September 2025

2025 Legislative Leadership Conference - Join Us Next Month in Glynn County

Join us in Glynn County for the 2025 Legislative Leadership Conference (LLC) on October 8-10. Attend the LLC to play a key role in shaping ACCG’s advocacy efforts by voting to approve the 2026 Policy Priorities. In addition, the LLC offers the opportunity to enhance your skills through Lifelong Learning Academy courses, explore timely topics during breakout sessions on pertinent policy and legislative issues, and connect with fellow county leaders to share ideas and insights.

Voting delegates must be present during the Business Session on Thursday, October 9 to cast a vote on the 2026 Policy Priorities. If your county has not appointed a voting delegate, the county chair, sole commissioner, CEO or mayor shall be the voting delegate. That individual can appoint another member of the governing authority onsite by visiting the voting delegate booth near registration. Voting delegates will receive an email prior to the conference with additional information.

Important: Voting delegate credentials can be picked up onsite at the voting delegate booth near registration on Wednesday, October 8, from 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and on Thursday, October 9, from 8:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. You must have your credentials to vote.

Visit the conference website to learn more about what to expect at the LLC.

ACCG Policy Council Proposes 2026 Policy Priorities

The ACCG Policy Council met on Wednesday, Sept. 17, to select and approve its proposed 2026 Policy Priorities, which came from the state and federal policy committees’ priority recommendations and ACCG’s guiding principles. ACCG’s policy committees held two rounds of meetings during the summer, recommending 21 state policy priorities and three federal policy priorities for the Policy Council’s consideration. The Policy Council selected 11 of those state recommendations and all three federal recommendations. ACCG membership will vote on the overall 2026 Policy Priorities and select the association's top three legislative priorities for 2026 during this year’s Legislative Leadership Conference. 

Click here to review the recommended state and federal policy priorities.



ACCG Accepting Amendments to Proposed Policy Priorities

Counties may now submit amendments to the proposed 2026 Policy Priorities. Amendments to the Policy Priorities may be offered by the membership under the following conditions:

Amendment Requirements

Amendments to the Policy Agenda and resolutions may be proposed by the Membership under the following conditions:

1. Proposed amendments or resolutions must be in writing on an ACCG Amendment Form;
2. Proposed amendments or resolutions must be co-signed by a total of five (5) commissioners, each from a different county in good standing; and
3. Completed, proposed amendments or resolutions must be submitted to President Clinton Johnson (cljohnson@dougherty.ga.us) and Todd Edwards (tedwards@accg.org) before the start of the Business Session.

ACCG/GMA Joint Policy Committee Meeting 

The ACCG and GMA Policy Councils met on Sept. 16-17 at St. Simons/Glynn County to continue strengthening the county and city partnership in pursuing sound public policy for Georgia’s counties and cities. Among the joint topics discussed were local government long-term capital financing needs, artificial intelligence uses and policies, recent property and sales tax reforms, and continued legislation waiving local government sovereign immunity. The event was facilitated by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVIOG). As noted above, the ACCG Policy Council met separately to propose ACCG’s policy priorities.  

ACCG Honors Rep. Gullett with a Legislative Service Award

During a recent Paulding County Board of Commissioners meeting, ACCG Director of Governmental Affairs Todd Edwards presented Rep. Joseph Gullett with a Legislative Service Award in recognition of his strong support for county governments. Rep. Gullett has been an advocate against state preemptions on local land use authority and has helped voice the Association's concerns about legislation that could impact county funding for courts and public safety. His efforts reflect a strong commitment to ensuring that county voices are not only considered but heard throughout the legislative process.

2026 ACCG Salary Guide Now Available

The “Computing County Official Salaries for 2026” guidebook is now available. ACCG publishes this guidebook annually to assist counties in calculating salaries (as of Jan. 1, 2026) of certain county officials, as well as state officials who receive supplements to their salaries from the county. 

ACCG's Governmental Affairs Team Welcomes Two New Members 

ACCG is pleased to welcome Keenan Rogers and Joel Truss as the newest members of the Governmental Affairs Team. Keenan holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Florida State University. Most recently, he served as the Director of State and Local Education Alliances for the Cyber Readiness Institute. He will staff the Economic Development & Transportation Committee. Joel brings a strong academic background with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Albany State University and a Master of Arts in Global Affairs from the University of Oklahoma-Norman. Before joining the team, he was a part-time instructor of political science and history at Georgia Highlands College in Rome, Georgia. Joel will be responsible for the Federal and Natural Resources & the Environment Committees. We are thrilled to have Keenan and Joel on board and look forward to the valuable perspectives and expertise they bring to our advocacy efforts on behalf of Georgia’s counties.

Keenan Rogers

Joel Truss

ACCG Attends the Council of Southern County Associations’ 2025 Annual Conference

The ACCG Governmental Affairs Team and several other staff members attended the Council for Southern County Associations 2025 Annual Meeting in El Paso, Texas. This meeting is a great opportunity for southern state county associations to get together and share ideas and experiences on policy, organizational administration, and other hot topics each year. Among this year’s issues of discussion were the 2025 legislative update, AI applications in county governance, and communications strategies on policy issues. Attendees also got to meet with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and tour the border with Mexico.  

Click here to view state associations’ top 2025 legislative priorities.  

Apply for Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation's BRACE Program Grant

The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation is now accepting submissions for the fourth year of their community improvement grant. The purpose of the BRACE Grant Program is to reduce litter, blight, and illegal dumping on public property and encourage code enforcement efforts. Funded through the Solid Waste Trust Fund (SWTF), the grant program is designed to prioritize assistance for communities to address these challenges. Grants of $2,500 or $5,000 will be made in November 2026, and priority will be given to communities of 2,500 or less. The deadline to apply is Friday, Oct. 10.

Click here to learn more.

GEFA's Hurricane Helene Resilience Funding

The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) will host a webinar on Monday, Oct. 6, from 11:00 a.m. to noon. The webinar will discuss GEFA's Hurricane Helene Resilience Funding allocation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the call for projects period, principal forgiveness eligibility, and project scoring.

The Hurricane Helene Resilience Funding is available to improve the resilience of publicly owned drinking water and wastewater facilities, as well as enhance the resilience of decentralized wastewater treatment systems, e.g., septic systems.

Click here to register for the webinar.

General Assembly Study Committees

Several legislative special committees and study committees met across the state in August and September to discuss pressing issues impacting Georgia counties, including election administration, economic stability in rural Georgia, managing critical natural resources, and our state’s income tax.

Click here to review the agendas and recordings from each meeting.

If you have any questions about the study committees, please feel free to reach out to ACCG’s Governmental Affairs Team. 

Learn More about the Rural Health Transformation Program

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), opening the application period for states. The RHT Program will invest $50 billion over five years (FY 2026–2030) to strengthen rural health systems by improving access, workforce capacity, technology, and innovative models of care. To support applicants, CMS will host informational webinars on September 25th from 3:00–4:30 p.m. ET. Learn more here.

Applications are due by Wednesday, Nov. 5.  

Bipartisan FEMA Reform Bill Advances to the U.S. House of Representatives

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has passed the bipartisan Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act, marking a major step toward long-sought disaster reform. The bill, which responds directly to county feedback, would convert FEMA’s Public Assistance Program to a grant-based model, ensure fund disbursement within 120 days of a disaster and establish a universal disaster application. The bill currently awaits full House and Senate consideration. ACCG's Executive Director Dave Wills recently sent a letter expressing ACCG's support for the FEMA Reform Act to Georgia's congressional delegation.

To read Dave's letter to Congressman Buddy Carter, one of the bill's co-sponsors, click here. Counties are encouraged to continue their advocacy efforts.

NACo Encourages County Feedback on USDA's Reorganization Plan

On July 24, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a major reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that will alter how counties interact with rural development and nutrition programs. In response to the announcement, NACo engaged with Secretary Rollins and USDA to share county feedback and recommendations for the reorganization plan. The comment period is open until Tuesday, Sept. 30. Comments can be emailed to reorganization@usda.gov.

For more information on the reorganization plan, click here.