Unfunded federal mandates are a growing problem for states and an even larger problem for local governments. The Jefferson Institute and the Free Market Environmental Law Clinic at George Mason University prepared a legal “Nutshell” on how to challenge these unfunded mandates. The bottom line of this report is that the federal government may not “commandeer” local resources unless those state and local governments volunteer to do so. This important report explains the legal aspects for challenging this federal overreach and will help state and local governments, policy organizations and citizen groups challenge unfunded federal mandates and return some power to state and local government.