By Reginald N. Todd
legislative director
As the 104th Congress adjourned, NACo completed a busy legislative year. Marked earlier in the year by legislative gridlock, Congress over the past two months, adopted a number of bills affecting county governments. Several NACo legislative priorities this year ended with favorable outcomes, while other congressional actions will leave counties with tremendous challenges. Still other priorities will carry over into 1997.
Congress continued to focus on controlling federal spending during much of this year. A NACo focus on its priorities helped maintain county funding priorities during tight federal budgets.
Included in the list of NACo victories this year was the continuation of the summer youth jobs program. Slated for termination, county officials led the charge to save the program last spring during the protracted FY96 budget negotiations.
Rescued from a similar fate, NACo supported the continuation of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. NACo also led a successful effort to maintain full funding of the $4.6 billion Community Development Block Grant Program and $1.4 billion for HOME, despite attempts to cut them.
The Payments In Lieu of Taxes Program (PILT) funding was also preserved, with FY97 funding retaining the $12 million increase NACo gained last year. The FY96 increase was the first since PILT's enactment in 1976. The 90 congressional office visits made by county officials during a May "fly-in" helped assure FY97 funding.
The Telecommunications Act enacted this year was also lobbied aggressively by NACo in order to protect county authority over public rights-of-way and zoning. NACo also lobbied successfully to increase highway dollars; and the 1996 Farm Bill recognizes the important role of counties in rural development.
NACo also lobbied the reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act. NACo fought vigorously to try to remove a congressional mandate that local governments mail to all households an annual report on the quality of their drinking water, including publicizing contaminants that do not threaten the public's health.
While NACo was unsuccessful in removing the provision, Congress did agree to allow the EPA to approve less expensive methods of getting that information to the consumer. NACo will be working with EPA to identify and adopt those methods.
Landmark legislation reforming the nation's welfare system is the first major testing ground for devolution. NACo opposed the legislation, citing its concerns about the potential for cost shifts to counties responsible for persons no longer eligible for federal programs, but still needing assistance to support their children or other dependents, such as those formerly eligible for the Supplemental Security Income Program and numerous legal immigrants.
A new tough mandate has been put on state and local governments requiring a high percentage of welfare recipients be placed in jobs, or the state will lose a portion of the capped federal block grant.
The bill, despite its flaws, provides state and local governments with new challenges and opportunities and additional flexibility to put people on the road to being able to support themselves and their families. Now that welfare reform is a reality, NACo is working to assist counties in implementing the measure.
Implementing the Crime Act provisions was also on NACo's 1996 priorities list.
A more equitable funding allocation between cities and counties to recognize more adequately the role of counties in the criminal justice system has been pursued aggressively by NACo, resulting in decisions by state attorneys general in 18 states to require cities and counties to convene in hopes of resolving their funding disparities.
Just days before leaving the Senate to begin his retirement, Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-Ore.) made one last attempt to break the stalemate which had stalled action since last summer on his Local Empowerment and Flexibility Act - another NACo priority issue. Although he made a number of concessions to win the support of key Senate Democrats, ultimately these changes would cause him to lose the support of House Republicans.
Earlier in the year, committees in both houses passed similar proposals (H.R. 2086/S. 88) that would allow state and local governments to combine two or more categorical grants, adapt them to the specific needs of their communities and waive burdensome statutes and regulations that impede the effective delivery of services.
During committee action, Democrats, led by Senators John Glenn (D-Ohio) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) in the Senate and Representatives Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) and Cardiss Collins (D-Ill.) in the House, offered several amendments to prohibit the waiver of environmental, public health and workplace safety standards.
In both chambers the amendments were defeated along party lines. However, to address these concerns, Republicans added language to both bills to limit waiving authority to financial assistance programs (such as the Job Training Partnership Act and Community Development Block Grants) and not regulations and statutes that broadly apply to numerous grants and programs (such as the Single Audit Act and Davis-Bacon).
Not satisfied, Senate Democrats claimed that further changes were needed to ensure that critical environmental, public health and workplace safety standards were not waived.
They also insisted that language be added to limit the number of grants and to prohibit the commingling of funds and ensure that funds are spent for their intended purpose. Democrats used parliamentary rules to successfully block floor action on Hatfield's proposal until he agreed to address their concerns.
Without the support of key Democrats, Hatfield realized it would be almost impossible to schedule his bill for a final vote. In a final move to break the deadlock, he made a number of concessions to address the Democrats' concerns.
Although these changes won Hatfield the support he needed to add his proposal to the Senate's continuing resolution, in the end they were rejected by House Republicans who found them unacceptable and insisted that they be dropped from the final bill.
The art of advocacy is also measured by what did not happen.
NACo successfully fought back efforts to "block grant" the Medicaid program. While supporting the need for reform and the reduction in the rate of Medicaid's growth, NACo opposed the capping of the federal financial responsibility, arguing that costs above the federal contribution would be borne by counties. The reductions amounted to funding cuts of up to 30 percent.
NACo's support for reforming the nation's job training system was withdrawn during the summer when local elected officials' involvement in the design and implementation of local systems was taken away. NACo's opposition to the lack of county involvement was one of the primary reasons the bill did not pass.
Next year, counties will again face devolution debates on major pieces of federal legislation. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) will be reauthorized, and there is likely to be considerable discussion about the appropriate level of government to plan and receive federal funding for transportation projects. NACo has already laid the groundwork for next year. County officials testified three times before House or Senate transportation committees. A major thrust of NACo's effort will be to urge Congress to enact a provision giving county officials more control over which highway projects get funded.
Given continued federal budget pressures, restructuring Medicaid also will likely be raised again, with states demanding increased flexibility to operate the program, which raises potential financial risks to counties responsible for the uninsured if states narrow their eligibility standards as a means of controlling state budgets.
The 105th Congress will convene on Jan. 7, 1997. The first month or so is likely to be consumed by organizational meetings. The presidential inauguration will take place on January 20.
Other legislation lobbied during the year included:
On March 29, President Clinton signed into law legislation that establishes an expedited procedure that will enable Congress to veto rules and regulations issued by federal agencies before they go into effect. Under the legislation, federal agencies are required to submit all new rules and regulations to Congress for review before they can take effect.
Congress will have 60 days to review proposed regulations and veto those that it considers contrary to congressional intent.
To prevent a regulation from taking effect, both Houses must approve a Joint Resolution of Disapproval which must be signed by the president or, if the president vetoes the measure, both houses must vote to override the veto. If Congress fails to act during the 60-day period, the regulation will become effective.
NACo urged support for a comprehensive reform proposal that was passed by the House but stalled in the Senate due to partisan disagreements. Under the proposal, federal agencies would have been required to use scientific methods in conducting risk assessments and cost benefit analyses before issuing new regulations.
While there was bipartisan support for these provisions, Democrats and Republicans disagreed on a number of controversial provisions, and in the end, Democrats filibustered the Senate version (S. 343), which was pulled from the Senate floor on July 20, after the leadership failed to produce enough votes to shut off debate.
Enacted in April, the 1996 Farm Bill authorizes a new and more flexible process for funding rural development programs. The legislation consolidates 17 existing programs into three funding accounts and decentralizes decision-making on projects to U.S. Department of Agriculture state rural development directors.
The Farm Bill authorized the transfer of up to 25 percent between funding accounts to meet local needs. The FY97 appropriations bill for USDA limited the agency's flexibility by only allowing transfer of funds within each of the three accounts. This restriction only applies to this year. Funding levels for most of the rural development programs were increased over last year. The water and sewer program received a $67 million increase. (Contact: Ralph Tabor at 202/942-4254.)
The 104th Congress passed major tax legislation, but the bill became embroiled with the budget reconciliation package that was vetoed by President Clinton. The bill did not contain any provisions affecting tax-exempt bonds. A limited tax bill containing small business and pension provisions and minimum wage increases was enacted this summer.
Legislation easing tax-exempt bond restrictions was not seriously considered because of budget concerns and the need to find offsetting revenues. Attention also was focused on tax reform proposals, several of which would effectively eliminate the tax exemption for state and local bonds. (Contact: Ralph Tabor at 202/942-4254.)
A bill (H.R. 4136) was introduced late in the session to require the
U.S. Postal Service to establish a discounted, presort first-class postage
rate for local government mailings mandated by state or federal government.
The legislation will be reintroduced in the next Congress. (Contact:
Ralph Tabor at 202/942-4254.)