Supreme Court Update: Sheetz v. El Dorado County

1456277065_smaller

Supreme Court Update: Sheetz v. El Dorado County

COUNTY NEXUS

Exaction or impact fees are an important way for local governments to balance the benefits of growth with its impacts on the pre-existing community. Limiting the ability of counties to legislatively enact generally applicable development impact fees would impede our efforts to protect the health and welfare of their communities while ensuring that those who create the need for new community infrastructure fairly bear the costs.

BACKGROUND

A resident of El Dorado County, California  challenged the constitutionality of a traffic mitigation fee required in exchange for a development permit, arguing that the fee violates the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause under the Nollan/Dolan unconstitutional conditions test, which prevents governments from applying exaction fees unless they can demonstrate an essential “nexus” between their interest and the fee charged as well as “rough proportionality” between the fee charged and the proposed impact of the development. This case asks whether Nollan/Dolan is limited to fees issued on an an individual basis or whether it also applies to legislatively enacted, generally applicable impact fees and thereby compels local governments to make case-by-case determinations if such fees are warranted.

NACo ADVOCACY

In a Local Government Legal Center Amicus Brief filed in support of the respondent, NACo argued that counties across the country rely on legislatively adopted impact fees to address the burdensome impacts of new development on the availability and quality of local infrastructure, facilities, programs, and services. Without the ability to impose impact fees, local governments would need to resort to imposing new or increased taxes, displace the anticipated infrastructure costs necessary to meet the needs of new residential and commercial development onto existing residents and businesses or even impose development moratoria in the absence of funds to pay for required infrastructure. Expanding Nollan/Dolan to encompass legislative enacted impact fees could diminish this important policy tool.

CURRENT STATUS

On April 12, the Court issued a narrow 9-0 decision vacating the state court's ruling that Nollan/Dolan does not apply to legislatively-enacted impact fees and remanding the case for another look. While the Court's ruling does create heightened constitutional scrutiny for legislatively-enacted impact fees, it does not prevent local governments from enacting reasonable permitting conditions, including impact fees, via legislation. Learn more about the Court's decision and what it means for counties here

2024-2025 Supreme Court Term

Supreme Court
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services

As one of the largest employers in the country, counties have a significant interest in cases like Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services (Ames v. Ohio) that could expand county liabilities as employers.

Seattle, Washington
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: City of Buffalo et al. v. Kia/Hyundai

The question at hand in City of Seattle et al. v. Kia/Hyundai is whether or not the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard preempts state tort claims brought forth by local governments alleging that Kia and Hyundai’s failure to install “reasonable” anti-theft technology constitutes negligence and public nuisance.

Court House
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: Perttu v. Richards

Perttu v. Richards has implications on the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) and could increase the amount of Section 1983 inmate-initiated cases against county jails that reach federal court, ultimately resulting in counties having to expend resources on frivolous lawsuits.  

Image of Telecom-towers.jpg
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates, Inc. V. McKesson Corporation

McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates, Inc. V. McKesson Corporation could make it more difficult for counties to challenge FCC orders, many of which have taken steps to preempt and curtail local authority by limiting counties’ abilities to manage their own right of way and assess fair market value permitting and impact fees on providers seeking to construct, modify or extend telecommunications infrastructure in their communities. 

Image of Water-infrastructure.jpg
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implications for the ability of county governments that own and operate wastewater treatment facilities to comply with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements. 

Image of Gavel_3.jpg
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: Lackey v. Stinnie

Lackey v. Stinnie will impact the ability of state and local governments to avoid paying litigation fees in a civil rights case if they change their conduct (i.e. repeal a law) after a court has granted a preliminary injunction.

police investigating a crime scene
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: Bondi v. VanDerStok

Garland v. VanDerStok has implications for the ability of county law enforcement to uphold public safety and investigate crimes involving ghost guns.

Image of Budgeting_2.jpg
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: Stanley v. City of Sanford

Stanley v. City of Sanford will impact the ability of county governments to balance budgets by reducing or eliminating post-employment benefits for disability retirees. 

Image of GettyImages-991802694.jpg
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: EMD Sales, Inc. v. Carrera

EMD Sales, Inc. v. Carrera could make it more difficult for county governments to prove exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which would increase the potential for costly litigation.

bike
Advocacy

NACo Legal Advocacy: Federal Communications Commission, et al v. Consumers' Research, et al

Federal Communications Commission, et al v. Consumers’ Research, et al. (FCC v. Consumers’ Research) could jeopardize what is known as the Universal Service Fund (USF). Through the USF, the FCC has provided billions of dollars to local governments and our residents, helping provide essential telecommunications and broadband services to unserved and underserved communities. FCC v. Consumers’ Research challenges the FCC’s legal authority behind the USF, putting multiple programs essential to equitable broadband deployment at risk. 

Related News

THE_County Countdown_working_image-4.png
Advocacy

County Countdown – October 6, 2025

Every other week, NACo's County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership. This week features a federal shutdown FAQ, overdose prevention funding and more.

THE_County Countdown_working_image-4.png
Advocacy

County Countdown – September 22, 2025

Every other week, NACo's County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership. This week features a short-term funding bill introduced to avert shutdown, new Rural Health Transformation Program and more.

Image of Capitol-side_2.jpg
Advocacy

House passes clean Continuing Resolution to fund the government through November 21

On September 16, the U.S. House passed the text of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026 to extend government funding at current levels through November 21. 

Image of Capitol-front-day.jpg
Advocacy

Senate lawmakers release a Continuing Resolution to fund the government until October 31

On September 17, Senate lawmakers released a one-month stopgap funding bill to keep the government funded through October 31.

Heimel
Advocacy

NACo testifies before Congress in support of federal rural development programs

On September 18, Potter County, Pa. Commissioner Paul Heimel testified on behalf of NACo before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development hearing, titled “USDA’s Rural Development: Delivering Vital Programs and Services to Rural America.” 

THE_County Countdown_working_image-4.png
Advocacy

County Countdown – September 9, 2025

Every other week, NACo's County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership. This week features FEMA reform bill advancement, a major reorganization of the USDA and more.

Upcoming Events

Image of Capitol-side_1.jpg
Webinar

Inside Washington: County Impacts from the White House & Congress, October 16

Join NACo’s Government Affairs team for week ten of a biweekly series on key developments from the White House and Congress. Discussions will focus on policies and actions that directly impact counties — from federal funding and regulatory changes to intergovernmental partnerships. Tune in for an inside look at how these evolving federal dynamics may shape county priorities, responsibilities and operations.

Image of Capitol-side_1.jpg
Webinar

Inside Washington: County Impacts from the White House & Congress, October 30

Join NACo’s Government Affairs team for week eleven of a biweekly series on key developments from the White House and Congress. Discussions will focus on policies and actions that directly impact counties — from federal funding and regulatory changes to intergovernmental partnerships. Tune in for an inside look at how these evolving federal dynamics may shape county priorities, responsibilities and operations.

A woman inputs numbers into the calculator
Webinar

Modern Networks, Smarter Budgets: A County Leader’s Perspective

Join us for a fireside chat with Orleans County, NY, as they share how their team successfully transitioned from a traditional capital expense (CapEx) model to an operational expense (OpEx) model for network services.

When faced with rising maintenance costs and an expiring carrier contract, the county seized the opportunity to modernize its network and lock in predictable monthly costs. By bundling connectivity services with unified communications, they achieved immediate savings of over $124,000, eliminated recurring charges such as long-distance fees and third-party integration costs, and gained access to operational upgrades like call analytics and auto-attendants.

This shift not only strengthened financial planning through fixed monthly expenses but also freed up IT staff to focus on strategic initiatives.

Key takeaway: Rethinking your budget model can be just as impactful as upgrading your technology — delivering fiscal stability and enhanced services for your community.

Image of Capitol-side_1.jpg
Webinar

Inside Washington: County Impacts from the White House & Congress, November 13

Join NACo’s Government Affairs team for week twelve of a biweekly series on key developments from the White House and Congress. Discussions will focus on policies and actions that directly impact counties — from federal funding and regulatory changes to intergovernmental partnerships. Tune in for an inside look at how these evolving federal dynamics may shape county priorities, responsibilities and operations.

Image of Capitol-side_1.jpg
Webinar

Inside Washington: County Impacts from the White House & Congress, December 11

Join NACo’s Government Affairs team for week thirteen of a biweekly series on key developments from the White House and Congress. Discussions will focus on policies and actions that directly impact counties — from federal funding and regulatory changes to intergovernmental partnerships. Tune in for an inside look at how these evolving federal dynamics may shape county priorities, responsibilities and operations.

1130838116_cmyk
Conference

2026 NACo Legislative Conference

Washington, D.C.

Save the date for the 2026 NACo Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., February 21-24