Unfunded Programs to Cost the States $29 billion this year!

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/03/10/unfunded/print.html

by Robert Tanner

March 10, 2004  |  States will wind up paying at least $29 billion this year to cover the costs of programs and initiatives handed down by the federal government -- from education to homeland security -- as Washington leaves an increasingly large burden for states, according to a new report.

A bipartisan group of state legislators documented the costs in a report released Wednesday, with the biggest burdens coming from special education requirements, President Bush's new No Child Left Behind education law, and prescription drugs.

"It is a fairly significant problem," said Pennsylvania state Rep. David J. Steil, a Republican who helped craft the National Conference of State Legislatures' report. "It's quite easy to define a need, and then push it down to local governments to pay for it."

The report said the $29.7 billion estimate was conservative and the total could be much higher. It accounted for 6 percent of states' total general fund spending. Costs include:

- $10 billion for special education programs.
- $9.6 billion for No Child Left Behind.
- $6 billion for prescription drugs for Medicare-eligible patients.
- $1 billion for environmental regulations.

The costs are expected to rise to $34.2 billion next year, causing onerous burdens at a time when state finances are still weak, the report found.

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:-)

The telcom companies have been doing this for years. I'm planning on running again for the state legislature (three years hence) and making this an issue.

Allow the state, and all units of local government within the state, to attach (without any further vote than a majority of the elected, governing body) a Federal Mandate Surcharge to their existing tax levies.

Said Surcharge to be a percentage of the tax owed (not regressive).