March 23, 2023

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is accepting nominations for county elected officials to serve on the FCC’s Intergovernmental Advisory Council (IAC) for an upcoming term of two years. The deadline to submit self-nominations is April 7th, 2023.

The IAC is a non-Federal Advisory Committee Act advisory body comprised of state, local and Tribal elected or appointed officials whose mission is to aid the Commission regarding the many telecommunications issues affecting state, local, and Tribal governments that are within the jurisdiction of the FCC.  The IAC is composed of 30 members (or their designated employees with authority to act on their behalf), with a minimum of:

• Four elected municipal officials (city mayors and city council members);
• Two elected county officials (county commissioners or council members);
  • **More than two elected county officials may be selected to serve at the discretion of the FCC, as the IAC can be composed of up to 30 total members.
• One elected or appointed local government attorney;
• One elected state executive (governor or lieutenant governor);
• Three elected state legislators;
• One elected or appointed public utilities or public service commissioner; and,
• Three elected or appointed Native American Tribal representatives.

The IAC may be tasked by the Chairperson to give advice and recommendations on important policy priorities of mutual interest to the Commission, state, local, and Tribal government officials, such as broadband availability and affordability for all Americans, deployment and adoption of broadband infrastructure in rural and Tribal communities and other underserved or unserved areas, digital equity and non-discrimination, and emergency preparedness and response.

IAC members must be willing to serve a two-year term of service, which requires attendance – either in-person at Commission Headquarters or virtually – at IAC meetings at the member’s own expense.

An application for IAC membership does not require a particular format, but must include the following information:

• Resumé (including applicant’s current position);
• Contact information (both email and mailing addresses, as well as telephone numbers);
• A brief description of the applicant’s area of expertise and qualifications to serve on the IAC, including the applicant’s experience with communications issues affecting state, local, or Tribal governments.  Candidates are encouraged to provide links to any articles they have authored on relevant topics and/or public appearances available on the web for viewing; and,
• The position(s) that the applicant is applying for, i.e., elected municipal officials (city mayors and city council members); county officials (county commissioners or council members); elected or appointed local government attorney; elected state executive (Governor or Lieutenant Governor); elected state legislators; elected or appointed public utilities or public service commissioner; or elected or appointed Native American Tribal representatives.  If an applicant potentially qualifies for more than one position on the IAC, he or she should specify which position they seek.

As in the past, applicants will be vetted for conflicts of interest and applicants must respond promptly to any inquiries from FCC Ethics Counsel to avoid any delays in their application review.  Nominations for membership are due by April 7, 2023 and must be submitted via email to IAC@fcc.gov.

If you have interest in submitting a self-nomination form to serve on the IAC, please contact Seamus Dowdall, Associate Legislative Director of Telecommunications & Technology at the National Association of Counties (NACo): sdowdall@naco.org or (202) 942-4212.

For more information about the IAC, including its prior activities, composition, reports and recommendations, please visit IGA’s web page.