Yet Another Attempt to Eliminate Unfunded Mandates Fails

By Gordon HopkinsA constitutional amendment intended to eliminate the bane of county governments, unfunded mandates, has stalled in the general file of the Nebraska Legislature.LR18CA, introduced by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee would require the legislature to provide full reimbursement to political subdivisions for any new program or expansion of an existing program. Unfunded mandates is the term for laws, regulations or other requirements imposed by a higher level of government on a lower one, but without accompanying appropriations to cover the cost of compliance.There have been various attempts over the years to eliminate unfunded mandates. All have failed. In 2024, Senator Carol Blood (District 3) introduced constitutional amendment that would prohibit lawmakers from passing the costs of new laws onto local governments, which was her third attempt at such a measure.In 2025, NACO (Nebraska Association of County Officials) set their priorities for the 2026 and one of those is unfunded mandates. The issue for counties is that, when the state makes a requirement of counties without providing funding, counties must dip into their own coffers. If those counties do not have the necessary funds on hand, then they must either raise taxes or cut services elsewhere.Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock, who also serves on the NACO Board, said shortly after NACO set their legislative priorities, “The fact of the matter is that Nebraska county government performs a number of functions that are mandated by the state of Nebraska, for which we get little, if any, compensation for and, so, that affects county budgets.” Among those opposed to the measure was Senator R. Brad von Gillern (District 4).“I believe we are paying for these unfunded mandates already through the property tax relief that we’re providing to taxpayers,” said von Gillern. “As a state, we’re already parting with almost 20 percent of our state budget in order to offset these costs for the localities.”

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