LINCOLN- The agreement under which Nebraska sent its state troopers to the Texas-Mexico border includes no provision for Texas to pay the estimated cost of $334,000, according to documents obtained by The World-Herald. A statement from Gov. Pete Ricketts and the Nebraska State Patrol said that it’s still possible that the state could be reimbursed. But it’s unclear how that would happen.

Ricketts is among several GOP governors who have sent law enforcement in response to requests from the governors of Arizona and Texas, who are also Republicans. The border-state governors sent a letter June 10 requesting other governors send all available law enforcement “in defense of our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” citing a “crisis” at the border.

An agreement related to the deployment states that Nebraska will not seek reimbursement from Texas. A patrol spokesperson previously has said the funding was not finalized and said the cost of previous deployments like this one, made through the interstate Emergency Management Assistance Compact, had been reimbursed. The compact is a mutual aid agreement that allows states to share resources in emergencies.

The bottom line is that Nebraska taxpayers are on the hook for probably half a million dollars, and the administration no doubt recognized that would draw significant criticism. The June 12 agreement estimates costs at $334,000 — before Gov. Pete Ricketts extended the deployment for 15 of the 25 officers sent to Texas.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, after similar rhetorical jive from her administration, also fessed up that her state would pay for sending about 25 troopers to Texas.

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