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F A M I L Y  F R I E N D S » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » About NACo – The Voice of America’s Counties


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National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the U.S. NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,068 coun- ties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public’s understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innova- tive solutions through education and research and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.


NACo applauds bipartisan, bicameral efforts to reauthorize Second Chance Act NACo has given a hearty thumbs-up to bipartisan, bicameral efforts to


reauthorize legislation that aims to reduce jail and prison costs to taxpay- ers and improve public safety. Te bipartisan Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013 would


improve and consolidate the programs authorized by the 2008 Second Chance Act, but reauthorize them at reduced levels to better reflect cur- rent appropriations. First enacted in 2008, the Second Chance Act provides federal, state and local governments additional tools necessary to help incarcerated in- dividuals more successfully re-enter their communities upon release and avoid reoffending. “Sheriffs and jail administrators have embraced re-entry programs as


part of their public safety mission and have worked with researchers to adapt evidence-based practices like risk assessment and case management to suit the complexity of the local jail setting,” NACo Executive Director Matt Chase said during a Capitol Hill briefing Nov. 13, organized by the Council of State Governments. “Laws such as the Second Chance Act bring us closer to the best days


of intergovernmental relations with model cooperation of federal, state and local officials.” Chase noted that counties own 2,657 jails and spend $70.2 billion


each year on public safety and justice services and that the Second Chance Act has provided more than $90 million to counties to explore and test common sense, evidence-based approaches to reducing crime and improving public safety. According to the U. S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are more than 13 million admissions and releases annually to county jails, involving about 7 million to 10 million individuals. Many of these individuals cy- cling in and out of county jail have mental illness issues or substance abuse issues. Te reauthorization was introduced by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)


and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Howard Coble (R-N.C.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Steve Chabot (R- Ohio.)


Farm Bill moves to conference with NACo priorities


Meeting for the first time on Oct. 30, the Farm Bill Conference Com- mittee discussed key NACo priorities addressed by both the House and Senate farm bills (H.R. 2642 and S. 954). Overall, NACo supports the Senate version of the farm bill (S.954) and


its Rural Development Title because it more adequately addresses county need and priorities. Since 1996, the Rural Development title has aver- aged $413 million in mandatory funding per farm bill. While the bills from both chambers are well below this average, the House bill authorizes $50 million in mandatory funding compared to


COUNTY LINES, FALL 2013


$227 million authorized by the Senate bill. Te Senate farm bill also authorizes a broad range of programs that


are critical to counties. Specifically, within the Rural Development title, NACo supports the Senate bill’s mandatory funding levels for the Rural Micro-entrepreneur Assistance Program ($15 million), the Water/Waste- water backlog ($150 million) and Value Added Producer Grant Program ($62.5 million). “Funding for issues like the water-wastewater backlog and programs


like the Rural Micro-entrepreneur Assistance Program and Value Added Producer Grant Program are not only vital to the success and sustain- ability of North Carolina’s rural counties, but to counties throughout the United States,” Person County, N.C. Commissioner Ray Jeffers said. Jef- fers chairs NACo’s Rural Action Caucus. NACo also supports the Senate’s approach to streamlining the autho- rizing language for rural development programs, which is designed to assist the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in administering pro- grams and improving accessibility for rural constituents. It would allow USDA to focus resources on strategic community and economic develop- ment plans on a multijurisdictional basis. Within the House bill, NACo supports Sec. 10013, Use and Discharg-


es of Authorized Pesticides. Tis provision overturns EPA’s general pesti- cides permit program, which was finalized in 2011. EPA’s general pes- ticides permit program has had a significant effect on county programs, particularly mosquito abatement and noxious weed control efforts along roadways and other wet areas. Tis is especially important for counties that have large land masses and must spray or monitor large areas within the county. Some counties have reported suspending, delaying or reducing their county-run pesticide pro- grams due to additional costs. No funding was attached to help state and local governments comply with the EPA regulations. In the House bill, NACo opposes a provision that would eliminate categorical eligibility for families that receive non-cash assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. Tis provision, included in the 2008 law, is used in 43 states and reduces ad- ministrative costs because TANF families do not have to file a separate application. NACo supports the high-performance incentive bonuses from the


2008 Farm Bill that have contributed to reduced error rates, — also slated for removal in the House bill. It also supports the provision in the 1996 welfare reform law that allows states with high unemployment to obtain waivers from the strict and cumbersome three-month benefit cut-off for single, childless adults. Forty-five states received these waivers during the recession. NACo’s interest in the food stamp program is driven, in part, by mem-


ber counties in several states that operate the SNAP program and contrib- ute to its administrative costs. Eliminating these provisions would make it harder and costlier for them to administer the program.


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