I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 410
To reduce the growing costs imposed on State and local governments by
unfunded Federal mandates.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 5, 1993
Mr. STUMP introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the
Committees on Government Operations, the Judiciary, and Rules
A BILL
To reduce the growing costs imposed on State and local
governments by unfunded Federal mandates.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Intergovernmental
Mandate Relief Act of 1993’’.
FINDINGS AND PURPOSE
SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds and declares that—
(1) Federal regulation of State and local gov-
ernments has become increasingly extensive and in-
trusive in recent years;
(2) such regulation has, in many instances, ad-
versely affected the ability of State and local govern-
ments to achieve their independent responsibilities;
and
(3) such excessive fiscal burdens also undermine
the attainment of the goals of Federal regulations.
(b) Therefore, it is the purpose of this Act to estab-
lish procedures to assure that the Federal Government
pays the total amount of additional direct costs incurred
by State and local governments in complying with any
intergovernmental regulation which takes effect on or
after the date of enactment of this Act.
DEFINITIONS
SEC. 3. For purposes of this Act, the term—
(1) ‘‘additional direct costs’’ means the amount
of costs incurred by a State or local government
solely in complying with an intergovernmental regu-
lation promulgated pursuant to a Federal law con-
cerning a particular activity which is in excess of the
amount that such State or local government would
be required to expend in carrying out such activity
in the absence of such law, except that such term
does not include any amount which a State or local
government is required by law to contribute as a
non-Federal share under a Federal assistance pro-
gram;
(2) ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Con-
gressional Budget Office;
(3) ‘‘Federal agency’’ has the meaning given to
the term ‘‘executive agency’’ in section 6501(3) of
title 31, United States Code;
(4) ‘‘Federal assistance’’ means any assistance
provided by a Federal agency to State and local gov-
ernments or other recipients, in the form of grants,
loans, loan guarantees, property, cooperative agree-
ments, or technical assistance, except that such term
does not include direct cash assistance to individ-
uals, contracts for the procurement of goods or serv-
ices for the United States, or insurance;
(5) ‘‘Intergovernmental regulation’’ means a
regulation promulgated by a Federal agency that re-
quires a State or local government to take certain
actions or requires a State or local government to
comply with certain specified conditions in order to
receive or continue to receive Federal assistance and
which requires the termination or reduction of such
assistance if such government fails to comply with
such conditions;
(6) ‘‘local government’’ has the same meaning
as in section 6501(6) of title 31, United States
Code;
(7) ‘‘significant law’’ means any Federal law
which is likely, in the judgment of the Director, to
result in total additional direct costs to all State and
local governments of $25,000,000 or more in any
fiscal year, or is likely to have exceptional fiscal con-
sequences for a geographic region or a particular
level of government; and
(8) ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States,
the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American
Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Is-
lands.
COMPENSATION OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
FOR ADDITIONAL DIRECT COSTS
SEC. 4. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a
Federal agency or a court of the United States shall not
require State governments or local governments to comply,
in any fiscal year, with any intergovernmental regulation
which—
(1) takes effect on or after the date of enact-
ment of this Act; and
(2) is promulgated pursuant to a significant
law, unless provisions of law have been enacted
which provide a sufficient amount of funds for such
fiscal year to reimburse such governments for the
total amount of additional direct costs that will be
incurred by such governments in complying with
such regulation during such fiscal year.
(b)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a Federal
agency or a court of the United States may require State
and local governments to comply with an intergovern-
mental regulation to which subsection (a) applies and
which will be in effect during a fiscal year if, with respect
to such intergovernmental regulation and such fiscal year,
a joint resolution described in paragraph (2) is enacted
by a two-thirds vote of the Members of each House of Con-
gress, duly chosen and sworn.
(2) A joint resolution referred to in paragraph (1)
is a joint resolution which, with respect to an intergovern-
mental regulation that will be in effect during a fiscal
year, waives the provisions of subsection (a) that require
that provisions of law be enacted to provide a sufficient
amount of funds for such fiscal year to reimburse State
and local governments for the total amount of additional
direct costs that will be incurred by such governments in
complying with such regulation during such fiscal year.
(c) For purposes of this section, the total amount of
additional direct costs that will be incurred by State gov-
ernments and local governments in complying with an
intergovernmental regulation in any fiscal year shall be the
total amount of such costs for such regulation estimated
by the Director for such fiscal year in the report required
under section 5 for such fiscal year.
REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR
SEC. 5. (a) For each fiscal year in which an intergov-
ernmental regulation promulgated pursuant to a signifi-
cant law will be in effect, the Director shall prepare and
transmit to the President and the Congress a report speci-
fying, for each such intergovernmental regulation and with
respect to such fiscal year and the fiscal year succeeding
such fiscal year—
(1) an estimate of the total amount of addi-
tional direct costs that will be incurred by all State
governments and local governments in complying
with such intergovernmental regulation in each such
fiscal year; and
(2) an estimate, for each such intergovern-
mental regulation, of—
(A) the total amount of additional direct
costs that have been incurred or will be in-
curred in each such fiscal year by the govern-
ment of each State and all local governments in
such State in complying with such regulation in
each such fiscal year; and
(B) the ratio (stated as a percentage)
which the total amount of additional direct
costs that have been incurred or will be in-
curred by all local governments in a State in
complying with such regulation in each such fis-
cal year bears to the total amount of additional
direct costs that have been incurred or will be
incurred by the government of such State and
all local governments in such State in comply-
ing with such regulation in such fiscal year.
(b) The Director shall transmit each report required
by subsection (a) for a fiscal year to the President and
the Congress by September 1 of the fiscal year preceding
such fiscal year.
CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTION REQUIRED
SEC. 6. (a) For each fiscal year in which an intergov-
ernmental regulation promulgated pursuant to a signifi-
cant law will be in effect, the chairman of the committees
of the Senate and of the House of Representatives having
legislative jurisdiction over such significant law shall pro-
pose, to an appropriate bill or resolution providing funds
for such fiscal year, an amendment containing provisions
to appropriate funds to reimburse State governments and
local governments for the additional direct costs incurred
in complying with such regulation. The amount of funds
proposed to be appropriated by such amendment shall be
equal to or in excess of the amount described in section
4(a).