Counties Take a Stand Against Unfunded Mandates

By Gordon HopkinsNACO (Nebraska Association of County Officials) is once again poised to take on the bane of county governments: unfunded mandates.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.NACO recently set their priorities for the 2026 and one of those is unfunded mandates.Jefferson County Board of Commissioners Chair Mark Schoenrock provided an update to his fellow commissioners at a meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, “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.”Earlier this month, the Nebraska Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee heard testimony on LR (Legislative Resolution) 195. The resolution, introduced by State Senator Rick Holdcroft (District 36) would create an interim study to review the impact of unfunded and underfunded mandates on counties and county governments.One of the testifiers at the hearing was Jon Cannon, executive director of NACO, “When we talk about unfunded mandates, these are things the state doesn’t want to fund, and therefore it’s going to go on the backs of property taxpayers.”Counties fund operations primarily through property tax revenue. When the federal or state government issues a new mandate without providing the funds to impellent it, counties must fund find a way to pay for it. That normally means raising taxes, reducing services or both. Unfunded mandates can impact multiple levels of government, including counties, cities, villages and school districts.One example of an unfunded mandate is LB644, which passed in 2021 and took effect in 2022. Called the Property Tax Request Act, the bill was intended to set specific procedures in place for the requesting of property taxes to be levied for political subdivisions. The “post card bill,” as it has been dubbed, requires postcard mailings to taxpayers under certain changes to tax levies.Schoenrock noted that the 2026 legislative session will be short, just 60 days, and that budget matters will likely be the primary focus of legislators. Inheritance TaxOne of the few funding sources for counties outside of property tax is inheritance tax, a deeply unpopular tax that many Nebraska lawmakers have spent years trying to eliminate. Rural counties in particular depend on that revenue. County commissioners are of the opinion that will eventually go away and, without replacement revenue, will become a potentially devastating unfunded mandate.Earlier this year NACO and officials attempted to work with the legislature to find alternative funding so that inheritance tax could be eliminated without undue burden on counties. That measure ultimately failed because it was opposed by some senators who do want to see inheritance tax eliminated but oppose what they characterize as “shifting the tax burden.” Senator Bob Anderson (District 49) said at that time, “If somebody inherits a significant amount of money, they will not end up paying the tax, but the rest of the taxpayers throughout the state will, and I think that’s fundamentally a wrong.”Clerks of the District CourtsNACO prepared a packet outlining a number of unfunded or underfunded mandates and their impact on counties. A great many of those involve the courts and the criminal justice system.As introduced, LB (Legislative Bill) 216 would eliminate the Clerk of the District Court as an elected official and make current office-holders’ employees of the Judicial Branch of state government.The bill’s statement of intent indicates this is “to promote a unified Nebraska Judicial Branch.”According to NACO, “If passed, in January 2026, 28 counties where the duties are currently performed by the county clerk as an ex officio clerk of the district court will transition. Also, in January 2026, 10 counties, where the county currently contracts with the Judicial Branch to perform District Court duties will no longer be required to reimburse the State for a portion of the cost. In January 2027, LB216 transitions all remaining counties where the duties are currently performed by an elected Clerk of the District Court.”NACO concluded, “LB216 would significantly diminish critical points of local contact and reduce public accountability, while still requiring counties to spend millions of dollars on office space.” Court-Appointed AttorneysAnother major expense for counties is providing court-appointed attorneys for indigent persons as required under the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment.However, there is a shortage of attorneys, particularly in rural areas. Of Nebraska’s 93 counties, the Nebraska State Bar Association reports that, in 2025, there are 12 counties with no lawyers and an additional 22 counties with three or fewer lawyers.When the public defender is unable to represent an indigent defendant, the court must appoint an attorney. This can occur when there is more than one defendant or caseloads are too high. The county must foot the bill for these attorneys.According to NACO figures, the median annual cost of court-appointed attorneys for a medium county is approximately $130,000, while the median annual cost for a small county is $26,000.NACO notes that the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy provides no-cost legal services andresources to counties in serious criminal cases, “More than 70 counties have received assistance from the Commission for representation of more than 1,500 defendants in major felony cases. The Commission’s representation in these cases has relieved counties of financial hardships and provided criminal defense when there might not otherwise be a public defender or court-appointed attorney with experience in this type of felony defense.”One of the recommendations of NACO is to “fully fund the Commission on Public Advocacy.”Prior Attempts to Reign in Unfunded MandatesIn 2024, Senator Carol Blood (D-District 3) introduced constitutional amendment that would prohibit lawmakers from passing the costs of new laws onto local governments. That was her third attempt at such a measure.

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