An intergovernmental mandate refers to the responsibilities or activities that one level of government imposes on another by constitutional, legislative, executive, or judicial action. According to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), an intergovernmental mandate can take various forms. An enforceable duty refers to any type of legislation, statute, or regulation that requires or proscribes an action of state or local governments, excluding actions imposed as conditions of receiving federal aid. Certain changes in large entitlement programs refers to instances when new conditions or reductions in large entitlement programs, providing $500 million or more annually to state or local governments, are imposed by the federal government. Lastly, a reduction in federal funding for an existing mandate refers to a reduction or elimination of federal funding authorized to cover the costs of an existing mandate. Mandates can be applied either vertically or horizontally. Vertically applied mandates refer to mandates directed by a level of government at a single department or program. Horizontally applied mandates refer to mandates that affect various departments or programs.
In the United States, unfunded federal mandates are orders that induce responsibility, action, procedure, or anything else that is imposed by constitutional, administrative, executive, or judicial action for state governments, local governments, and the private sector. An unfunded mandate is a statute or regulation that requires a state or local government to perform certain actions, with no money provided for fulfilling the requirements. Public individuals or organizations also can be required to fulfill public mandates.
The first wave of major mandates occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, concerning areas including civil rights, education, and the environment. Starting with the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the U.S. federal government designed laws that required spending by state and local governments to promote national goals. During the 1970s, the national government promoted education, mental health, and environmental programs by implementing grant projects at a state and local level.
The increase of mandates in the 1980s and 1990s incited state and local protest. During the Reagan Administration , Executive Order 12291 and the State and Local Cost Estimate Act of 1981 were passed, implementing a careful examination of the true costs of federal unfunded mandates. In October 1993, state and local interest groups sponsored a National Unfunded Mandates Day, involving press conferences and appeals to congressional delegations about mandate relief. In early 1995, Congress passed unfunded mandate reform legislation. The period between the New Deal era and the mid-1980s witnessed a court that generally utilized an expansive interpretation of the interstate commerce clause and the Fourteenth Amendment to validate the growth of the federal government's involvement in domestic policymaking. As of 1992, there were 172 federal mandates that obligated state or local governments to fund programs to some extent.
40th President of the USA, Ronald Reagan
During the Reagan Administration, Executive Order 12291 and the State and Local Cost Estimate Act of 1981 were passed. They implemented a careful examination of the true costs of federal unfunded mandates.