Counties seek to ban state mandates

Nevada's counties are preparing a constitutional amendment to ban so-called "unfunded mandates" by the state.

Nevada Association of Counties Director Bob Hadfield said Wednesday local governments can't afford some of the mandates the state and the Legislature impose on them. He said the state has had a law since 1992 requiring lawmakers provide a funding method for any mandates imposing a cost on local governments.

He said lawmakers routinely get around the law by including a statement at the end of proposed legislation saying those provisions don't apply.

In most recent sessions of the Legislature, there have been at least 50 and often nearly 100 pieces of legislation containing the exemption from the unfunded mandate law.

"It's been the law since 1992, but they just ignore it," Hadfield said.

He said it's especially hard on local governments because the state restricts how much local governments can increase their fees and taxes to make up for additional costs. He said that means an unfunded mandate is often funded by a reduction in some other service a local government provides.

He said the issue was raised in the minds of local officials after the 2003 Legislature ordered local governments to begin subsidizing their own retirees or help the state pay some health benefit costs for those in the state system.

Local governments were also required to let those who have already retired come back into their local plan if they wish. He said local governments were completely unprepared for that cost.

"That particular issue demonstrates a lack of sensitivity to the real impact on the counties," Hadfield said. "Particularly the smaller counties are now forced to budget for something they weren't doing."

So Hadfield said NACO wants to put some teeth in the law barring the practice of imposing requirements on local governments without providing a way to pay for them. He said too often, the state and Legislature "try to solve statewide problems by pushing them down to the lowest level."

Andrew List of NACO said they haven't yet decided how to approach the issue. He said it could be a voter initiative petition or they could ask lawmakers themselves to put it on the ballot.

And List said the details of what the amendment would require are also still being debated.

The proposal is one of a number of constitutional changes being considered this election season. Another would require lawmakers to fund education budgets before the rest of state government, and two petitions would roll back part or all of the tax package approved by lawmakers last year.

Contact Geoff Dornan at nevadaappeal@sbcglobal.net or 687-8750.