Gouldman Participates in NACo's Legislative Conference

From Putnam County Legislator William Gouldman

Bill Gouldman joined nearly 2,000 other county leaders in Washington, DC for the National Association of Counties (NACo) annual Legislative Conference March 2 – 6. Attendees met with members of the Trump administration and Congress on key issues like disaster recovery, the opioid and substance abuse epidemic, marijuana legislation, cellular/broadband coverage, infrastructure funding, workforce development, public health and unfunded mandates.

“This was a very informative conference. Representatives from large, small, rural and urban counties throughout the county were in attendance. Every county has similar problems and issues. It was good to hear how they approach them and consider how we can implement positive solutions in Putnam County”, Gouldman said.

“Decisions made by the White House, congress and federal courts have major impacts on our ability to lead our communities and pursue a better future,” said NACo President Greg Cox. “This conference is an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our federal partners as we help residents forge pathways to live well and thrive.”

In meetings with lawmakers and administration officials, county leaders outlined several key federal policy priorities including:

** Promoting county infrastructure priorities in a comprehensive infrastructure package.

** Promoting mental health, substance use disorders treatment and criminal justice reform.

** Boosting cellular/broadband coverage while preserving local zoning authority.
** Promoting the stop of Cost Shifting from the federal government to the counties (Unfunded Mandates).
** Promoting the funding and legislation on public health issues.

Conference attendees heard from congressional and administration leaders, including US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, US Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, US Senators Joni Ernst, Amy Klobuchar and Marco Rubio, Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway and Co-Founder of America On-Line Steve Case.

County officials were very active on Capitol Hill. I was with a delegation which met with representatives from Congressman Sean Maloney. We advocated for shared county priorities, including infrastructure funding, workforce development, public health issues and cellular/broadband coverage.

The conference featured three briefings on Capitol Hill: one on transforming policy and practice at the local level featuring US Congressman Kevin Brady; one on fixing the FAST Act; and another on how counties are re-imagining health care in county jails featuring US Congressman Paul Tonko.

There were more than two dozen policy workshops featuring county officials and other leaders in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. They focused on topics like the opioid crisis; early childhood investments; workforce and economic development; transportation and infrastructure; public health and safety; mental health and jails; and cybersecurity and technology.