Unfunded federal mandates are a symptom that something is seriously wrong with American federalism, concludes a recent preliminary study of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR).

Washington's tendency to treat every problem as a national issue has abridged the historic powers of state and local governments and saddled them with complex one-size-fits-all requirements that impose major costs with little regard for ability to pay or ability to comply, the report says.

From among more than 200 separate federal mandates that reach into every nook and cranny of state and local government operations, ACIR took a detailed look at 14 of the most onerous by asking the questions:
• Does the national purpose justify federal intrusion in state and local affairs?
• Are the costs of implementing the mandate fairly shared among governments?
• Is maximum flexibility given to state and local governments in implementing the mandate?
• Can changes be made in the mandate to relieve intergovernmental stress while still maintaining a commitment to national goals?

Recommendations on Individual Mandates
Of the 14 federal mandates it studied, the Commission recommends outright repeal of provisions in half of them that extend coverage to state and local governments. Seven other mandates should be modified to permit greater compliance flexibility and to accommodate the budgetary and administrative constraints of state and local governments.

While not recommending repeal of the laws themselves, the Commission said that the application of seven federal laws to state and local government should be repealed. The laws are the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Drug and Alcohol Testing of Commercial Drivers, Metric Conversion, Boren Medicaid Amendment, and Recycled Crumb Rubber mandate (already repealed). These federal mandates, ACIR concluded, did not have a sufficient national interest to justify the intrusion on state and local government rights and authorities.

On seven other federal mandates, the Commission found sufficient national policy purpose to justify their use, but recommended the changes below.
• Clean Water Act. Either restore direct federal cost sharing or give state and local governments greater authority to develop their own control methods and timetables for implementing federal standards.
• Individuals with Disabilities Act. Either increase federal funding to the 40 percent authorized level or relieve states from prescriptive and costly administrative mandates. Limit lawsuits to those brought by the responsible federal agency, and require the implementation of alternative dispute resolution practices.
• Americans with Disabilities Act. Either provide increased funding to state and local governments, including funding for paratransit, or modify deadlines and requirements to let state and local governments meet national ADA requirements in a way that recognizes their technical and budgetary constraints. Create a single federal ADA enforcement and assistance agency. Legal actions against state and local governments should be brought only by the responsible federal agency.
• Safe Drinking Water Act. Enact amendments similar to those approved by the Senate and establish a long-term goal of returning to the states full responsibility for safe drinking water standards.
• Endangered Species Act. Give state and local governments an official role-beyond the current consultation and review and comment requirements — in the management and planning decisions affecting the listing process. Use exemptions more extensively to minimize the negative impacts on state and local governments of the recovery planning and listing procedures.
• Clean Air Act. Permit states to develop their own ways of meeting federal air quality standards and eliminate penalties if states are making good faith efforts to comply.
• Davis-Bacon Acts. Amend the laws to exempt projects below a larger dollar cost than now prevails and below a certain federal percentage of cost sharing from compliance in state and local construction projects.

The ACIR study, "The Role of Federal Mandates in Intergovernmental Relations," was called for in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4). Copies of the report are available from ACIR Publications Office, Suite 450 South, 800 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20575; phone (202) 653-5540; fax (202) 653-5429 •

March 1996 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 7