MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, was elected as the chair of the Council of State Governments Southern Office, his office said on Tuesday.
One of six offices of the Council of State Governments, a nonprofit organization that facilitates collaboration across all three branches of government, CSG South is headquartered in Atlanta and encompasses 15 states.
Ledbetter will chair over CSG South through at least 2025, and will preside over CSG South’s executive committee during the organization’s 79th Southern Legislative Conference in Birmingham next July.
“It’s an honor to serve as chairman of the 79th Southern Legislative Conference, and I’m grateful that my peers from CSG South’s 15 member states saw me fit to serve in this capacity,” Ledbetter said Tuesday in a statement.
The single-largest regional gathering of lawmakers and legislative staff, the conference is expected to draw more than 1,800 attendees from across the 15 states.
Next year’s conference will feature a number of different programs focused on government innovations and solutions, with policy makers and experts sharing anecdotes of success from their respective states.
“I’m excited to welcome legislators, staffers, private partners and their guests to the great state of Alabama for what I know will be an insightful and exciting meeting,” Ledbetter said.
“From our award-winning musicians to our nationally renowned culinary scene, we plan to showcase what makes Sweet Home Alabama so special.”
Ledbetter had previously served as chair-elect during this year’s CSG South Legislative Conference meeting in West Virginia.
The conference in 2023, which saw its highest-ever turnout with more than 2,000 attendees, saw policy experts discuss things like the latest iteration of the Farm Bill making its way through Congress, how policy can help address learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how electric vehicle facilities impact a state’s economy.
The CSG was established in 1933, and the CSG South in 1947, though under a different name, the Southern Legislative Conference.
CSG South member states include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.