ACCG and the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) are developing a program to help counties and cities comply with the requirements of the Ashley Wilson Act (House Bill 451). House Bill 451 requires all public entities in Georgia to offer a supplemental benefit program for first responders diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) caused by line of duty traumatic events. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

Registration for the Summer Policy Committee Meetings will open soon. Meetings will be held in Bartow and Dougherty counties, providing two opportunities for county officials to participate. Attend the meeting(s) of your choice and join the discussion on key issues impacting Georgia's counties. The issues will guide the Association's efforts before the Georgia General Assembly, Congress, and federal and state agencies.

Each year, ACCG produces a Salary Guide for County Officials to assist counties in calculating salaries of certain county officials, as well as state officials who receive supplements to their salaries from the county. ACCG anticipates releasing the Salary Guide by the end of the month.

ACCG welcomes new interns, Ellie Loventhal, Colin Marcum, and Alex Klein, for the summer semester. Get to know each intern and discover how they'll assist various departments during their internships.

Published quarterly, the ACCG Memorial List is a tribute to the county officials who are no longer with us. View the most recent list to help honor and preserve the legacy of Georgia's late county leaders. 

Learn about Fulton County's initiative "Project Care," which strives to fight for equitable health care access for its residents. 

The Georgia County Internship Program (GCIP) annually provides counties with funding for students to get hands-on experience in local government through internships. This initiative aims to cultivate the next generation of public servants by offering practical work experiences that enhance students' skills and understanding of county operations. Learn more about the internships provided in 2023 through GCIP.

Now, more than ever, counties are celebrated for their tireless work on behalf of their communities. Help ACCG highlight those efforts by sending in your photos for Georgia's Local Lens, the newsletter that provides a weekly snapshot of Georgia's counties. Visit the ACCG website for more information. 

ACCG is partnering with the Georgia Emergency Communication Authority, the statewide regulatory agency for 911 systems, to host a webinar on the need for Next Generation 911, and how the state and counties can work together to implement this new system. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, June 18 at 10:00 a.m.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced the 2024-2025 funding cycle and workshop dates for the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP) and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Program. The in-person workshop will take place on June 6, 2024, while the webinar workshop will take place on June 12, 2024. 

The 2024 NACo Annual Conference & Exposition will take place this year in Hillsborough County, Florida from July 12-15. Join ACCG staff and county officials from across the nation for engaging sessions and workshops on federal policies impacting counties. 

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rule. The rule change will go into effect on July 1, 2024. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two initiatives to improve public drinking water quality nationwide, ensuring safe and clean water for all communities. These programs safeguard the nation's water by implementing proactive cybersecurity measures and fostering transparency by keeping the public informed about potential hazards in their drinking water.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has opened a "Call for Utilities" encouraging water sector utilities to apply for the Creating Resilient Water Utilities (CRWU) Initiative. The CRWU initiative provides water sector utilities with no-cost climate change risk assessment technical assistance. Applications must be submitted by Thursday, August 15.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced the Modernizing NEPA Challenge. The challenge aims to showcase how existing web-based, interactive, collaborative tools can be used to make documents associated with NEPA more accessible and transparent to the public. Submissions will be accepted until Monday, July 15.