U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations
800 K Street, NW
Suite 450, South Building
Washington, DC 20575

1995 ACIR HIGHLIGHTS

The U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) met five times in 1995 to recommend improvements in federal-state-local relationships.

January 13

The Commission:

• Adopted the "Resolution on Strengthening the Intergovernmental Partnership" in response to proposed changes resulting from the November 1994 national election.
• Adopted a report and recommendations on reforming unfunded federal mandates.
• Considered a new ACIR "Issue Brief" on Medicaid and AFDC funding to the states.
• Authorized publication of an Information Report on state tax and expenditure limits on local governments.

March 24

The Commission:

• Approved a work program to prepare four studies required of ACIR by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
• Authorized appointment of a Federalism Committee to help provide guidance to the Congress and the Administration for considering short-term and long-term changes in the federal system.
• Adopted a report and recommendations on strengthening the capacity of metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to perform the planning and other functions required by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA).

June 28

The Commission:

• Adopted criteria for use by the Commission in reviewing and making recommendations on existing federal mandates, as required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
• Authorized transmittal to the President and the Congress (and publication) of the first mandates study required of ACIR by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995--cataloguing all federal court decisions issued in 1994 involving cases brought against state, local, and tribal governments under federal law or the U.S. Constitution.
• Adopted an increased schedule of voluntary financial contributions to ACIR to be requested of the states in future years.
• Authorized the staff to prepare two new studies, using funding from the Federal Highway Administration: (1) performance-based management practices for improving intergovernmental service delivery in public works programs, and (2) integration and streamlining of multiple federal requirements for metropolitan transportation planning.

September 15

The Commission:

• Approved a strategy for requesting an FY 1997 federal appropriation, supplementing the Commission's appropriation with other sources of funding, and repositioning the Commission's structure and program for survival in the new national political environment.
• Considered preliminary staff findings about high priority existing federal mandates identified by state and local officials, provided guidance to staff for completing the preliminary report, and authorized preparation for a national conference in early Spring 1996 to seek greater involvement in mandates and other federalism issues.
• Authorized the staff to prepare a study of intergovernmental relationships in wetlands preservation programs, using Corps of Engineers' financing

December 19

The Commission:

• Approved the preliminary report and proposed recommendations on The Role of Federal Mandates in Intergovernmental Relations, and authorized the report to be published for public review and comment.
• Considered, but did not complete action on (1) a position regarding the proposed Local Flexibility and Empowerment Act (S. 88), and (2) the draft policy report on performance-based management practices to improve intergovernmental service delivery in public works programs. To promote intergovernmental dialogues, Commission members and staff spoke or testified to the Congress on 8 occasions, presented 45 speeches, and authored 7 outside publications.

The Commission's 1995 achievements are highlighted under the following four headings:

• Strengthening the Federal System
• Managing Federal Aid
• Balancing Public Finances, and
• Promoting Democracy Abroad

Strengthening the Federal System

Refocusing

At its first meeting in 1995 (January 13), the Commission passed a resolution:

1. recognizing the "unprecedented opportunity" for intergovernmental reforms occasioned by the change of party control in the Congress, and other factors;
2. urging all the partners in the federal system to "seize this unprecedented opportunity to achieve better balance of responsibilities and resources among federal, state, and local governments, and strengthen the intergovernmental partnership" with actions on federal mandate relief, safeguards and assurances against shifting federal responsibilities to state and local governments without their consent, reforming the federal grant system, maximizing essential federal field services to state and local governments, and exempting state and local officials from the Federal Advisory Committee Act; and
3. committing the Commission to assisting the Congress and the President in achieving these goals.

Federal Mandate Reform

The Commission adopted a series of recommendations in January to guide the Congress in enacting mandate relief legislation. The Congress passed legislation consistent with the ACIR recommendations. This legislation assigned to ACIR the preparation of four studies including a review of existing federal mandates, and a report on judicially created federal mandates.

• The first annual judicial mandates report, Federal Court Rulings Involving State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Calendar Year 1994, was published in July 1995. It found more than 3,500 opinions on issues raised under more than 100 federal laws.
• The preliminary review of existing federal mandates was prepared during 1995, and approved by the Commission for public review and comment in early 1996. (The Role of Federal Mandates in Intergovernmental Relations: A Preliminary ACIR Report for Public Review and Comment, January 1996.) This report includes proposed recommendations for exempting state and local governments from seven mandates and modifying the effects of seven other federal mandates on state and local governments.

Water Resources Studies

The Commission completed its assignment of facilitating stakeholder meetings in the ACT-ACF river basins of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia to help the three states and the federal government settle a serious interstate dispute over the use of water in these six interrelated river basins. ACIR began a study of intergovernmental institutions that could be used to plan and implement wetlands preservation, restoration, construction, and maintenance programs on a watershed basis.

Supporting State ACIR's

The Commission continued its support and encouragement for state ACIR's.

Managing Federal Aid

The Commission continued its long-standing studies in the federal aid field by publishing four new reports and starting two additional studies, as follows:

Characteristics of Grants.

Characteristics of Federal Grant-in-Aid Programs to State and Local Governments: Grants Funded FY 1995 (June 1995), provides the only complete profile of the federal grant system. Federal Grant Profile, 1995: A Report on ACIR's Federal Grant Fragmentation Index (September 1995), provides the third calculation of an index which points to potentials for program consolidations. Block Grants, Federal Aid, and Deficit Reduction, Issue Brief 95-2 (July 1995) provides a "quick-study" aid for persons involved in designing or evaluating block grant proposals.

Metropolitan Planning Requirements.

MPO Capacity: Improving the Capacity of Metropolitan Planning Organizations to Help Implement National Transportation Policies (May 1995), a policy report containing six recommendations for federal, state and local capacity-building support for MPOs. A study of the potentials for integrating the large number of federal planning regulations and MPO practices into a more coherent and effective, but simpler and more efficient, planning process (to be completed in 1996).

Benchmarking.

A study to assess the potential of outcome-oriented performance management processes to improve the delivery of intergovernmental programs (to be completed in 1996).

Balancing Public Finances

ACIR has recommended ways to promote intergovernmental fiscal fairness over the past 37 years. In 1995, the Commission made the following three new contributions to this search.

Significant Features of Fiscal Federalism.

The Commission published Volume 1 of its annual two-volume Significant Features of Fiscal Federalism (September 1995). It contains descriptions of the budget processes of the federal government and each of the 50 states, as well as descriptions of each federal, state, and local tax levied and its rates. Volume 2, which contains intergovernmental revenue and expenditure tables, was delayed because of delays in receiving data from the sources ACIR uses to compile the tables.

Tax and Expenditure Limits on Local Governments.

This special information report was compiled at the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment, Indiana University, and was published by ACIR (March 1995). It describes the wide variety of limitations placed on local government finances by state governments, and gives the dates when the various states imposed each of these limits.

Medicaid, AFDC, and State Budgets.

This Issue Brief (95-I) shows the effects on the budgets of each of the 50 states of federal payments for the Medicaid and AFDC programs, and potential effects of capping these entitlement programs.

Promoting Democracy Abroad

Briefings

• ACIR continued to provide selective briefings for foreign visitors seeking to learn about American federalism.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) plays a unique role in:

• Monitoring the federal system;
• Identifying problems and highlighting emerging issues; and
• Regularly convening federal, state, and local government officials to consider means of making the system work better.

ACIR has continued this role for more than three decades, working closely with federal, state, and local government officials to identify ways in which it can help the President and the Congress improve the effectiveness of the federal system, develop solutions to intergovernmental problems, and bring about a better balance between the states and the federal government.

ACIR continues also to highlight the growing importance of state-local relations and works cooperatively with its 23 state-ACIR counterparts.

This annual report describes how the Commission is constituted and conducts its research, how it advises on policy matters, and how it disseminated information during 1995.

Budget and Performance For FY 1996,

ACIR's appropriation is $784,000 ($216,000 less than in FY 1995). Actual salaries and expenses for FY 1995 are shown in Appendix A.

ACIR continued to rely on outside revenue sources during calendar year 1995. These included state contributions, research contracts with federal agencies, publication sales, and honoraria. ACIR's financial support is summarized in Appendix B.

The FY 1996 appropriation act for ACIR provides for termination of the Commission's activities.

Appendix C provides historical graphs of ACIR's annual product production, revenues, personnel, offices space, and warehouse space.

ACIR: Purpose and Composition

Purpose

ACIR is a permanent, independent, bipartisan Commission, established by P.L. 86-380, September 24, 1959, amended by P.L. 89-733, November 2, 1966. The statutory purposes of the Commission are to:

1. Bring together representatives of the federal, state, and local governments for the consideration of common problems;
2. Provide a forum for discussing the administration and coordination of federal grants and other programs requiring intergovernmental cooperation;
3. Give critical attention to the conditions and controls involved in the administration of federal grant programs;
4. Make available technical assistance to the executive and legislative branches of the federal government in review of proposed legislation to determine its overall effects on the federal system;
5. Encourage discussion and study at an early stage of emerging public problems that are likely to require intergovernmental attention;
6. Recommend, within the framework of the Constitution, the most desirable allocation of government functions, responsibilities and revenues among the several levels of government;
7. Recommend methods of coordinating and simplifying tax laws and administrative practices to achieve a more orderly and less competitive fiscal relationship between the levels of government and to reduce the burden on compliance for taxpayers.

Composition

The Commission is composed of 26 members:

• Three private citizens, appointed by the President without regard to political affiliation;
• Three members of the Federal Executive Branch, appointed by the President without regard to political affiliation;
• Three members of the United States Senate, appointed by the presiding officer of the Senate on a bipartisan basis;
• Three members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House on a bipartisan basis;
• Four Governors of states, appointed by the President on a bipartisan basis from nominations by the National Governors' Association;
• Three state legislators, appointed by the President on a bipartisan basis from nominations by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments;
• Four city mayors, appointed by the President on a bipartisan basis from nominations by the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors; and
• Three elected county officials, appointed by the President on a bipartisan basis from nominations by the National Association of Counties.The members of the Commission serve two-year terms and may be reappointed. The Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Commission are designated by the President from among the membership. The Commission usually meets quarterly, but may meet more or less frequently as necessary. See Appendix D for a list of members, and Appendix E for a list of the Commission's 1995 meetings.

ACIR: Operating Procedures

Because of its broad representation, the Commission is able to develop consistent, long-term analyses and recommendations that reflect the diversity of the federal system as well as points of similarity and consensus. The principal work of the Commission flows through three stages:

1. Research undertaken at the direction of the Commission;
2. Policy recommendations made by the Commission; and
3. Communication of these policy recommendations to the relevant federal, state, and local officials, as well as to the public.

The Commission determines its own agenda, basing its choices on:

• The members' wide-ranging experiences, observations, and contacts within the federal system;
• Suggestions from public officials, citizen groups, and others; and
• Staff evaluations of current and latent issues in intergovernmental relations.

Occasionally, the Congress, the President, federal agencies, and state and local governments request that ACIR prepare specific studies. In 1995, the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act requested the Commission to prepare four studies:

1. A review of existing federal mandates with recommendations for termination, revision, or continuation;
2. A review of state mandates;
3. Annual reports on judicially created federal mandates; and
4. Methods of calculating the costs and benefits of federal mandates.

Once a topic is selected for research, the staff and consultants, if any, gather information by a variety of methods. These include literature reviews; consultations with relevant public officials and other experts; holding hearings, if necessary; and carrying out field studies. The purpose of this research is to provide a solid foundation for Commission policy recommendations.

The staff conducts a "thinkers' session" at the beginning of each research project to help define the scope and approach, and to identify other relevant research on the topic. Near the completion of a project, a "critics' session" is convened to critique the draft report and policy recommendations prepared for Commission consideration. Participants in these sessions usually include Congressional staff members; representatives of appropriate government agencies and public interest groups; members of the academic community; subject specialists; and representatives of civic, labor, research, and business organizations.

In 1995, the Commission held 3 thinker's sessions and 9 critics sessions.

Background information and findings are presented to the Commission, along with an appropriate range of policy alternatives. The Commission debates reports in public sessions and votes on policy recommendations. Subsequently, the reports and recommendations are published and disseminated.

The Commission also issues many information reports that do not contain policy recommendations, an annual public opinion survey, and occasional staff reports that do not require Commission approval.

A list of ACIR reports issued during 1995 is provided in Appendix F.

In addition to preparing and publishing reports, the Commission holds public hearings, organizes conferences on key intergovernmental issues, provides speakers for public and academic meetings, and supplies direct assistance and information to individual agencies, public officials, and citizens.

Staff and Commission members testified to Congress 8 times, made 45 speeches, and authored 7 outside publications in 1995. (See Appendix G.)

A staff organization chart is provided in Appendix H.

THE ACIR WORK PROGRAM

ACIR continues to generate timely policy and information reports and recommendations that address the major intergovernmental challenges facing the nation. During calendar year 1995, the Commission met five times to pursue federal-state-local dialogues and make recommendations on:

• Strengthening the Federal System
• Managing Federal Aid
• Balancing Public Finances, and
• Promoting Democracy Abroad

The Commission published 2 policy reports, 4 information reports, 1 staff report, and 5 other documents. A chronological list of 1995 publications may be found in Appendix F. As the year ended, several studies remained under way. A summary of the 1995 program results follows.

Strengthening the Federal System

ACIR's efforts this year to strengthen the federal system focused on the intergovernmental issues raised by the national elections in 1994, and concentrated on federal mandate reforms in response to the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995. The Commission also continued important work on intergovernmental water resources issues and support for state ACIR's. ACIR's contributions in 1995 were:

Refocusing

At its first meeting in 1995 (January 13), the Commission passed a resolution:

• recognizing the "unprecedented opportunity" for intergovernmental reforms occasioned by the change of party control in the Congress, the new legislative agenda set by the Contract with America, the large number of performance partnerships proposed by the Administration in the Fiscal Year 1996 Budget, and the strong constitutional and legislative initiatives being supported by the state and local governments;
• urging all the partners in the federal system to "seize this unprecedented opportunity to achieve better balance of responsibilities and resources among federal, state, and local governments, and strengthen the intergovernmental partnership" by:
  • enacting federal mandate relief legislation (which has since been done);
  • including safeguards and assurances that federal responsibilities will not be shifted to state and local governments without their consent in any Constitutional balanced budget amendment that might be enacted;
  • reforming the federal grant system to achieve greater simplification, accountability, and flexibility by establishing new block grants and assigning them to the proper level of government;
  • maximizing the delivery of essential field services to state and local governments to maintain a strong and healthy intergovernmental partnership; and
  • amending the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to exempt state and local officials so that they can consult freely with federal agencies (since enacted, in part, in the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995).
• committing the Commission to assisting the Congress and the President in achieving these goals.

Federal Mandate Reform

The project begun last year (with the help of funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and two broadly representative intergovernmental task forces) to establish principles and guidelines for enacting mandate reform legislation, was completed. The Commission adopted a series of recommendations in January to guide the Congress, and published the report, Federal Mandate Relief for State, Local, and Tribal Governments (January 1995).

The Congress passed mandate reform legislation consistent with the ACIR recommendations, and the President signed it on March 22, 1995. This legislation, the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995, assigned to ACIR the preparation of four studies:

• a review of existing federal mandates,
• a review of state mandates,
• annual reports on judicially created federal mandates, and
• a study of methods for calculating the costs and benefits of federal mandates.

The first annual judicial mandates report, Federal Court Rulings Involving State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Calendar Year 1994, was published in July 1995. It found more than 3,500 opinions on issues raised under more than 100 federal laws. The report presents a frequency table showing which federal laws spawned the most cases, and summarizes the opinions in 140 of the cases. Individual rights acts were the basis of most of the cases decided in 1994.

The preliminary review of existing federal mandates was prepared during 1995, and approved by the Commission for public review and comment in early 1996. (The Role of Federal Mandates in Intergovernmental Relations: A Preliminary ACIR Report for Public Review and Comment, January 1996.)

Of the more than 200 existing federal mandates identified by state and local governments as being burdensome, ACIR's preliminary report proposes recommendations on the 14 most often mentioned ones. These draft recommendations would make seven mandates no longer applicable to state and local governments, would retain three others in a modified form, and would provide for greater flexibility and increased state and local consultations in the administration of four others.

After the public review and comment period, the report will be adopted, transmitted to the President and the Congress, and published.

Studies of state mandates and benefit/cost methodologies are awaiting funding that was authorized but not appropriated.

Water Resources Studies

With funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Commission continued facilitating stakeholder meetings in the ACT-ACF river basins of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia to help the three states and the federal government settle a serious interstate dispute over the use of water in these six interrelated river basins. Although a final settlement was not reached in 1995, ACIR completed its part in the process.

ACIR plans to publish an inventory of interstate river basin coordination mechanisms prepared during the ACT-ACF process, so that it can be available to contending parties in other river basins.

In the Fall of 1995, ACIR accepted additional funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study and make recommendations about potential intergovernmental institutions that could be used to plan and implement wetlands preservation, restoration, construction, and maintenance programs on a watershed basis. Work was begun on this project in 1995, and is expected to be completed in 1996.

Supporting State ACIR's

The Commission continued its support and encouragement for state ACIR's by exchanging publications and meeting agendas with them, and by:

• supplying information to the Indiana legislature that assisted in converting the state's ACIR from a limited-membership body established by Executive Order to a more fully representative Commission established by legislation;
• advising the Connecticut ACIR staff on research resources available for a study of central city/suburban fiscal disparities and equalization issues; and
• advising the South Carolina ACIR on potential consultants to prepare public works and economic development studies for the state.

Managing Federal Aid

The Commission continued its long-standing studies in the federal aid field by publishing four new reports and starting two additional studies, as follows.

The Characteristics of Federal Grant Programs

ACIR is the only organization in the nation that regularly tracks the characteristics of all the federal grant programs as they change over the years. In 1995, the Commission published three new reports on this topic:

• Characteristics of Federal Grant-in-Aid Programs to State and Local Governments: Grants Funded FY 1995 (June 1995). This is the only authoritative source of information about federal grant programs that compiles, in convenient form, the types of programs, eligible recipients, formula factors, matching shares, and administering agencies, and makes comparisons with previous years.
• The third calculation of ACIR's federal grant fragmentation index, Federal Grant Profile, 1995: A Report on ACIR's Federal Grant Fragmentation Index (September 1995). This index, previously calculated for 1981 and 1993, clusters federal programs by functional groups and shows which groups consist of larger numbers of smaller programs, compared to other groups with smaller numbers of larger programs. This is a rough measure of the relative amounts of administrative overhead and managerial complexity in these program clusters, and points to potentials for program consolidations.
• Block Grants, Federal Aid, and Deficit Reduction, Issue Brief 95-2, July 1995. This four-page document is intended as a "quick-study" aid for persons involved in designing or evaluating block grant and performance partnership proposals, or other grant consolidation proposals, in light of the lessons learned since the first block grant was enacted in 1965.

Metropolitan Planning Requirements

With funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Commission completed a project begun in 1994, and adopted and published the resulting policy report, MPO Capacity: Improving the Capacity of Metropolitan Planning Organizations to Help Implement National Transportation Policies (May 1995). The report--based on ACIR field work in 12 metropolitan areas--contains six recommendations for federal, state and local capacity-building support for MPOs. As a continuation of this effort, FHWA funded ACIR in 1995 to study the potentials for integrating the large number of federal planning regulations and MPO practices into a more coherent and effective, but simpler and more efficient, planning process attuned to the many innovations in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). This project will be completed in 1996.

Benchmarking Intergovernmental Service Delivery

Responding to a recommendation of the National Performance Review (with financial assistance from FHWA), the Commission began a study to assess the potential of outcome-oriented performance management processes to improve the delivery of intergovernmental programs. To keep the study manageable, ACIR narrowed its scope to public works programs. The study evaluates the strategic planning, performance goal-setting, and performance measurement practices of selected federal, state, and local public works agencies. A draft policy report was considered by the Commission in December 1995, and is expected to be completed, adopted, and published in 1996.

Balancing Public Finances

ACIR has played a significant role in recommending ways to promote intergovernmental fiscal fairness over the past 36 years. As the economic and political restrictions on budgets at all levels of government mount, it becomes increasingly important to search for new methods of balancing public finances. In 1995, the Commission made the following three new contributions to this search.

Significant Features of Fiscal Federalism

The Commission published Volume 1 of its annual two-volume Significant Features of Fiscal Federalism (September 1995). This volume contains descriptions of the budget processes of the federal government and each of the 50 states, as well as each of the federal, state, and local taxes levied and their rates. Volume 2, which contains intergovernmental revenue and expenditure tables, was delayed because of delays in receiving data from the sources ACIR uses to compile the tables.

Tax and Expenditure Limits on Local Governments

This special information report was compiled at the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment, Indiana University, and was published by ACIR (March 1995). It describes the wide variety of limitations placed on local government finances by state governments, and gives the dates when the various states imposed each of these limits.

Medicaid, AFDC, and State Budgets

This Issue Brief (95-1) shows the effects on the budgets of each of the 50 states of federal payments for the Medicaid and AFDC programs, and explores the potential effects on the states of capping these open ended entitlement programs.

Promoting Democracy Abroad

ACIR continued to provide selective briefings for foreign visitors seeking to learn about American federalism. Briefings in 1995 were held for visitors from Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, and South Africa.

OUTSIDE INCOME

In addition to its Congressional appropriation, ACIR raises revenue from state contributions, publication sales, and contract research.

State Contributions

During FY 1995, ACIR received $182,044 from 27 states. ACIR has requested contributions from the states since the early 1970s and is permitted to keep the revenue in a special account. Annual requests are based on state population and ranged from $5,000 to $13,000 for many years. In 1995, the Commission authorized an increase in the range to $5,500 - $27,000, to be phased in over a three-year period.

A monitoring system tracks the inclusion of ACIR's contribution requests in state executive budgets and legislative appropriation bills, identifies key state contacts during the state budget and appropriation processes, and coordinates the issuance of ACIR invoices with state payment cycles.

Publication Sales

ACIR continues to generate income from publication sales. In FY 1995, income was $32,112. Several methods are used to promote sales of ACIR publications:

• Catalogues list all available ACIR publications and disks. These catalogues are used both for displays at meetings and for general mailings.
• Brochures on individual products are mailed to those with an active interest in the product.
• Special mailings are sent periodically to selected groups of individuals who may be a potential market for some of the publications.
• Constituent mailings announce publications to groups with continuing interest in the work of ACIR. These groups include: media outlets and periodicals of special organizations, state ACIR's, state municipal leagues and associations of counties, state legislative reference libraries, and contributors.
• ACIR's Intergovernmental Perspective magazine, is sent free to approximately 18,000 individuals to promote ACIR publications, in both advertisements and feature articles.
• ACIR displays its products at meetings and conferences. Often, this takes the form of full displays of targeted publications.
• Press releases announce ACIR recommendations and the publication of selected reports. Press briefings are held for selected policy reports.
• Complimentary copies of ACIR publications are sent to periodicals for review.
• ACIR offers a subscription package that includes all publications.
• The Commission is active with a variety of groups across the country through speaking engagements that promote ACIR and its publications (see Appendix G). Occasionally, these bring in honoraria to supplement the ACIR budget.

Contract Research

Contract Research is discussed throughout this report and, therefore, will be summarized only briefly here.

• $45,000 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for development of coordinating mechanisms for the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basins.
• $200,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for a report on federal mandates.
• $30,000 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help support implementation of the Federal Infrastructure Strategy.
• $150,000 from the Federal Highway Administration for a 12-month study of the capacity of federally required Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to perform the functions required by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA).
• $20,000 from the Truman Foundation for administrative services.
• $3,000 for the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship, Inc. for administrative services.
• $50,000 from the Federal Highway Administration to study public works "Benchmarking" practices.
• $200,000 from the Federal Highway Administration to study potentials for integrating and simplifying the federal-aid planning required to be performed by metropolitan planning organizations (MPO's).
• $90,000 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study intergovernmental institutions with the potential to plan and implement wetlands preservation programs on a watershed basis.

Appendix A: Salaries and Expenses

FY 1995					ActualPersonnel Compensation			384Civilian Personnel Benefits		96Rental Payments to GSA			203Other Services				245Supplies and Materials			11Printing and Reproduction		58Sub-Total, Direct Obligations		997Sub-Total, Reimbursable Obligations	416Total Obligations			1,413 

Appendix B: FINANCIAL SUPPORT

ACIR's FY 1995 Budget

ACIR's appropriation for FY 1996 is $784,000. This is $216,000 less than in FY 1995.

Product Sales and State Contributions

ACIR has made a major effort to increase revenues from product sales and state contributions. State contributions are down slightly from FY 1994. Increases in revenue from this source will continue to be sought by the Commission, although soliciting state contributions is a difficult and time-consuming process.

Space Cost Reduction Measures

During the past eight years, ACIR has regularly reduced its rental space and associated charges. However, there are no space reductions planned in FY 1996.

General

It is anticipated that ACIR's ability to retain revenues from the sale of goods and services will allow the Commission to continue operating within OMB's long-range guidelines through FY 1996. The Commission, however, is no longer in a position to reduce staff, space, or other aspects of its operations without also reducing productivity significantly. The Commission's 36-year record of remaining small and frugal while maintaining its vitality and high productivity continues. The Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act for FY 1996 calls for termination of ACIR.

Appendix C: Historical Graphs

Graph 1:

Graph 2

Graph 3

Graph 4

Appendix D:
ACIR MEMBERS, DECEMBER 31, 1995

Private Citizens

• Peter Lucas, Boston, MA
• Richard P. Nathan, Albany, NY
• William F. Winter, CHAIRMAN, Jackson, MS

Members of the United States Senate

• Bob Graham, Florida
• Dirk Kempthorne, Idaho
• Craig Thomas, Wyoming

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives

• James P. Moran, Virginia
• Donald M. Payne, New Jersey
• (Vacancy)

Officers of the Executive Branch, Federal Government

• Carol M. Browner, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Marcia L. Hale, Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
• Richard W. Riley, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education

Governors

• Arne H. Carlson, Minnesota
• Howard Dean, Vermont
• Michael O. Leavitt, Utah
• Bob Miller, Nevada

Mayors

• Victor H. Ashe, Knoxville, TN
• Gregory Lashutka, Columbus, OH
• Edward G. Rendell, Philadelphia, PA
• Bruce M. Todd, Austin, TX

State Legislators

• Paul Bud Burke, President, Kansas Senate
• Art Hamilton, Minority Leader, Arizona House of Representatives
• Samuel B. Nunez, Jr., President, Louisiana Senate

Elected County Officials

• Randall Franke. Commissioner, Marion County, OR
• Gloria Molina, Supervisor, Los Angeles County, CAJohn H. Stroger, Jr., Commission President, Cook County, IL

Appendix E: COMMISSION MEETINGS: 1995

Date:			Place:January 13		Washington, DCMarch 24		Washington, DCJune 28			Washington, DCSeptember 15		Washington, DCDecember 19		Washington, DC

Appendix F: ACIR PUBLICATIONS ISSUED IN 1995

Policy Reports:

A-129

Federal Mandate Relief for State, Local, and Tribal Governments

A-130

MPO Capacity: Improving the Capacity of Metropolitan Planning Organizations to Help Implement National Transportation Policies

Information Reports:

M-194

Tax and Expenditure Limits on Local Governments

M-195

Characteristics of Federal Grant-in-Aid Programs to State, and Local Governments: Grants Funded in FY 1995

M-196

Federal Court Rulings Involving State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Calendar Year 1994

M197-I

Significant Features of Fiscal Federalism: Budget Processes and Tax Systems 1995, Vol. 1

Other Documents:

Resolution on Strengthening the Intergovernmental Partnership

SR-20

Federal Grant Profile 1995: A Report on ACIR's Federal Grant Fragmentation Index

95-1

Medicaid, AFDC, and State Budgets: Issue Brief

95-2

Block Grant, Federal Aid, and Deficit Reduction: Issue Brief Federal Register Notice on Proposed Mandate Relief Criteria Federal Register Notice on Adopted Mandate Relief Criteria

Appendix G: TESTIMONY, SPEAKINGENGAGEMENTS, AND EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS

TESTIMONY

March 1, 1995

Testimony of Chairman William Winter and William E. Davis beforethe House Appropriations Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government.

April 27, 1995

Testimony of Dr. Richard P. Nathan before the Senate Finance Committee on an Alternative to the House-passed Welfare Reform Bill.

June 7, 1995

Testimony of William E. Davis before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs on Duplication, Overlap, and Fragmentation in Federal programs.

June 29, 1995

Mayor Rendell testified on Federal Capital Budgeting for the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight.

July 20, 1995

Dr. Richard P. Nathan testified on Block Grants Should We or Shouldn't We? for the House Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations.

July 27, 1995

Phillip Dearborn testified on Municipal Bankruptcy in Orange County, for the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services.

August 3, 1995

Charles Griffiths testified on the Local Empowerment and Flexibility Act for the House Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations.

December 5, 1995

Charles Griffiths testified on the Local Empowerment and Flexibility Act (S88) for the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

January 7, 1995

Philip Dearborn, NCSL Fiscal Chairs Conference,"Reinventing State-Local Government Relations," Denver, Colorado.

January 19, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "NPR Goals for Infrastructure," Federal Facilities Council, Washington, DC.

January 23,1995

Philip Dearborn, Federal City Council, Washington, DC, "Resolving Urban Fiscal Crises."

January 24, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "Federal Capital Budgeting for Infrastructure," ISTEA Reauthorization Task Force, American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

January 27, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "MPO Capacity," annual meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations and Policy Process Committee, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.

February 4,

Bruce D. McDowell, "MPO Capacity," Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Washington, DC.

February 20,

Bruce D. McDowell, "The Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995," Florida ACIR Workshop on Federal Mandates, Tallahassee, FL

March 6, 1995

William E. Davis, NACo meeting, Presentation to Board - Washington, DC

March 9, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "The Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995," Environmental Task Force, ICMA, Washington, DC

March 30, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, Joint Annual Conference of theAmerican Planning Association and the Canadian Institute of Planners, "Trends in U.S. Infrastructure Policy."

April 10, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, Joint Meeting of the National Rural Development Partnership and the EPA Small Towns Task Force, "Mandate Legislation: Opportunities for Linkage," Washington, DC

April 21, 1995

William E. Davis, Southern Municipal Conference's Eighth Annual Leadership Conference, "The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995," Lexington, KY

April 21, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, 1995 International Symposium on Public Works and the Human Environment, "Environmental Perils and Opportunities in Reinventing Government," Seattle, WA

April 25, 1995

William E. Davis, Southern State Treasurers Conference, "Federal Mandates on State and Local Governments," Natchez, MS

April 25, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, Federal Highway Administration, Capital Budgeting Seminar, "Capital Budgeting and the Search for Federal Budget Discipline," Washington, DC

April 26, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, Annual Conference of the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis, "The Impact of Mandates on Budgets," Washington, DC

April 29, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, The Robert M. LaFollette Institute of Public Affairs, "Mandates: The Federal View," Madison, WI

May 8, 1995

William E. Davis, State Commission for Public Service of the Peoples Republic of China, "The Informal Intergovernmental System in American Government," Washington, DC

May 11, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, NACo Intergovernmental Relations Steering Committee, "Trends and Issues in Intergovernmental Relations," Washington, DC

May 12, 1995

Philip Dearborn, Urban Land Institute, "The Outlook from Washington for State and Local Governments," San Antonio, TX

May 22, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, TRB Conference on Institutional Aspects of Metropolitan Transportation Planning, "Building Up MPO Capacity," Williamsburg, VA.

June 10, 1995

William E. Davis, National Academy of Public Administration Spring Meeting on Federalism, panelist on "The New Intergovernmental Partnership: Implications for the Future," Savannah, GA

June 26, 1995

Richard P. Nathan, "Block Grants - Key to the 'New(t)' Federalism," Sar Levitan Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

July 11, 1995

Philip Dearborn, "Outlook from Washington," Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, Columbus, OH.

July 18, 1995

Richard P. Nathan, "The Double Conundrum of Block Grants," National Conference of State Legislatures, Milwaukee, WI

July 19, 1995

Chuck Griffiths participated in panels on Federal reforms and judicial mandates, National Conference of State Legislatures, Milwaukee, WI

July 20, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "How Should MPOs Measure Success in Reaching ISTEA Goals?" Annual Conference of the National Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Pittsburgh, PA

July 25, 1995

Governor William Winter, "The Devolution Revolution: The Current State of Federalism" panel, American Society of Public Administration National Conference.

July 26, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "Do MPO's Have the Capacity to Meet the Requirements of ISTEA?" Annual Conference of the Michigan 3-C Transportation Planning Directors' Association, Grand Rapids, MI

August 7, 1995

Philip Dearborn, "Outlook from Washington," Governmental Research Association, New Orleans, LA

August 24, 1995

Philip Dearborn, "State Tax and Expenditure Limitations," and "Implementation of Mandates Act," National Conference of State Legislatures Senior Fiscal Analyst Seminar, Burlington, VT, August 24-25, 1995.

August 29, 1995

Richard P. Nathan presented testimony on the Fleet Bank to the Federal Reserve Board in Albany, NY.

September 19, 1995

William E. Davis, "Relief From Existing Federal Mandates," presentation to the 95th Annual Conference of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, South Bend, IN

September 25, 1995

Philip Dearborn, "Tax and Expenditure Limits," presentation to the South Dakota Association of Counties, Rapid City, SD

October 3, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "MPO Capacity," presentation to the Region IX Intermodal Planning Group Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV

October 10, 1995

Philip Dearborn, "Federal Mandates in the New Federal System," National Tax Systems, San Diego, CA

October 12, 1995

William F. Winter, "ACIR's Work on Unfunded Mandates," presentation to the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia/Fall Policy Conference.

October 13, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "The ACIR Mandate Studies," presentation to the Annual Conference of the Budget and Finance Section of the American Society of Public Administration, Washington, DC

October 14, 1995

Philip Dearborn, "User Fees in State and Local Revenue Systems," American Society for Public Administration, Washington, DC.

October 18, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "MPO Capacity," presentation to the Energy and Transportation Committees of the National Conference of State Legislatures, Atlanta, GA

October 20, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell moderated a panel on infrastructure finance at a specialty conference of the Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment, sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC

October 27, 1995

Richard P. Nathan, "Hard Road Ahead: Block Grants and the Devolution Revolution," discussion paper prepared for a Seminar for Journalists at the Brookings Institution, Washington, DC

November 3, 1995

William E. Davis, "The National Role in a Federal System," Johns Hopkins University Center for Study of American Government, Washington, DC

November 21, 1995

Charles Griffiths, "The Progress of ACIR's Mandates Studies," the State of Maryland's Senate Economic and Environmental Affairs Committee, Annapolis, MD

December 4, 1995

Bruce D. McDowell, "Regionalism: What It Is, Where We Are, and Where We May Be Headed," keynote speech, 1995 Annual Conference of the Virginia and National Capital Area Chapters of the American Planning Association, Falls Church, VA

EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS

• Bruce D. McDowell, "Reinventing Planning Under ISTEA: MPO's and State DOT's," TR News, 175, November - December 1994, pp. 6-9, 29.
• Philip Dearborn, "The Municipal Bankruptcy Dodge," Washington Post, December 27, 1995.
• Bruce D. McDowell, "Don't Throw Out 'Environmental Baby' with 'Re-Invention' Bath!," APWA Reporter, July 1995, pp. 20-21.Bruce D. McDowell (with Robert W. Gage), "ISTEA and the Role of MPO's in the New Transportation Environment: A Midterm Assessment," Publius, Vol. 25, No. 3, Summer 1995, p. 133-154
• Bruce D. McDowell, "Comparing Intergovernmental Relations in Poland and America," Chapter 1 of a local government training textbook, Reform of Local Self-Government in Light of American Experiences, published in Polish (Lodz, Poland: Fundacja Promocji Czystych Technologii, Techeko, 1995)
• Bruce D. McDowell, "Contemporary Trends," Update on Law-Related Education, Special Issue on Federalism -- What Is It? Where Might It Take Us? Vol. 19, No. 3, Fall 1995, pp. 12-14.
• Bruce D. McDowell, "The Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution: A 200-Year Case Study for European Integration," Federal-Type Solutions and European Integration, (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1995), pp. 139-149

Appendix H: Staff Organization Chart

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