NACo kicks off 2025 Legislative Conference

Key Takeaways

County workforce gaps, land use, intergovernmental partnerships, disaster response and preparedness, federal regulations and the future of artificial intelligence (AI) are just some of the many topics that 2,000 participants are tackling March 1-4 at NACo’s 2025 Legislative Conference underway at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.

County officials attending the conference are set to hear from federal partners, national experts and thought leaders as the conference kicks off on the heels of the 119th Congress convening and President Donald Trump taking the oath of office for a second time and beginning a shakeup at federal agencies that could affect counties.

Conference attendees will hear from a number of high-profile speakers including NACo President James Gore of Sonoma County, Calif.; Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), speaking on the Secure Rural Schools program; Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), speaking on transportation and infrastructure and Fred Humphries, corporate vice president of U.S. Government Affairs for Microsoft.

Other high-profile speakers who will address conference participants include U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). 

Conference participants will also hear from Wake County, N.C. Commissioner Shinica Thomas and Travis County, Texas Judge Andy Brown as well as from two county officials running for second vice president, Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell and Greene County, Mo. Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon. That election will take place in July at the 2025 NACo Annual Conference in Philadelphia.

Wyden, 75, will address the General Session Tuesday, March 4, focusing on the Secure Rural Schools program. Since 2000, the Wyden-authored Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act, commonly known as the “county payments” law, has helped provide a stable source of revenue for historically timber-dependent communities and Wyden’s Combat Illegal Logging Act has helped protect Oregon’s hardwood industries from the import of illegally harvested timber products. Wyden has also fought to expand rural access to health care. .

Wyden serves on the committees on Finance, Budget, Intelligence, and Energy and Natural Resources. He is Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Graves, 61, is a lifelong resident of Missouri’s 6th Congressional District, which includes all or part of 39 counties, working as a small businessman and a sixth-generation family farmer. 

In Congress, Graves chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. As chairman, Graves leads the Committee as it has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation – aviation systems, highways and bridges, transit and rail transportation, pipelines, and maritime and waterborne transportation. Graves is also a member of the House Committee on Armed Services. 

Padilla, speaking Tuesday, is the first Latino elected to represent California In the U.S. Senate. The son of immigrants, he grew up in the San Fernando Valley and studied Mechanical Engineering at MIT.

Members of NACo’s policy steering committees are set to explore an array of domestic policy issues, March 1. 

These committees meet at least twice each year to review and make recommendations on public policy issues and legislation. 

The policy development process initiated by the steering committees is the foundation for the American County Platform, which drives NACo’s advocacy work. 

Participants will get a chance to meet with federal agencies at the Federal Agency Expo taking place March 3. 

NACo’s Federal Agency Expo is the only event that brings more than 100 federal officials from dozens of offices together in one room specifically to engage with county leaders. 

Attendees are encouraged to set aside time during this one-of-a-kind opportunity to connect with any federal agencies important to their counties.

On March 4, NACo will hold a Capitol Hill press conference on disaster reform before winding up the conference at a Washington Hilton reception.