Public Safety and Legal Counsel

Governors legal counsel serve as senior staff, overseeing legal issues with legislation, policy, executive orders, administrative actions, and executive appointments. Additionally, Governors are focused on public safety, crime, delinquency and related social and economic consequences. NGA serves the needs of governors and their policy advisors in a broad range of criminal, sentencing, corrections and justice-related policies.

Latest

Briefing on Governors Engagement in Foreign Affairs

CJPA Briefing On State Actions To Address Human Trafficking

Briefing on Legal and Regulatory Considerations for States Related to Artificial Intelligence

CJPA Briefing on CCJs 2023 Year-End Crime Trends Report

Meet the team

Ken Hardy, Program Director
Lauren Dedon, Senior Legal Policy Advisor
Erin Daneker, Policy Analyst
Maria Kearl, Policy Analyst
Camille Lodugnon, Policy Coordinator

NGA Public Safety & Legal Counsel networks

Governors Criminal Justice Policy Advisors Network

The Governors Criminal Justice Policy Advisors (CJPAs) Network provides a forum for governors’ criminal and juvenile justice policy advisors to connect with their peers in other states, promote regional information sharing and collaboration, and learn about best practices and the latest research in the field. NGA convenes CJPAs for an annual institute and offers customized technical assistance to them as requested through research and strategic planning support.

Governors’ Legal Counsel
Network

The Governors’ Legal Counsel Network is comprised of chief legal counsel, general counsel, and legal deputies to Governors. As part of this network, counsel have the unique opportunity to share best practices and legal lessons learned with peers across the nation. NGA convenes legal counsel on regular briefing calls, hosts counsel at an annual meeting, and provides ad hoc technical assistance and research support to the network on a vast array of legal and policy issues.

Consortium Of State Public Safety Executives

The Consortium of State Public Safety Executives is a network of cabinet-level secretaries and commissioners from across the country who are responsible for oversight of their state’s public safety enterprise, including state police, fire, corrections, emergency management and/or other related agencies. Members connect with their peers to share lessons learned, receive briefings from national experts on best practices and receive ongoing technical support from NGA staff.

Resources

School Safety and Prevention (March 2018)

In light of the devastating events at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the NGA Education Division hosted a School Safety and Prevention Webinar for Governors’ Education Policy Advisors on Mar ...

Governors: ‘Today We Stand With All Floridians’

WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association today released a statement following yesterday’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 people and left more than a dozen ...

State Public Safety and Autonomous Vehicle Technology

Autonomous vehicles have the potential to revolutionize how we move people and goods. As states navigate implementing this new technology, they face a number of potential public safety opportunities and ...

State Strategies to Reduce Highway and Traffic Fatalities and Injuries: A Road Map for States

Summary With 39 states reporting an increase in traffic fatalities in 2016, traffic safety policy, programs and practices remain a pressing concern across the nation—and governors are an essential part ...

States Focus on Reducing Traffic Injuries and Fatalities

WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) announced that five states, Colorado, Connecticut,Minnesota, Washington and Utah, have been selected to participate in a learning lab that will ...

Reducing Burdensome Cyber Regulations

Mick Mulvaney Director Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503 Dear Director Mulvaney, On behalf of the Nation’s governors and state chief information officers, ...

NGA Works to Prevent Violent Extremism in States

WASHINGTON—As recent incidents have shown, violent extremism remains a multifaceted and complex threat at the state, local and federal levels. The National Governors Association (NGA), through a two-year grant provided ...

Governors React to Mass Shooting in Nevada

WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association today released a statement following the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, yesterday that killed at least 50 people and left more than 400 injured: “The nation’s ...

Joint Association Letter on FY18 NDAA Conference Priorities

The Honorable John McCain Chairman Senate Armed Services Committee 218 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable Jack Reed Ranking Member Senate Armed Services Committee 218 Russell Senate ...

State Approaches to Implementing Community-Based Alternatives to Incarceration for Youth Involved in the Justice System

In many states, governors have led bipartisan juvenile justice reform to improve youth outcomes and public safety. Guiding those efforts are: a better understanding of brain development; recent U.S. Supreme ...

States Strengthen Parole Policies and Practices

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), in partnership with the National Parole Resource Center (NPRC), has selected four states—Colorado, Kentucky, Nebraska and North Carolina—to participate in a learning collaborative focused ...

Governors Condemn Acts of Hatred

WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association (NGA) today released a statement following the deadly attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend that killed three people and left 35 injured: “The nation’s governors ...