This week, the Association staff will join state leadership in a press conference to announce county governments’ 2024 legislative initiative to improve mental health care and access across all 67 counties. State leaders participating in the press conference will include House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, Commissioner Kim Boswell with the Alabama Department of Mental Health, and the sponsors of ACCA’s 2024 legislation, Sen. Will Barfoot and Rep. Russell Bedsole. Monroe County Commissioner Justin Sawyer will also be in attendance to represent the members of the Passion, Leadership, Accountability and Networking (PLAN) 2024 group, who have collectively laid the groundwork for this legislation through months of hard work and dedication to their mental health “Passion Project.”  

April is National County Government Month. NACo has a variety of resources available for counties to promote county roles and responsibilities in serving residents. For a toolkit of outreach materials, click here. 

County Advocacy Days continue with four dates in April: 2, 9, 23, and 30. If you have not signed up to attend, please do so through the Events/Education tab in the online community or by emailing registration. Each County Advocacy Day begins with a legislative briefing by ACCA staff and includes lunch, then an afternoon spent at the state house as we promote county legislative priorities with ONE voice.

CRS annual renewal questionnaires are available starting today. Members will probably notice that a few changes have been made to some existing questions and several new questions have been added to the questionnaire to more thoroughly capture exposures. Members will have until April 30 to complete the questionnaire.

Any questions or issues regarding completion of the questionnaire can be directed to the CRS Underwriting Department by reaching out to Ashley Watson at awatson@countyrisk.org or Mellissa Morris at mmorris@countyrisk.org.

The National Association of Counties has extended its deadline for the NACo Achievement Awards application process. The new application deadline is Friday, April 5 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Counties will receive recognition in 18 categories covering a wide spectrum of county responsibilities. All winners receive an award certificate and customizable press releases. The 18 “best of category” winners will receive special recognition at the 2024 NACo Annual Conference. To apply, click here.

Early registration discounts continue through April 16 for NACo’s 2024 Annual Conference in July. To view rates and register for the conference, click here. The County Family always boasts an impressive turnout and engagement at this conference. ACCA is especially grateful to Ray Long of Morgan County and Merceria Ludgood of Mobile County, who both serve on NACo’s Board of Directors.

Interested in serving with NACo? Apply for a leadership or committee appointment by clicking here.

Registration continues for the 96th Annual Convention on August 20-22 at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach.

You can register to attend here. Please note that you will not receive a link to book overnight accommodations until you have registered. All reservations must be made through the room block link.You will receive the link in your confirmation email upon registering to attend. If you need assistance registering yourself or someone else, please contact the ACCA Education and Events Team.If you are unable to attend and need to cancel your room reservation, please reach out to ACCA and not the Perdido Beach Resort. That way we can ensure that your room goes to another member of the County Family.

Governor Kay Ivey and Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair have released the 2023 New & Expanding Industry Announcements Report, an annual report card that outlines how the state’s economic development efforts are performing. The report shows that Alabama’s economy will receive over $6.4 billion in new capital investment stemming from 184 growth projects announced in 2023 in 43 different Alabama counties. The report can be viewed here.