County Spotlight: The honor of xperiencing policy-making, legislative advocacy firsthand
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 25, 2026
By Mark Ozias
A few weeks ago I joined more than 2,000 county commissioners from every state in the nation at the National Association of Counties’ annual Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. As one might imagine these few days are filled with informational learning sessions, policy debates and of course meetings with legislators and representatives from federal agencies — all with a focus on federal legislation, implemented through counties, that impacts our communities and the people we serve.
It is truly an honor to represent Clallam County in these arenas. My Thurston County colleague Commissioner Wayne Fournier captured the essence of this experience perfectly when he shared, “Regardless of your political views, standing in that space is humbling. You’re reminded that these buildings have been the stage for the most consequential decisions in the country’s history, moments of unity, conflict, progress and debate that shape the direction of the nation.”
Commissioner Fournier went on to highlight that the real work of governing is relationship-based, and that it tends to happen in committee rooms, hallways and in the conversations that happen before and after formal discussions or speeches. He notes: “The ability to pick up the phone months later, to ask a question, to advocate for a community need, or to collaborate on a policy solution often begins with conversations that start during weeks like this one.”
Legislation and policies that are important to counties could just as easily be described as important to communities. In a previous column I described the Medicaid waiver that is now allowing Clallam County to bill Medicaid for certain health care services we provide in our county jail, and this is a great example to illustrate the importance of this federal work.
After years of advocacy, federal law was changed and this year we here in Clallam County expect to offset about $800,000 worth of medical expenses that would otherwise be borne by local taxpayers, while also improving our ability to provide health care and supporting a continuity of care that will reduce recidivism and all of the negative consequences that arise from people cycling through our jail without connections.
It is heartening, even in these days of such great division, to have experienced first-hand the reality of policy development facilitated by the National Association of Counties, followed by legislative advocacy in the offices and hallways of the Capitol, resulting in laws being changed, allowing for our Clallam County jail to be the first in the state — and perhaps even the entire country — to make such positive changes. A direct line can be drawn connecting our county’s presence in these federal arenas to our ability to understand and implement this good work here in Clallam County.
Counties’ federal priorities this year continue to mirror the needs of communities around the nation, including ours. They include FEMA reform that if passed would allow local governments more financial flexibility to address damaged public infrastructure after a disaster. Imagine if Clallam County were to experience an earthquake that severely damaged bridges, roadways and water conveyance infrastructure across the county. We could be looking at hundreds of millions of dollars worth of repairs that need to be done immediately.
Right now, it can take years for these federal relief dollars to flow through the system and into the coffers of the local governments tasked with repair work. A government the size of ours could never finance this scale of repair, but if this legislation moves forward it would allow some portion of these federal relief dollars to flow to communities in weeks following a disaster, rather than years.
Other relevant federal issues we’re pursuing include permitting reform that will reduce the expense of public and private development projects like new housing, and changes in how transportation dollars are allocated to direct at least some funding to counties which would ensure that those of us who live in rural areas have support in maintaining our critical transportation infrastructure.
To learn more, check out the National Association of Counties’ website, naco.org. If data, rather than legislation, is your interest be sure to look at the “About Counties” tab, especially the county explorer data. It is a treasure trove of information.
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Mark Ozias is Clallam County Commissioner for District 1.
