Supervisors discuss 2026 legislative priorities, emphasize local control and civil-rights protections

County staff presented a draft of proposed 2026 legislative priorities and asked supervisors for guidance on what Johnson County should pursue through the Urban County Coalition (UCC) and at the state level.
The draft included several potential priorities and a section labelled "core values." Supervisors urged that "local control" be kept as a core value and recommended explicitly adding opposition to unfunded mandates and a principle of "equal treatment," citing recent state proposals that singled out particular counties. Supervisor discussion also recommended adding civil-rights protections to the priorities list in light of recent state actions; one supervisor said civil-rights language should be included because the legislature may alter rights during the next session.
Staff said they would revise the draft with the board's feedback, return with a more polished document and circulate the county's submission to UCC; supervisors noted that UCC requires unanimous acceptance of items submitted for the coalition's priorities and that Johnson County often leads regional discussion on shared issues.