What is the special definition for “mandates” in large entitlement grant programs?
Conditions attached to federal grant programs are not generally considered mandates under UMRA. In the case of some large entitlement programs, however, a new grant condition or a reduction in federal financial assistance can be a mandate if states lack the flexibility to offset the new costs or the loss of federal funding with reductions elsewhere in the program. UMRA defines large entitlement programs as a “then-existing federal program under which $500 million or more is provided annually to state, local, or tribal governments under entitlement authority.” Today, those programs include Medicaid; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); child nutrition programs; Food Stamps; the Social Services Block Grant; Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants; grants for foster care, adoption assistance, and independent living; family support payments for the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program; and Child Support Enforcement. The special definition would also apply to any new entitle
