What is the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act?
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) seeks to discourage the federal government from imposing mandates on state, local, and tribal governments or the private sector without paying the costs of those mandates. Through a variety of mechanisms, the law increases the amount of information available to the Congress and executive branch agencies about the impact of federal mandates. It also encourages policymakers to take that information into account when developing laws and regulations. When did UMRA become law? UMRA was enacted on March 22, 1995, as Public Law (P.L.) 104-4. Its provisions became effective on January 1, 1996. Why was UMRA enacted? The Congress and President Clinton enacted UMRA to respond to growing concerns that the federal government, through legislation and administrative actions, was imposing enforceable duties on other levels of government and the private sector without adequately considering the nonfederal costs that would result from complying with those
