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

Meet the team

  • Ken Hardy, Program Director
  • Lauren Dedon, Senior Legal Policy Advisor
  • Erin Daneker, Senior Policy Analyst
  • Maria Kearl, Senior Policy Analyst
  • Aisley Wallace Harper, Policy Coordinator

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

State Public Safety and Autonomous Vehicle Technology: Recommended Actions for Governors

Summary The NGA Center for Best Practices released policy guidance on autonomous vehicles. The issue paper, entitled State Public Safety and Autonomous Vehicle Technology: Recommended Action for Governors assists governors in creating ...
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Testimony – FEMA Grant Funding

Written testimony by Governor Sandoval and Governor Bullock on behalf of NGA to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on the importance of FEMA grant programs for state ...
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States Focus on Preventing Targeted Violence

WASHINGTON, DC – The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) today announced that four states, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and Virginia, have been selected for a policy academy aimed at developing strategic plans ...
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FirstNet Appointments

The Honorable Wilbur Ross Secretary U.S. Department of Commerce 1401 Constitution Ave, NW Washington, DC 20230 Michael Poth Chief Executive Officer First Responder Network Authority 12201 Sunshine Valley Drive Reston, ...
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States Work to Improve Traffic Safety

WASHINGTON - The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) today announced five states, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia, have been selected to participate in a learning ...
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States Work to Improve Resilience Against Human and Natural Disasters

WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association today announced that it will work with Idaho, Maryland and Oregon to test its forthcoming State Resilience Assessment and Planning Tool (SRAP Tool) and identify best practices in adapting to, withstanding ...
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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 ...
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Governors: ‘Today We Stand With All Floridians’

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

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 ...
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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 ...
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Reducing Burdensome Cyber Regulations

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, ...
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