This session will explore ways county leaders can apply for funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build a foundation for long-term sustainability. The workshop will highlight county programs, including broadband deployment, transportation projects, energy efficiency, and water and sewer improvements.

This workshop will bring together officials from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Readiness & Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program and leaders from counties that neighbor military installations to discuss partnerships to advance climate resiliency. Participants will learn about the REPI Program's critical role in strengthening local capacity to build resiliency and discover opportunities to leverage REPI funding as a non-federal match.

In our electoral system, the nation’s county governments typically administer and fund elections at the local level, including overseeing polling places and voting systems, and coordinating poll workers for federal, state and local elections. The specifics of election administration align with federal standards but vary from county to county and state to state, resulting in a variety of approaches to ensure safe, secure and fair elections. During this session, participants will hear from county election officials on  the basics of election administration and will walk away with an understanding of key authorities and themes that are common and unique to counties across the country. 

The Achievement Awards Luncheon & General Session will feature best-in-category winners of NACo’s Achievement Awards program and keynote speakers. This luncheon is open to all conference attendees.

The PR doctors are in! Visit the National Association of County Information Officers to talk about communications and public relations challenges and opportunities in your county, and while you’re there, answer our question of the day for the chance to be featured on NACIO’s platforms.

In response to increasing mental health caseloads across the country, county officials are partnering with local and state leaders to develop behavioral health continuums of care. NACo’s Mental Health Commission will lead a discussion of best practices around intergovernmental partnerships that support the 988 Lifeline and crisis response, the entry point to behavioral health systems of care; bolster the increased need and resulting shortage of a behavioral health workforce; and to address exclusionary policies that often preclude effective behavioral health care options that can reduce recidivism and other cyclical service utilization patterns.

CTECC (Combined Transportation, Emergency & Communications Center) improves emergency response coordination and cooperation by providing a centralized public safety facility sustaining the operations of shared, critical emergency communications and transportation management for the region. CTECC is jointly owned by Travis County, the City of Austin, Texas Department of Transportation and the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

STAR Flight is the only 24/7 aerial emergency medical service in Texas that performs highly specialized emergency response services, including emergency medical transport, still and swift water rescue, search and rescue, high angle rescue, fire suppression/aerial reconnaissance, and law safety assistance. STAR (Shock Trauma Air Rescue) Flight is owned and operated by Travis County and serves 19 counties in central Texas.

This tour is open to all conference attendees on a first-come, first-served basis.

County officials serve as key leaders to drive economic development efforts for their communities. On this tour, county leaders will learn firsthand how to work closely with multinational companies from the experience of Dell Technologies and Travis County. Attendees will also have the chance to experience the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)’s Vislab – a state-of-the-art facility at the University of Texas built to explore the intersection between human perception and large-scale visual analysis. Hosted by the International Economic Development Task Force, this tour is open to all conference attendees on a first-come, first-served basis.

Buses depart from the Trinity Street exit of the Austin Convention Center

The PR doctors are in! Visit the National Association of County Information Officers to talk about communications and public relations challenges and opportunities in your county, and while you’re there, answer our question of the day for the chance to be featured on NACIO’s platforms.

Join the Annual Business Meeting of the National Association of Counties where county members will consider policy resolutions, elect a slate of officers for the 2023-2024 term, and conduct other business as necessary.

The PR doctors are in! Visit the National Association of County Information Officers to talk about communications and public relations challenges and opportunities in your county, and while you’re there, answer our question of the day for the chance to be featured on NACIO’s platforms.

All attendees from the Central Region are invited to learn more about NACo and what is happening in the region. The Central Region includes the following states: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Wisconsin.

South Region Caucus Meeting MON. JULY 24 | 2:00 pm to 2:45 pmLevel 3 | Room 8 All attendees from the South Region are invited to learn more about NACo and what is happening in the region. The South Region includes the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia

County elected officials and staff play a critical role as the front-line service providers during trying times. This pressure and exposure to trauma can have a lasting impact on elected officials and county employees alike. This workshop will feature a training from the National Council on Mental Wellbeing’s Mental Health First Aid program, equipping attendees with strategies for identifying and responding to mental health issues in the workplace, techniques to identify team members facing mental health or substance abuse challenges, and how to build a culture and organization that supports wellbeing.

Robert’s Rules can help you run an efficient meeting. But how do you run an effective meeting? This workshop is a crash course in Robert's Rules where we will deliver tools to minimize meeting disruptions, define proper procedures and apply Robert's Rules to real-life parliamentary examples.

County authority and responsibility is granted by state constitutions and statutes, and states are increasingly passing laws that preempt county authorities and limit local policymaking in a range of issues. This session will explore county authority in revenue generation and land use planning, state preemption of county authority to manage, protect and tax local land, and point participants toward solutions that can be tailored for unique local circumstances.

Join us in celebrating a successful conference at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater, the iconic music landmark that hosts approximately 100 concerts a year and serves as the home for taping the acclaimed Austin PBS television series Austin City Limits, the longest-running music series in American history. You will not want to miss this opportunity to connect with your peers and conclude your conference experience on a high note. 

Transportation will not be provided for this event. Those with mobility issues may check in at the registration desk Monday between 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm for an Uber voucher.