Mandates: Fiscal Accountability Issues
National leaders under pressure are often tempted to consider shifting costs to other levels of government and to satisfy new demands for public services by passing mandates and costs to other levels of governments to finance new programmes. These new mandates take a variety of forms but have one central feature: they permit the national government leaders to claim credit without paying for the costs of their own initiatives. This article examines intergovernmental relationships and the various forms of mandates including direct-order mandates, grants, pre-emptions, and tax policy. The article discusses the arguments for mandates, trends in their use, and reforms to curb them. The roles of agency cost-benefit analysis and legislative information and deliberation are particularly important. JEL classification: H200, H300, H540, H710, H810.
Congressional Preemption During the George W. Bush Administration
President Bush approved 64 preemption acts during 2001-2005. Fifteen acts were responses to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and five acts extended sunset provisions. The other acts removed specified powers from states in the fields of banking, commerce, energy, environmental protection, finance, foreign commerce, health, intellectual property, safety, taxation, telecommunications, and transportation. Only the two Internet taxation prohibition acts have a major impact on state governments by depriving them of billions of dollars in tax revenues that could be used to exercise their reserved powers. The other acts are minor ones on the periphery of state exercised powers compared to laws enacted in the period 1964-1999.
The Role of Nonclassroom Spaces in Living-Learning Communities.
A body of research suggests that learning communities provide a range of academic benefits by increasing social connectedness. Researchers have also hypothesized that informal learning spaces -- nonclassroom spaces (NCSs) -- can facilitate learning by supporting social connectedness. This study uses qualitative methods to explore the way nonclassroom spaces facilitate learning-related activities within a recently established learning community at State University. Our findings suggest that NCSs function as social hubs, help make intellectual and creative work visible to the larger learning community, and provide access to important resources. More generally, NCSs help to facilitate community formation and identity.