| Administrative law of the United States |
|---|
 |
| General |
| Statutory framework |
| Policy coordination |
| Judicial review of agency action |
| Separation of powers |
| Related areas of law (and agencies) |
| Related topics |
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) [1] (pdf) (text) restricts the federal imposition of unfunded mandates on state, local and tribal governments in the United States. [2]
UMRA was introduced on January 4, 1995, in the Senate by Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho as S. 1 to the Committees on the Budget and Governmental Affairs. It passed the full Senate on the 27th by a vote of 86 to 10; [3] an identical version passed the House on February 1. [4] It was signed into law by president Bill Clinton on March 22.
The four titles of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act are:
Title I: Legislative Accountability and Reform. Any bill passed by committee must be submitted to the director of the Congressional Budget Office so that any federal mandates may be identified. No bill which contains any such mandate imposing a direct cost of more than fifty million dollars on a state, local or tribal government or a cost of more than one hundred million dollars on the private sector may be sent to the full chamber without a corresponding appropriation.
Title II: Regulatory Accountability and Reform. Federal agencies must assess the cost of all new regulations to state, local and tribal governments and the private sector before issuing them. Where such costs exceed one hundred million dollars, the issuing agency must consult with the affected governments and make sure that no less burdensome alternative exists.
Title III: Review of Federal Mandates. The U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations was directed to review the role of mandates in relations between the federal government and state, local and tribal governments and to recommend to Congress and to the president opportunities to simplify or eliminate federal mandates.
Title IV: Judicial Review. Federal courts may compel agencies to comply with their responsibilities under Title II.
An unfunded mandate is a statute or regulation that requires any entity to perform certain actions, with no money provided for fulfilling the requirements. This can be imposed on state or local government, as well as private individuals or organizations. The key distinction is that the statute or regulation is not accompanied by funding to fulfill the requirement
The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act is a bill that was introduced into the United States House of Representatives in the 113th United States Congress. The bill would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to give new directions to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) governing its regulation creation and amendment process. The SEC would be required to assess the significance of the problem they are considering addressing, determine whether the estimated costs would outweigh the estimated benefits, and identify alternatives to their proposed regulation. The bill is intended to help protect the financial sector from excessive, burdensome regulations created by the SEC. The bill would do this by ordering the SEC to conduct a cost-benefit study before issuing any new rules to ensure that the expected benefits of the new rule would outweigh the expected costs of imposing it.
The Financial Competitive Act of 2013 is a bill that was introduced into the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress. The bill would require the Financial Stability Oversight Council to conduct a study of "the likely effects that differences between the way the United States and foreign regulators implement the CVA [Credit Valuation Adjustment] would have on financial institutions, users of derivatives, and derivatives markets." The report would be due to Congress within 90 days after the enactment of the act. This study is in response to changes made by the Third Basel Accord, an international agreement among banks and financial regulators. The bill passed the House on July 8, 2013.
The Department of State Operations and Embassy Security Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2014 is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress. The bill would authorize $17,573,992,000 to be appropriated to improve the security of U.S. Embassies throughout the world.
The National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2013 is a bill that would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct cybersecurity activities on behalf of the federal government and would codify the role of DHS in preventing and responding to cybersecurity incidents involving the Information Technology (IT) systems of federal civilian agencies and critical infrastructure in the United States.
The Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2013 is a bill that would require asbestos trusts in the United States to file quarterly reports about the payouts they make and who receives them. The goal of this requirement is to prevent fraud by ensuring claimants don't file for the same injury with more than one of the asbestos trusts. There are approximately 60 trusts with billions of dollars in them. This bill was introduced into the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress.
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013 aims to make information on federal expenditures more easily available, accessible, and transparent. The bill would change reporting requirements about financial data and start a pilot program to research best practices. The bill was introduced in the House during the 113th United States Congress.
The FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act of 2014 is a bill that would amend the Freedom of Information Act in order to make it easier and faster to request and receive information. The bill would require the Office of Management and Budget to create a single FOIA website for people to use to make FOIA requests and check on the status of their request. The bill would also create a Chief FOIA Officers Council charged with reviewing compliance and recommending improvements. This bill would also require the federal agency to release the information it disclosed to the person who requested it publicly afterwards.
The Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act is a bill that would require government agencies to identify and describe each program they administer, the cost to administer those programs, expenditures for services, the number of program beneficiaries, and the number of federal employees and contract staff involved. It would also require information on how the program gets evaluated.
The Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2013 is a bill that would make a number of changes to procedures that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) follows in its rulemaking processes. The FCC would have to act in a more transparent way as a result of this bill, forced to accept public input about regulations. Although the FCC would be allowed to decide on its own transparency guidelines, it would have to report annually on how well it was meeting those guidelines. The FCC would also have to provide notice about rules it was writing and allow for comment.
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 is a law that aims to make information on federal expenditures more easily accessible and transparent. The law requires the U.S. Department of the Treasury to establish common standards for financial data provided by all government agencies and to expand the amount of data that agencies must provide to the government website, USASpending. The goal of the law is to improve the ability of Americans to track and understand how the government is spending their tax dollars.
The Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014 is a bill that eliminates 18 specific reports that various federal agencies are required to give to Congress and an additional 85 reports that they are required to prepare.
The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015 is a bill that authorizes different intelligence agencies and their activities in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. The total spending authorized by the bill is classified, but estimates based on intelligence leaks made by Edward Snowden indicate that the budget could be approximately $50 billion.
The DHS Acquisition Accountability and Efficiency Act is a bill that would direct the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve the accountability, transparency, and efficiency of its major acquisition programs. The bill would specify procedures for the department to follow if it fails to meet timelines, cost estimates, or other performance parameters for these programs.
The Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act is an act of Congress that reaffirmed the status of lands taken into trust by the Department of the Interior (DOI) for the benefit of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians in the state of Michigan.
The Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act is a United States public law that repeals a rulemaking determination by the United States Copyright Office that left it illegal for people to unlock their cellphones.
The All Circuit Review Extension Act is an Act that extended for three years the authority for federal employees who appeal a judgment of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to file their appeal at any federal court, instead of only the U.S. Court of Appeals. This was a pilot program established in the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 to last only two years.
The Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act is a bill that would amend the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
The Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act of 2013 is a bill that would establish the Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program (NMIP) within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Under the program, NIST would award grants to establish a network of centers of innovation to improve the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers.
The Senior Executive Service Accountability Act is a bill that would make it less difficult to fire or suspend members of the Senior Executive Service (SES).