Congressional Delegate Mandate Constitution Act

Summary

Unfunded federal mandates on state and local governments have become a tremendous financial burden. It has been estimated that during the 1990s, state and local governments will spend more than $200 billion to comply with current federal waste water mandates alone. The state of Ohio expects to spend almost $3 billion complying with environmental mandates over the next decade, and New York City estimates it will spend $4.6 billion for unfunded mandates on ocean dumping and safe drinking water.

This Act requires that all members of the state’s Delegation to the U.S. Congress are to annually appear before a joint legislative session to discuss the problems related to unfunded federal mandates and discuss any new burden that have been imposed by the federal government on the state.

Model Resolution

WHEREAS, the number of unfunded federal mandates imposed upon the states by the United States Congress has alarmingly increased in recent years; and

WHEREAS, this continuing imposition places (state) and her sister states in the precarious position of either attempting to fund the federal requirements with diminishing amounts of available revenue or jeopardizing eligibility for certain federal funds; and

WHEREAS, states and the United States Congress should engage in earnest discussions regarding the difficult posture in which the states have been cast and the urgent necessity of the states to receive monetary assistance for these mandates or relief from the enforcement of these unfunded decrees; and

WHEREAS, the members of the legislature of (state) desire to personally communicate with the (state) delegation to the United States Congress concern-ing this critical problem so that our representatives may be completely cognizant of the effect the actions of the federal government have at the state legislative level and may be more sensitive to the difficulties unfunded federal mandates create; now therefore,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the legislature of (state), both houses thereof concurring, that all members of the (state) Delegation to the United States Congress are respectfully requested to annually appear before a joint session of the legislature of (state) to discuss the problems related to unfunded federal mandates as well as discuss the new burdens that have been imposed by the federal government on the state.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the House of Representatives, by copy of this resolution, advise each member of the (state) congressional Delegation of this invitation and of our hopeful anticipation of their acceptance.

Reapproved by the ALEC Board of Directors on January 29, 2013