Legislation awaits action by Congress

Shortly before Congress left for the August recess, the Senate Judiciary Committee, under the chairmanship of Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), reported out a revised Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Act of 1997 (S.10), largely on a party line vote. The full Senate is expected to consider the legislation in September.

The Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to adopt a NACo-supported amendment offered by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), which preserved prevention grants as a separate category of funding. The Senate Appropriations Committee appropriated $75 million in FY98 for this provision, a substantial increase above the current $20 million funding level. Title V prevention grant funds have been used to mobilize entire counties to set up effective prevention programs tailored to each county's needs.

Prior to the adoption of the Kohl amendment, prevention funding was limited to post-arrest options, such as graduated sanctions, short-term confinement, and other options with no guarantee that any block grant funds would be spent on prevention. NACo has maintained that prevention money must be partitioned or it will lose out to the crisis of the moment.

In May, the House overwhelmingly approved H.R. 3, which authorizes $1.5 billion over three years. Under the House bill, states may keep up to 25 percent of the funds, but cities and counties are required to receive at least 75 percent of the funds by formula, with two-thirds of the formula being based on criminal justice expenditures. The remaining one-third of the formula is based on the volume of serious crime.

To receive block grants under H.R. 3, states would have to ensure that juveniles 15 years or older are tried as adults for violent crimes; impose a system of graduated punishments for every delinquent or criminal act; and establish a public criminal record system for serious juvenile offenders.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) intends to offer an amendment that is very similar to the Hyde/McCollum block grant formula contained in H.R. 3. NACo officials are urged to support Sen. Durbin's amendment.

While the Senate bill has incorporated language requiring a 75 percent "pass-through" to local governments, the Senate measure differs from its House counterpart in terms of targeting three general purpose areas for 60 percent of the block grant funds: 1) 15 percent for drug testing; 2) 35 percent for juvenile detention facilities; and 3) 10 percent to meet other requirements, such as binding juveniles charged with serious offenses to adult courts.

NACo policy supports a strong focus on early prevention and collaborative planning and authority at the local level for a full range of sanctions. A NACo resolution adopted unanimously at the Annual Conference calls for intervention at the earliest appropriate age. The resolution reaffirmed NACo's long-standing support for the core requirements in the Act, including the removal of juveniles from adult jails and a prohibition against holding status offenders in secure custody.

The legislation now being considered by Congress would greatly expand federal assistance in exchange for federal requirements. NACo will continue to focus on county versus state and federal control, the block grant formula and the balance between prevention and punishment.

Workforce development reform moves forward
For the past four years, Congress and the Administration have been struggling with reforms to the nation's job training system. Though widely recognized as an effective method of moving economically disadvantaged persons and dislocated workers into employment, many in Congress and the Administration believe that consolidation of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and other workforce development programs is necessary. They argue that the workforce development system must be made responsive to changing economic and employment factors.

Efforts to reform the workforce development system in the 104th Congress was aborted at the last minute when Republicans and Democrats were unable to compromise on a number of issues important to local governments. However, that failure has not dimmed hopes for reform during this Congress.

Congress is working to develop a bipartisan reform package. To date, only the House has acted on its version of workforce development reform, but the Senate is in the final stages of developing its version, with a draft bill scheduled for release early this month. Senate staff report that substantial progress has been made in drafting workforce development legislation. The agreement reached by the State and Local Coalition, of which NACo is a member, is expected to be a centerpiece of the bill.

Coalition items that may be included in the bill are: mandatory local workforce development boards; a strong role for local elected officials; local operation of the one-stop system; and distribution of job training funds to the local level.

The bill is expected also to include substantial education reform. Senate staff expect to meet with NACo during the second week of August. Senators James Jeffords (R-Vt.) and Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) hope to introduce the bill shortly after the August recess.

Earlier this year, the House passed (343-60), the Employment Training and Literacy Enhancement Act of 1997 (H.R. 1385). If similar legislation is adopted by the Senate, it is likely that the broad support needed to pass workforce development reform will be successful. NACo believes, however, that this bill did not go far enough toward consolidating the various workforce development programs, including JTPA, vocational education, literacy programs, the Employment Service, veteran's employment programs and a whole host of others.

FLSA reforms benefiting counties dies
Despite numerous tries, the Senate has failed to pass S.4, the Family Friendly Workplace Act. The bill would have given private sector workers the flexibility to opt for compensatory time in lieu of overtime pay. The bill also included a provision that was very important to local and state governments. It would have exempted state and local governments from the prohibitions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that prevent employers from docking "exempt" employees for less than a day of leave or a week in the event of a suspension. The bill was blocked by Democrats who were concerned that private sector employers might force employees to take compensatory time in lieu of overtime to save companies substantial sums of money.

Public housing bill awaits conference committee
The Senate and House have passed their respective versions of public housing reform, but a conference committee has not met to resolve differences between H.R. 2 and S. 462. The House bill contains more controversial provisions, including repeal of the Housing Act of 1937; sanctions permitting the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to withhold Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) funds from jurisdictions where the local government somehow contributed to a public housing authority being designated as a troubled agency; less targeting of public housing and Sec. 8 assistance to very low-income people; and a flexible grant provision, which would permit a local government to receive, in a block grant, the amount that otherwise would go into a public housing authority's capital fund and operating fund.

NACo opposes these House provisions, and prefers the Senate approach to targeting assistance to very low-income individuals. Although all agree that permanent public housing reform is needed, and differences between the two bills are not insurmountable, reform, while still possible this year, may have to wait until the second session of this Congress. NACo will urge enactment this year.

Federal Bridge Program in jeopardy
The $2.76 billion Federal Bridge Program may be eliminated or folded into a highway block grant as part of the reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). NACo supports a continuation of the bridge program as a separate categorical program in the reauthorization of ISTEA, even if other parts of the highway program are changed. Counties own 45 percent of the bridges in the United States and would lose substantial federal funds if the bridge program disappears.

(Associate Legislative Directors Donald Murray, Neil Bomberg and Haron Battle contributed to this article.)