National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C.            Vol. 32, No. 12 * June 26, 2000

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Capitol Hill Update

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Legislation

Electronic signatures legislation moves
Congress is about to send to the president a new law that will pave the way for a dramatic expansion of electronic commerce. The so-called E-sign bill would authorize the use of “electronic signatures” in transactions that have traditionally required pen and ink signatures.

S.761, the “Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act” provides legal certainty to most transactions sealed with a secure code transmitted electronically – something as simple as a stylus on a digital pad or as complex as a thumb or an iris scan.

It would allow companies to send mandatory notices, like privacy disclosure statements, over the Internet, but certain vital notices and contracts like foreclosures or wills would still have to be in traditional paper form.

Although, the legislation does not specifically address the type of activities counties may want to pursue as a growing trend to provide services through “E-governance,” the e-sign bill should open the door to creative uses of technology to deliver traditional county services.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas J. Bliliey, Jr. (R-Va.) said, “It is about laying the legal foundation of e-commerce for years to come.” The law is expected to provide the public with added convenience and savings, and many commercial and financial firms will benefit from the legal certainty on most transactions using e-signatures. The legislation was supported by a wide-ranging cross section of industries, including insurance, banking, investment houses, mortgage and retail industries.


Ryan White reauthorization passes the Senate
On June 6, the Senate approved S. 2311, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Relief Emergency (CARE) Act Reauthorization. The bill passed, without debate, by voice vote. The authorization for Ryan White expires at the end of September.

The Ryan White CARE Act provides grants to local and state governments and to community-based organizations to provide health care and support services to persons with AIDS. Title I of the Act provides direct grants to local governments with 500,000 or more residents that have 2,000 or more new AIDS cases over the previous five years.

S. 2311 does not contain major programmatic changes. However, it does require that Ryan White programs be coordinated with Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), and it provides new supplemental grants to address the spread of AIDS in underserved rural and urban areas that do not qualify for other grants. Some monies were also authorized to help health providers in early detection of AIDS.

For more information, contact Sally McElroy: 202/942-4230; smcelroy@naco.org.


House approves NACo-supported clean air measure
In an important victory for NACo, the House approved a provision June 21 to preclude the Environmental Protection Agency from designating counties in non-attainment status with new ozone standards until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether the standards are actually enforceable.

The provision was offered on the House floor by Georgia Republicans John Linder and Mac Collins as an amendment to the Veterans Affairs-HUD appropriations bill, which funds EPA. The amendment passed 226-199, with 58 Democrats voting in favor. The House then approved the entire bill 256-169.

Without enactment of the Collins-Linder provision, several hundred counties are likely to be designated as in non-attainment status with the new ozone standard in early 2001. However, the U.S. Supreme Court is not expected to rule on whether the standard is legal, in the case American Trucking Associations v. EPA, until later that year.

Many county officials weighed in with their delegations prior the vote, and this was key to the amendment passing. The debate now moves to the Senate, which is scheduled to take up VA-HUD appropriations in the coming weeks.

House funding committee cuts funding for CDBG and HOME – other HUD Programs
The House Appropriations Committee on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies, chaired by Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.), has approved a $30 billion overall funding level for HUD budget, $4 billion over the current fiscal year, but $2.5 billion below the $32.5 billion requested by the Clinton Administration.

The measure includes $4.5 billion for the CDBG program, representing an approximate $295 million cut from the current funding level of $ 4.8 billion and $395 million below the amount requested by the Clinton Administration. The $4.5 billion proposed for CDBG includes $390 million in set-asides.

The HOME program, currently funded at $1.6 billion, would be funded at $1.585 billion in FY2001. This amount is $65 million below the amount sought by the Administration.

The Homeless Assistance Grants are funded at current level of $1.02 billion. The committee allocated $20 million for Brownfields Redevelopment, $5 million less than current year funding and $30 million below what was requested by the Administration.

The Housing Certificate Fund, which provides funding for the renewal of expiring Section 8 contracts and enhanced vouchers, was increased from $11.3 billion to $13.3 billion. The measure also provides $60 million to pay for 10,000 new certificates and vouchers, 110,000 short of the president’s request.

NACo supports $5 billion for CDBG and $2 billion for HOME and we will continue to work with members of the House and Senate to urge them to fund these two critical programs at the NACo requested levels.

As noted, NACo along with its local government partners continue to push for higher funding levels for federal programs that are vital to community revitalization efforts across the nation.


Interior appropriations passes House; PILT receives $10 million boost
The Interior and Related Agencies appropriations bill for FY2001, H.R. 4578, passed the House of Representatives on June 15, and an additional $10 million was added to the bill for the PILT program. This would bring the figure to $145 million, the highest it has ever been. The Senate has not yet taken action on the measure.

The bill would also add $30 million for the Bureau of Land Management – the bulk of which would be in new planning dollars, and additional money for maintenance at National Parks, forests and rangeland.

The PILT funding was added to the bill though an amendment offered by Reps. John Sununu (R-N.H.) and Robert Andrews (D-N.J.). Their amendment reduced the “Partnership for New Generation Vehicles” (PNGV) by $126.5 million: $86.5 is to used for debt reduction, $10 million for PILT, $10 million for stateside Land and Water Conservation Funds, $10 million for National Park Service maintenance and $10 million for National Forest System maintenance. NACo supported the amendment.


Justice appropriations advances in House
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies reported out $523 million for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) and $250 million for the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG) despite the Administration’s failure to request any funds for these programs. These actions were later ratified by the House Appropriations Committee on June 14.

The full committee also requested $552 million for the Byrne Memorial Block Grant and $287 million in additional juvenile justice funding. The Violent Apprehension/Truth in Sentencing Program received a mark of $686 million, COPS $595 million, $585 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) and $284 million for the Violence Against Women Program. With the exception of the COPS program, which was funded at $913 million last year, the subcommittee maintained current funding levels.

In a letter to Appropriations Chairman Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.), President Clinton expressed “deep disappointment” over the panel’s rejection of his request to spend $150 million to hire 1,000 state and local prosecutors to handle gun cases and implied he might veto the bill over this and other issues, including funding for the Legal Services Corporation and the COPS program.

In FY2000, COPS received $595 million in new money and $318 in unspent carry-over balances. In FY2001, the House Appropriations Committee approved $745 million for the COPS office, including $595 million in newly appropriated money and the authority to utilize $150 million in unspent carry-over balances from FY2000. The president had requested a total of $1.3 billion for COPS.

Of the $754 million approved for COPS, $384.5 million would fund a new initiative to hire or redeploy an additional 30,000 to 50,000 officers over five years. This includes $114 million for the Universal Hiring Program, $180 million to hire or re-deploy school resource officers and $73 million for the MORE program.

Of the $361 million approved to fund innovative programs $45.6 million is set aside for Methamphetamine/Drug “Hot Spot” programs and $25 million for the Bullet Proof Vest Initiative.

Embodied in the overall budget request is a new emphasis on reintegrating offenders into communities following their incarceration. Presently, about 100,000 ex-offenders are under no supervision at all. About two-thirds of released offenders will re-offend and be reincarcerated.


Labor, health, human services and education spending bill passes House by three votes
A bill to fund the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for FY2001 passed the House of Representatives on June 14, by a margin of three votes.

The $339.4 billion Republican-sponsored bill passed by a vote of 217 to 214.

The bill, which increases funding for the National Institutes of Health and the some Department of Education programs, undermines many Department of Labor programs. It includes substantial cuts to workforce development programs, prohibits the Department of Labor from issuing final ergonomics regulations (see side bar), and fails to fund some of the president’s pet programs, including funds for more teachers and school construction.

In a statement following the vote, President Clinton renewed his promise to veto this bill, which contains nearly $9 billion less than he requested in his budget proposal.

During the debate on the House floor, which at times became contentious, more than 35 amendments were offered. With few exceptions, none of the amendments were adopted.

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) offered an amendment that would have added $1.25 billion for workforce development and skills development activities.

The House bill provides for an overall cut of 11 percent in Workforce Investment Act programs for FY2001. Adult job training would be cut from $950 million to $857 million, dislocated worker programs from $1.58 to $1.38 billion and Youth Opportunity Grants from $250 to $175 million.

The Senate is expected to take up their version of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill sometime during the week of June 19. It includes $4 billion more than the House bill. While it would maintain funding for workforce development programs at current levels, it cuts the Title XX Social Services Block Grant by $1.1 billion.

House Prohibits Labor Department from Issuing Ergonomics Rule The House, on June 15, passed the Labor appropriations bill that included a rider that would prohibit the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from issuing, in final form, its Ergonomic Standards. The standard, which was issued in draft form late last year, has pitted the Department of Labor and organized labor against many in the business community who oppose this proposal. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have been among the biggest opponents of the rule, while the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions has been among the rule’s biggest supporters. The Department of Labor has held and continues to hold hearings on the proposed rule, has received substantial numbers of comments from a wide range of organizations and is currently working on drafting the final rule. President Clinton has indicated he will veto any appropriations bill that prohibits the Department of Labor from issuing a final ergonomics standard.

(Jeff Arnold, deputy legislative director, Neil Bomberg, Donald Murray, Dianne Taylor and Sally McElroy, associate legislative directors, contributed to this report.)