2025 NACo Legislative Conference Coverage
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Follow along with County News during NACo’s Legislative Conference: policy steering committees, General Session speakers, educational workshops and more.
Padilla calls for common sense bipartisanship to tackle disasters, mental health crisis
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) started learning about wildfire damage firsthand as a Senate staffer in the 1990s, which gave him experience and perspective seeing how counties responded after disasters.
Helping veterans, with an assist from counties, is ‘priority number one,’ VA secretary says
County officials can “touch more lives than any member of Congress or any governor,” because they see their constituents every day, said Doug Collins, the new VA secretary.
Risk mitigation, education top counties’ AI prep goals
Members of NACo’s Artificial Intelligence Exploratory Committee spent a year considering the capabilities, opportunities, threats and best practices that the rapidly developing technology sector poses for county governments.
LUCC members hear challenges, solutions to disasters
Disasters require coordinated, multi-level responses that support the long-term resilience of urban counties.
Rural housing affordability approaches crisis
Policy solutions mentioned in the national discussion on housing affordability often pose a mismatch with the conditions on the ground in rural counties.
NACo members explore adding a midsize county caucus
If the NACo Board approves it, a midsize county caucus would join LUCC and RAC.
Medicaid cuts threaten home and community-based care
Roughly 40% of home care workers live in low-income households and the majority rely on some form of public assistance, with about one-third relying on Medicaid.
Stakes rise for counties in municipal bond fight
Bond experts see alternatives pale in comparison to tax-free finance tools.
History fuels optimism for county veteran Maloy
The second-term member of Congress from Southern Utah sees parallels to the 1930s government transformation.
Panel touts bridging digital skills gap
Digital literacy skills are becoming increasingly crucial not just for county officials, but their constituents, too.
NACo kicks off 2025 Legislative Conference
County officials are addressing workforce gaps, land use, intergovernmental partnerships, disaster response and preparedness, federal regulations and the future of artificial intelligence at NACo’s 2025 Legislative Conference.
Conference
2025 NACo Legislative Conference
The NACo Legislative Conference brings together nearly 2,000 elected and appointed county officials to focus on federal policy issues that impact counties and our residents.
Top Stories
Explore the recent top stories from County News.
Counties supplement child-care wages to address a broken market
Acknowledging that the funding model for the industry makes recruitment and retention a challenge, several counties are supplementing the wages of childcare workers.
Rural counties have options to bring childcare to their communities
America’s childcare crisis is exacerbated in rural communities, where local governments have limited funding and families have fewer options and farther distances to travel.
Childcare means opportunities for economic growth
Lack of childcare options keeps would-be workers at home or at the very least, gives them an unpredictable schedule for work, both of which limit labor force participation and a county's economic growth.
New approach transforms youth justice in Pierce County
Since 2000, Pierce County, Wash. has achieved an 88% reduction in youth detention — even as the county’s overall population has grown by approximately 30% over the same period.