Updates from the NGA Membership Team for January 2025. For more about the programs below and a list of upcoming events please email NGA at: membership@nga.org.
January Spotlight
NGA to Host Winter Meeting Next Month
NGA will host the 2026 Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., February 19-21.
The NGA Winter Meeting is the most well-attended annual gathering of the nation’s Governors and serves as a forum for bipartisan coordination on pressing national issues. Each year’s agenda includes notable guest speakers and in-depth discussions on timely priorities like infrastructure, AI, disaster preparedness and workforce development.
Recent Winter Meeting speakers have included U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett, Cabinet secretaries, and business and tech leaders like Marc Andreessen and Jamie Dimon.
State of the State Addresses
NGA Highlights State of the State and Territory Addresses
Several Governors have begun delivering their 2026 State of the State, Commonwealth and Territory Addresses, and many Governors will give addresses in the coming weeks. NGA maintains this resource providing details about Governors’ addresses, including transcripts and videos of the speeches. NGA will continue to update the resource as additional addresses are scheduled and delivered. Clips of addresses can be viewed through the YouTube playlist NGA created to highlight the speeches.
Chair’s Initiative
NGA Shares Recap, Videos Detailing Last Month’s Reigniting the American Dream Convening
NGA Chair Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt welcomed innovators in business, education and policy to Austin, Texas, for a convening held to further his Reigniting the American Dream initiative. Governor Stitt led discussions with the leaders to share insights and success stories. Read more about the meeting in this commentary NGA released about the meeting. Watch the discussions here.
Communications
Governors Applaud Congressional Action on Drone Threats
NGA Chair Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Vice Chair Maryland Governor Wes Moore issued this statement welcoming the inclusion of the Safer Skies Act in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The language – a key priority for Governors – authorizes trained and certified state and territorial law enforcement and correctional officers to address the threat of nefarious drones in coordination with key federal agencies.
Government Relations
NGA Joins Coalition Letter Outlining SNAP Recommendations
NGA joined a coalition of organizations representing state and local agencies to send a letter to Congress to request the inclusion of targeted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) provisions in the anticipated January Continuing Resolution. Read the letter here.
NGA Joins Senate Briefing on State of Paid Leave
NGA’s Government Relations team participated in a U.S. Senate briefing (pictured) with the bipartisan Senate Paid Leave Working Group on “The State of Paid Leave: An Overview of the Landscape of Paid Leave for American Families.” NGA briefed participants on the structure of state paid leave programs and how Governors and their states are leading to expand paid leave benefits to workers. These state programs vary significantly in their structures, wage replacement rates, eligibility requirements and funding mechanisms, reflecting each state’s unique circumstances and preferences.
NGA Holds Capitol Hill Briefing
NGA joined with the National Association of Counties, the American Public Human Services Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures to hold a Capitol Hill briefing on improving fiscal responsibility and implementing nutrition programs. NGA also released this commentary regarding strategic solutions Governors used when the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was held up as part of last year’s partial shutdown of the federal government.
Center for Best practices
Governor Meyer Kicks of NGA Policy Academy
Delaware Governor Matt Meyer delivered welcoming remarks at an event NGA held in Wilmington, Delaware, to kick off the Policy Academy to Improve Crime Clearance Rates. NGA partnered with Arnold Ventures to welcome state teams from Colorado, North Carolina and Tennessee to the event. Meeting topics included using data to inform leveraging capacity and staffing, policy, harnessing forensic DNA tools to help solve crimes, and building state and local partnerships. Learn more here.
NGA Releases Commentary on Powering a New Era of Innovation
The growing power demand from data centers has been a frequent topic of discussion in the energy space as the data centers are critical to developing artificial intelligence. At the same time, these data centers need a lot of uninterrupted and resilient power and water. NGA released a new commentary exploring ways to power data centers, looking especially at the possibilities of nuclear technologies. Read more here.
NGA Highlights Policies Governors Advanced in 2025
NGA released several commentaries exploring some of Governors’ top bipartisan priorities in 2025. The commentaries detail policies related to health, workforce development, education, infrastructure, and public safety and homeland security.
Monthly Member Update
January 7, California Governor Gavin Newsom marked the first anniversary of the 2025 Los Angeles fires. Governor Newsom also announced new investments in affordable housing across Los Angeles County to help survivors rebuild their lives by creating more affordable housing in communities in the region.
North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong recognized the students who competed in the We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution high school state finals, including the team from Kidder County who will advance to the national finals this April.
In Memoriam
NGA Remembers Governor Jim Hunt
NGA is saddened to share former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt passed away. North Carolina Governor Josh Stein’s statement can be read here. NGA extends condolences to the family, friends and constituents of Governor Hunt.
NGA Remembers Governor Richard Codey
NGA is saddened to share former New Jersey Governor Richard Codey passed away. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s statement can be read here. NGA extends condolences to the family, friends and constituent of Governor Codey.
January in Photos
NGA routinely shares photos of Governors at work. Highlights from the past month follow. Governors and First Spouses visiting summer fairs.
Updates from the NGA Membership Team for January 2025. For more about the programs below and a list of upcoming events please email NGA at: membership@nga.org.
January Spotlight
NGA to Host Winter Meeting Next Month
NGA will host the 2026 Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., February 19-21.
The NGA Winter Meeting is the most well-attended annual gathering of the nation’s Governors and serves as a forum for bipartisan coordination on pressing national issues. Each year’s agenda includes notable guest speakers and in-depth discussions on timely priorities like infrastructure, AI, disaster preparedness and workforce development.
Recent Winter Meeting speakers have included U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Amy Coney Barrett, Cabinet secretaries, and business and tech leaders like Marc Andreessen and Jamie Dimon.
State of the State Addresses
NGA Highlights State of the State and Territory Addresses
Several Governors have begun delivering their 2026 State of the State, Commonwealth and Territory Addresses, and many Governors will give addresses in the coming weeks. NGA maintains this resource providing details about Governors’ addresses, including transcripts and videos of the speeches. NGA will continue to update the resource as additional addresses are scheduled and delivered. Clips of addresses can be viewed through the YouTube playlist NGA created to highlight the speeches.
Chair’s Initiative
NGA Shares Recap, Videos Detailing Last Month’s Reigniting the American Dream Convening
NGA Chair Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt welcomed innovators in business, education and policy to Austin, Texas, for a convening held to further his Reigniting the American Dream initiative. Governor Stitt led discussions with the leaders to share insights and success stories. Read more about the meeting in this commentary NGA released about the meeting. Watch the discussions here.
Communications
Governors Applaud Congressional Action on Drone Threats
NGA Chair Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and Vice Chair Maryland Governor Wes Moore issued this statement welcoming the inclusion of the Safer Skies Act in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The language – a key priority for Governors – authorizes trained and certified state and territorial law enforcement and correctional officers to address the threat of nefarious drones in coordination with key federal agencies.
Government Relations
NGA Joins Coalition Letter Outlining SNAP Recommendations
NGA joined a coalition of organizations representing state and local agencies to send a letter to Congress to request the inclusion of targeted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) provisions in the anticipated January Continuing Resolution. Read the letter here.
NGA Joins Senate Briefing on State of Paid Leave
NGA’s Government Relations team participated in a U.S. Senate briefing (pictured) with the bipartisan Senate Paid Leave Working Group on “The State of Paid Leave: An Overview of the Landscape of Paid Leave for American Families.” NGA briefed participants on the structure of state paid leave programs and how Governors and their states are leading to expand paid leave benefits to workers. These state programs vary significantly in their structures, wage replacement rates, eligibility requirements and funding mechanisms, reflecting each state’s unique circumstances and preferences.
NGA Holds Capitol Hill Briefing
NGA joined with the National Association of Counties, the American Public Human Services Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures to hold a Capitol Hill briefing on improving fiscal responsibility and implementing nutrition programs. NGA also released this commentary regarding strategic solutions Governors used when the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was held up as part of last year’s partial shutdown of the federal government.
Center for Best practices
Governor Meyer Kicks of NGA Policy Academy
Delaware Governor Matt Meyer delivered welcoming remarks at an event NGA held in Wilmington, Delaware, to kick off the Policy Academy to Improve Crime Clearance Rates. NGA partnered with Arnold Ventures to welcome state teams from Colorado, North Carolina and Tennessee to the event. Meeting topics included using data to inform leveraging capacity and staffing, policy, harnessing forensic DNA tools to help solve crimes, and building state and local partnerships. Learn more here.
NGA Releases Commentary on Powering a New Era of Innovation
The growing power demand from data centers has been a frequent topic of discussion in the energy space as the data centers are critical to developing artificial intelligence. At the same time, these data centers need a lot of uninterrupted and resilient power and water. NGA released a new commentary exploring ways to power data centers, looking especially at the possibilities of nuclear technologies. Read more here.
NGA Highlights Policies Governors Advanced in 2025
NGA released several commentaries exploring some of Governors’ top bipartisan priorities in 2025. The commentaries detail policies related to health, workforce development, education, infrastructure, and public safety and homeland security.
Monthly Member Update
January 7, California Governor Gavin Newsom marked the first anniversary of the 2025 Los Angeles fires. Governor Newsom also announced new investments in affordable housing across Los Angeles County to help survivors rebuild their lives by creating more affordable housing in communities in the region.
North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong recognized the students who competed in the We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution high school state finals, including the team from Kidder County who will advance to the national finals this April.
In Memoriam
NGA Remembers Governor Jim Hunt
NGA is saddened to share former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt passed away. North Carolina Governor Josh Stein’s statement can be read here. NGA extends condolences to the family, friends and constituents of Governor Hunt.
NGA Remembers Governor Richard Codey
NGA is saddened to share former New Jersey Governor Richard Codey passed away. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s statement can be read here. NGA extends condolences to the family, friends and constituent of Governor Codey.
January in Photos
NGA routinely shares photos of Governors at work. Highlights from the past month follow. Governors and First Spouses visiting summer fairs.
