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An anniversary last week probably would have passed unnoticed if not for Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN). Fortunately, the Senator from Tennessee, who served two terms as Governor, knows only too well the expensive and burdensome impact placed upon the states. He chose the anniversary to discuss unfunded mandates. His speech was a bracing reminder about the hope generated by the "Class of '94" in tackling a troublesome problem and why, despite their best efforts ten years ago, the battle for reform must continue to be waged.

It is the tenth anniversary of the passage of the Federal Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and the sponsor was Dirk Kempthorne (R), at the time a U.S. Senator from Idaho, who is now governor. It took long hours on Kempthorne's part to build a coalition of local governments and local elected officials and administrators. Kempthorne remarked that the groups, whom one would assume would be natural allies, rarely had worked together on federal legislation. Thanks to his patient effort, the National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Counties, National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislators, Council of State Governments and the International City/County Management Association formed a coalition to advance UMRA.

UMRA requires the Congressional Budget Office to score legislation on the cost of its unfunded mandates. If an unfunded mandate is estimated to be more than $50 million a Senator or Congressman could stop the bill by raising a point of order. The way Governor Kempthorne recalled UMRA, "It simply says, if Congress passes a bill, it can't pass the buck."

Senator Alexander remarked on how troublesome unfunded mandates were when he was Tennessee Governor during the late 1970s and 1980s. It really amounted to an opportunity for a Congressman or Senator to grandstand, claiming action on an issue when he merely passed the buck to the states. States and localities were left picking up the tab or else coming to Washington with a tin cup held in outstretched arms.

In many cases I definitely think Senator Alexander is correct. He remarked on the difficulty local school boards face when they shuffle funding to meet federal mandates on educating children with disabilities. The mandates reduce funding needed to teach children of average ability. No doubt you've heard the old phrase: "When it rains it pours." Now, thanks to new EPA regulations governing storm water run-off, city officials who must meet the costs are forced to say, "When it rains we will need to hike taxes." If the rain doesn't soak taxpayers the taxes certainly will.

Senator Alexander and I respectfully disagree over Internet taxation. Congress has succeeded in keeping the Internet tax-free, a factor which has contributed greatly to its growth. Millions of Americans have benefited from the easy access to information and to purchasing goods and services on the Internet. The senator's speech mentioned the Internet tax as an unfunded mandate because it costs state and local officials some sales tax revenue. However, on most matters related to this issue we agree.

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