Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) was unanimously elected to serve as the 2023-2024 chair-elect of CSG South on July 11, 2023, at the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) in Charleston, South Carolina.
As chair-elect, Speaker Ledbetter will assist incoming chair, West Virginia Senate President Craig Blair, in guiding CSG South during the coming year. He also will chair the 79th SLC Annual Meeting, to be held in Alabama in the summer of 2025.
“I am proud to welcome legislators, government staff, and their guests from across the Southern region to Alabama and showcase our state’s unparalleled southern charm and hospitality,” said Rep. Ledbetter. “The purpose of this meeting is to provide Southern state lawmakers with the opportunity to work together to create more effective public policy so that we may better serve our home states.”
Alabama most recently hosted the SLC meeting in 2013 in Mobile, Alabama. The 2025 meeting is expected to draw more than 1,500 attendees from its member states and will feature successful programs and policy initiatives unique to Alabama. Each year, the Southern Leadership Conference brings together experts to discuss opportunities and solutions to challenges facing policymakers and staff across the region.
Ledbetter, age 61, previously served as the Mayor of Rainsville in north Alabama. Ledbetter ran for the Alabama House of Representatives in 2010 but was defeated in the general election. He switched to the Republican Party and was elected in 2014. That turbulent term saw both the Speaker of the House (Mike Hubbard) and House Majority Leader (Mickey Hammons) convicted of corruption charges. In that leadership vacuum, Ledbetter was elevated to Majority Leader as a House freshman.
Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) – who succeeded Hubbard – chose not to run for reelection in 2022. Ledbetter was chosen by the House Republican Caucus over veteran lawmaker Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) to be the GOP candidate for Speaker following the November 2022 election – effectively making him the Speaker-elect as the Republicans hold 77 to the 105 seats in the Alabama House of Representatives. Ledbetter was chosen as Speaker by the full House during the organizational session in January without a single dissenting vote.
CSG South was established In 1947. The Council of State Governments Southern Office (CSG South) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports members in all three branches of state government.
The mission of CSG South is to promote and strengthen intergovernmental cooperation among its 15 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Predominantly, this is achieved through the ongoing work of CSG South’s seven standing committees and support groups.
Legislative leadership, members, and staff depend on CSG South to identify and analyze solutions for the most prevalent and unique policy issues facing Southern state governments. We facilitate outreach in state capitols, leadership development, staff exchange programs, domestic and international policy delegations, and other efforts to support state policymakers and legislative staff to build stronger, more successful states.
The Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) is the largest regional gathering of legislative members and staff. SLC boasts an array of well-established programs—focusing on existing and emerging state government innovations and solutions—providing policymakers and staff diverse opportunities to interact with experts and share their knowledge with colleagues.
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