Questions I'm Attempting to AnswerWhat is an unfunded mandate? What is the cause of unfunded mandates? What impact has the Unfunded Reform Act had? What are the effects of mandates on local governments? Are unfunded mandates a neces sary evil?
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Congress became more concerned with howmuch the bill would cost states and less
concerned with the social problems or benefitsaddressed by the proposed mandates
Enabled states and localities to potentiallycreate new allies in the business communitythrough shared opposition to legislation, thoughfor different reasons
Primary impact came not from blockinglegislation but from UMRA's effect as adeterrent to mandates during the drafting and
early consideration of legislation Bills that had estimates which exceeded the $50
million threshold were often revised by its sponsors'to bring the figure below that line
Bills would also be modified to extend the lengthstate and local governments had to implement themso the cost was still the same to state/local govts.,but just over a longer time
Praised as a responsible attempt toinstitutionalize congressional self-restraint onmandates, but its success of UMRA relied onCongress enforcing it upon themselves
Issue that is uniformly liked or disliked amongthe electorate
Megan's Law (registering/notifying of sexoffenders) easily exceeded the $50 million pricetag but you could not raise a point of interestbecause it would look like you support sexoffenders
Drug testing state and local prisoners/paroles. If you're against it you are “soft on drugs”
Fully funding mandates can reduce cost-effectiveness,as sub-national governments then have no incentive tominimize costs in implementation.
Requiring full funding of mandates would make
regulation more difficult to pass
The threat of unfunded mandates can lead subnationalgovernments to act earlier in the process to stave off national action; eliminating unfunded mandates would
allow state and local governments to not act withregards to important issues
These arguments address what seems to underliemuch of the debate on unfunded mandates – a sense
State and local government interest groups andproponents of federalism argued that unfundedmandates undermine political accountability.
By separating regulations from thefundingsource, these groups argue, unfundedmandates reduce accountability by confusingcitizens about which level of government is
responsible. Proponents of UMRA also contended that
unfunded mandates distort policy makingbecause federal legislators who lackinformation do not consider the costs of a
It has been successful inreducing the number of mandates, though many arguethis isn't really true because of the narrow scope of the act.
“[The] very threat of a CBOreport has engendered efforts toreach out to state and localleaders before the fact –instead of after. It has changedthe nature of our intergovernmental discussion ina very positive way”-RaymondScheppach (Director, Nat'lGovernors Assoc.)
Provisions not contained inauthorizing bills or notreported by an authorizingcommittee are not subjectto CBO review beforegoing to the floor.
The Act doesn't requireautomatic review of provisions added after
Eliminate minimum thresholds so that anymandate can trigger a point of order becausethe cumulative effects of mandates that areunder the minimum threshold can createproblems for subnational governments
Require a supermajority vote to override a pointof order which would make passing unfunded
mandates more difficult Extend the point of order to apply to bills that
Create a dialogue between levels of government that allow search side to see their common goals as well as the variation in their constituents' policy priorities
Use of local government networks to developcost estimates, periodic review of mandatesinitiated by local governments, mandate
explanations that provide a clear rationale for the mandate and an explanation of theappropriate role for each level of government
Local governments often speak out againstmandates but their actions make them seem
State and local governments must rely on their own political resources and prowess, not theconstitution, to protect their prerogatives andcosts from federal encroachments-JusticeBlackmun's majority decision in the Garcia case
Local governments have been forced to forminterest groups to lobby Congress
Because the members of these interest groups
are elected officials, it is difficult for them toachieve the internal cohesion needed toeffectively formulate and communicate grouppositions on the important intergovernmental
issues of the day. -80 Internal consensus is a prerequisite to the groups'
A federal mandate helps state officials achievepolicy goals by presenting controversialpositions as federal decrees.
Progressive states with stronger environmentalregulations or public welfare would haveinterest in putting a floor under intergovernmental competition by pressing for
national mandates.-83 State policy activism can prompt federal mandates
every bit as muc as can state policy inaction
Benefits of mandates are often immediatelyvisible whereas the costs are often va ue and