§ 25-21,211.Judgment against state; certify to Director of Administrative Services; payment; insufficient funds.

Section 25-21,211 addresses what happens after a court enters judgment against the state: someone has to pay it, and this section says how. The court certifies the judgment to the Director of Administrative Services, who pays it from any special fund or appropriation that applies to that judgment. If no special fund or appropriation exists, payment comes from whatever appropriations were made to the department or institution connected to the claim.

The Director, or the chief officer of the relevant department or institution, can slow that process down with a certificate stating that current appropriations will not cover the judgment without great public inconvenience. That certificate stays the judgment until the Legislature’s next regular session adjourns, giving the Legislature a chance to appropriate the money. The claimant is not left uncompensated for the delay: while the stay is in effect, interest runs on the judgment, at the rate set in section 45-103, from the date the court certified the judgment to the Director.