National Association of Counties

National Association of Counties
Name	National Association of Counties
Abbreviation	NACo
Formation	1935
Type	membership association
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Region served	United States
Leader title	President

Contents

National Association of Counties The National Association of Counties supports elected officials and administrators across United States counties, linking county leaders from Los Angeles County to Fairbanks North Star Borough through policy, education, and services. Founded during the Great Depression, it has engaged with federal institutions such as the United States Congress, the White House, and agencies including the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Health and Human Services to influence legislation and funding affecting county operations. NACo partners with professional organizations like the National Governors Association, the United States Conference of Mayors, and the American Public Health Association while convening county leaders at national conferences held near landmarks such as the Capitol Hill and Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

History

NACo was established in 1935 amid interactions with the New Deal and the Social Security Act debates, arising as counties sought collective representation similar to the National League of Cities and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Early leadership engaged figures tied to the Works Progress Administration and consulted with lawmakers on measures like the Revenue Act of 1936 and wartime mobilization policies including coordination with the War Production Board. Postwar expansion tied NACo to programs associated with the Interstate Highway System and collaborations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency during crises such as responses coordinated after events like Hurricane Katrina and the Northridge earthquake. During the late 20th century NACo interfaced with reforms led by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act while engaging with policy debates involving the Clean Water Act and the Affordable Care Act.

NACo's governance mirrors structures found in associations like the American Bar Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures. A board of elected county officials from jurisdictions such as Cook County and Miami-Dade County oversees strategic direction, while committees reflect thematic areas aligned with the United States Senate Committee on Finance and the United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Leadership often coordinates with professional staff who previously worked at institutions including the Brookings Institution, the Urban Institute, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. NACo maintains regional offices and works through affiliates such as the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the National Association of County Information Officers to execute programs similar to those run by the Federal Reserve System regional outreach.

NACo offers professional development like the Harvard Kennedy School-style executive programs and specialized trainings similar to curricula from the International City/County Management Association. Its services include grant assistance modeled on practices at the Council of State Governments and technology initiatives comparable to work by Cisco Systems and Microsoft Corporation partnerships. NACo runs peer networks that parallel National League of Cities cohorts and convenes conferences that attract participants from entities such as the Gates Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Emergency preparedness programs connect counties with resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, while workforce and aging services draw on expertise from the Administration for Community Living and the U.S. Department of Labor.

NACo advocates before the United States Congress and federal agencies on fiscal matters tied to appropriations committees and taxation policies influenced by the Internal Revenue Service rulings. It has taken positions on infrastructure funding aligned with recommendations from the American Society of Civil Engineers and on public health policy intersecting with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration. NACo engages in coalition work with groups such as the National Association of County Agricultural Agents and the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems to influence legislation including transportation bills like the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act and disaster aid packages similar to those debated after Superstorm Sandy. Policy priorities often reference legal frameworks such as the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act and court decisions from the United States Supreme Court affecting local authority.

Membership spans counties, parishes, and boroughs comparable in scale to jurisdictions like Harris County and King County, and includes associate members from entities comparable to the National Association of Towns and Townships. Services to members include procurement programs modeled after the General Services Administration schedules, insurance pools similar to offerings by the National League of Cities Insurance Trust, and data platforms inspired by the Census Bureau’s resources. NACo facilitates mutual aid compacts and interjurisdictional agreements comparable to arrangements seen among Metropolitan Transportation Authority partners and county collaborations with state bodies such as the California State Association of Counties.

NACo publishes reports, policy briefs, and benchmarking data akin to research from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and the Urban Institute. Its publications cover fiscal analyses reminiscent of studies by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and program evaluations paralleling work by the Government Accountability Office. NACo’s data dashboards and county-level indicators draw on methodologies used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the United States Census Bureau, and its white papers often cite models from the RAND Corporation, the Brookings Institution, and the Institute of Medicine.