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State and Local Governments

The federal government provides financial support for state and local governments, imposes restrictions on the activities of those governments, and offers incentives for those governments to undertake or not undertake certain activities. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) ensures that, during the legislative process, the Congress receives information about restrictions on state, local, and tribal governments (and on private entities) known as federal mandates. Specifically, CBO produces mandate statements for each committee-approved bill.
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H.R. 373, Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2011

cost estimate

March 28, 2012

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monthly archive

  • May 2013 (2)
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CBO Releases Annual UMRA Report

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March 30, 2012


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A Review of CBO's Activities in 2011 Under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

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March 30, 2012

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Highlights

The federal government, through laws and regulations, sometimes imposes requirements—known as federal mandates—on state, local, and tribal governments and entities in the private sector in order to achieve national goals. In 1995, lawmakers enacted the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) in part to ensure that, during the legislative process, the Congress receives information about proposed federal mandates and their costs before enacting a piece of legislation.

UMRA defines a mandate as any provision in legislation that, when enacted, would do one of the following:

  • Impose an enforceable duty on state, local, or tribal governments or on private-sector entities;
  • Reduce or eliminate funding authorized to cover the costs of complying with existing mandates;
  • Increase the stringency of conditions that apply to the provision of funds to state, local, or tribal governments through certain large mandatory programs or make cuts in federal funding for those mandatory programs if the affected governments lack the flexibility to alter the programs.

Duties that are imposed as conditions of federal assistance or that are tied to participating in voluntary federal programs generally are not considered mandates as defined in UMRA.

The law requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to prepare mandate statements for bills that are approved by authorizing committees; when requested, the agency also reviews other legislative proposals for intergovernmental and private-sector mandates. CBO found that most of the legislation the Congress considered in 2011 contained no mandates as defined in UMRA. Of the 434 bills CBO reviewed in 2011, 56 (13 percent) contained inter-governmental mandates and 67 (15 percent) contained private-sector mandates. Of the 81 public laws enacted in 2011, 12 contained intergovernmental mandates and 16 contained private-sector mandates. Many of those mandates were temporary extensions of existing mandates and were included in continuing resolutions that provided funding for federal programs until full-year appropriations were enacted.



monthly archive

  • May 2013 (2)
  • April 2013 (14)
  • March 2013 (22)
  • February 2013 (10)
  • January 2013 (11)
  • December 2012 (4)
  • November 2012 (10)
  • October 2012 (4)
  • September 2012 (6)
  • August 2012 (5)
  • July 2012 (11)
  • June 2012 (8)
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Presentation on The Federal Budget Outlook and Aid to States

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March 21, 2012


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The Federal Budget Outlook and Aid to States

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March 21, 2012

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H.R. 2947, a bill to provide for the release of the reversionary interest held by the United States in certain land conveyed by the United States in 1950 for the establishment of an airport in Cook County, Minnesota

cost estimate

March 13, 2012

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H.R. 3902, District of Columbia Special Election Reform Act

cost estimate

February 14, 2012

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H.R. 1433, the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2012

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February 14, 2012

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H.R. 2309, Postal Reform Act of 2011

cost estimate

December 1, 2011

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S. 1014, Emergency Judicial Relief Act of 2011

cost estimate

December 1, 2011

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