Legislation & Advocacy on Behalf of Towns at the Federal and State Levels
A hallmark of our advocacy work at the federal level is our membership of the National Association of Towns & Townships (NATaT).
The purpose of the National Association of Towns and Townships (NATaT) is to strengthen the effectiveness of town and township government by educating lawmakers and public policy officials about how small-town governments operate and by advocating policies on their behalf in Washington, DC.
The NATaT’s valuable membership benefits include:
- Lobbying for Grassroots Governments in Washington, DC:
- Regulations and mandates developed in Washington, DC are often excessive, costly, and burdensome to smaller communities. NATaT works to ensure that lawmakers and federal agencies take into consideration the resources and capacities of smaller governments during the development phases of the rules and legislation. NATaT has been instrumental in getting legislation passed to ensure that Federal agencies involve grassroots governments in the regulatory process.
- Weekly Legislative Updates
- Email Legislative Alerts
On the state level, NYAOT staff advocates throughout the year in accordance with our legislative priorities. This includes meeting with members of the state Legislature and their staff, writing memos of opposition and support, participating in hearings, and submitting comments on regulatory change.
The other element to NYAOT’s advocacy is making sure our members are informed about what’s going on in Albany. We do this through our Legislation at Lunch webinars, our weekly legislative newsletter In Session, having staff available to answer member questions about legislation, and holding a Town Lobby Day.