Twelve Oregon county commissioners and judges as well as several county and AOC staff traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the 2022 National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference, held February 11-16.
While in D.C., county commissioners and judges also visited Capitol hill to elevate critical policy priorities for Oregon’s 36 counties in meetings with Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, Representative Kurt Schrader, and staff from the office of Representative Cliff Bentz.
Harney County Judge Pete Runnels, who participated in the hill visits, noted these connection points provided an important opportunity to cover key county issues such as Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and Secure Rural Schools (SRS). “PILT and SRS are important resources for counties that contain federally managed land. These meetings provided county leaders a way to collaborate with our federal counterpoints to advocate for and secure these and other critical resources for our counties,” said Runnels.
During the in-person conference, the Oregon delegation engaged in NACo policy discussions through NACo’s policy steering committee process, as well as engagement in breakout sessions, and general sessions, hearing from a range of speakers in the federal government, including President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and other administration staff.
NACo steering committees tackled a number of issues relevant for counties across the U.S. and took positions on policies that would inform NACo’s work among federal agencies, Congress, and the White House on issues ranging from wildfire, to childcare, to broadband, among others.
Clackamas County Commissioner Sonya Fischer, who chairs the NACo Human Services subcommittee on Education, Children, and Families noted, “our work through the NACo process unites counties across the nation, and helps us set key policy priorities to elevate the work of counties among our federal government partners.”
“County issues range from health and human services, to natural resources, to cybersecurity, and funding flexibility for services we deliver to Oregonians. Our work in D.C. helps elevate the overall work each county commissioner and elected officials can do in our counties and across the state,” commended Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone.
AOC President and Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock said of the conference, “This isn’t the first time I have attended this conference and every time I do, I come home believing that living 3,000 miles west and depending upon the media for our news and headlines, we hear mostly the screams from the far right and the far left but there are still elected officials in the middle who are focused on the fundamental issues this country faces and who manage to advance legislation and craft solutions beyond party lines.”
NACo Interim Policy Resolutions can be found here.
AOC Federal Priorities can be found here.
Contributed by: Megan Chuinard | Public Affairs Associate