On February 13, 2023, Advocacy’s Director of Interagency Affairs Charles Maresca, Assistant Chief Counsel Janis Reyes, and Assistant Chief Counsel Meagan Singer attended the National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference. Nearly 2,000 elected and appointed county officials gathered at the NACo conference to discuss federal policy issues that impact their communities.
Advocacy attended the Federal Agency Expo, an opportunity for conference attendees to engage with over 70 federal agencies. At the Expo, Advocacy attorneys spoke directly with county officials from all over the country about their diverse priorities, including rural economic and business district development.
Advocacy also took the opportunity to discuss an upcoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Small Business Advocacy and Review Panel on the prevention of workplace violence in healthcare and social assistance. OSHA and Advocacy are currently seeking Small Entity Representatives from small health care facilities and other small entities that provide healthcare services to participate in this panel. Small Entity Representatives provide input on how draft regulations might potentially affect the operation of their workplace. Many county representatives showed an interest in the Small Business Advocacy and Review Panel and agreed to distribute information about it to their colleagues.
The Expo provided an opportunity to showcase the unique work that Advocacy does on behalf of small governmental entities. Advocacy speaks to federal regulators on behalf of small entities, including about 2,100 small counties with a population of fewer than 50,000 residents (approximately 69% of all counties as of 2017). County officials showed particular interest in Advocacy’s 2022 Small Business Profiles and similar economic data resources.
Other areas of interest included federal equity initiatives as well as environmental, labor, and broadband internet regulations. Assistant Chief Counsel Reyes discussed the Department of Labor’s plans to release a proposed rule in May 2023 implementing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees.
We would like to thank the National Association of Counties for inviting us to participate in such a successful event!