State And Local

NEW YORK - The federal government has joined the Oneida Indians in a lawsuit that contends the state and local governments unlawfully acquired 270,000 acres of land in central New York from the Indians nearly 200 years ago, whittling down what had been a sprawling reservation into a 32-acre plot.Though the Oneidas' land claim has been wending its way through federal courts since 1970, the victim of fruitless settlement negotiations between the Indians and three New York governors, the intervention of the Justice Department has focused the attention of state and local officials on the case.

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court, in a potentially sweeping shift of constitutional power from Congress to the states, put strict new curbs yesterday on congressional authority to force resistant state governments to obey federal laws and the U.S. Constitution.The 5-4 ruling declared for the first time that state governments generally may not be coerced through federal lawsuits into doing what Congress or the Constitution commands.In sentiment, the ruling appeared to match the strong desire among Republicans in control of Congress for a cutback of federal regulatory power and for the revival of governing authority at the state and local level.

WASHINGTON -- The Congressional Budget Office has raised a question about whether the states are capable of providing enough jobs to meet the requirements of the welfare reform plan being pushed through the House of Representatives by the Republicans.What needs to be asked, however, is the much broader question of whether the mad rush to empower the states makes any sense at all.The Republicans obviously believe there is political gold in returning authority to the states. That is why there are so many areas in which they want to replace federal programs with block grants.

COLLEGE PARK -- Before class began, the guest lecturer asked his students how many planned to enter a career in state or local government.After a lengthy pause, only a few hands in the group of 40 were tentatively raised and then hastily lowered.A look of undisguised disappointment crossed the face of the governor of Maryland."Come on. State and local government is where the action is going to be in the next eight to 10 years," Parris N. Glendening pleaded.Silence filled the room.well. Perhaps it was a bit much to expect a bunch of undergraduates to feel as passionate about such topics as federalism and intergovernmental relations as a man who can, figuratively and literally, write a book about it.Yesterday was a homecoming of sorts for Mr. Glendening, whose pre-gubernatorial life was filled with such academic pursuits as writing the text "Pragmatic Federalism" and teaching at the University of Maryland College Park for 27 years.

NEWT GINGRICH's cherished notion of giving power back to the states is based on the idea that state and local governments know their particular needs better than the federal government does. This idea strikes many Americans as a fresh and democratic sentiment, but it is neither. Throughout our history, states' rights have been invoked to roll back democracy.The first great evocation of states' rights in this tradition occurred in 1832. The so-called Nullification Controversy pitted John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, champion of states' rights, against President Andrew Jackson.

For a state that doesn't seem to have enough money to make ends meet, Maryland is about to take a peculiar step.Legislative leaders and the governor have agreed to let a 1 percent income surtax on the wealthy lapse -- a move that will cost $40 million in revenue and help put more money in the pockets of Maryland's richest citizens.Ninety-nine percent of the citizens in this state won't get a penny back from this move. Only the affluent will benefit.But the lucky 20,000 filers with adjusted gross incomes above $150,000 ($100,000 for single filers)

First the mayors then the governors -- both in Washington for their mid-winter conventions -- talked crime with President Clinton.They want help but they don't want the financial burden and policy straitjacket that often go with federal government attempts to help state and local governments.They also don't want president and Congress telling them what to do about such things as sentencing. This came up in a discussion between the president and representatives of the National Governors' Association of one of the crime bills now before Congress.

Washington. -- The Clinton administration's National Performance Review, by a team working under Vice President Gore, aims not just to ''reinvent'' the federal government but federal-state-local relations too.And despite the political compromises built into it -- so as not to ruffle the feathers of a prerogative-conscious Congress -- the report provides state and local governments with their best opportunity in a generation to reform the way Washington handles,...

Washington -- When states and localities start to enforce the Brady Bill next year, some may be firing blanks.The bill, which calls for a five-day waiting period and background check of handgun buyers, has no enforcement mechanism. It does not provide money for state and local governments to carry out its provisions and doesn't say what will happen if they don't.This is not an isolated oversight. It is just the latest example of Washington's propensity to enact laws and regulations that impose various requirements, restrictions and procedures on state and local governments, but do not provide the money to carry them out.For example, the Family Support Act of 1988 requires states to increase efforts to establish paternity and collect child-support payments.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer appointed a 17-member panel yesterday that he says is the linchpin to controlling residential and commercial sprawl in Maryland's suburbs.The panel will oversee and guide the 23 counties and Baltimore )) City and other municipalities as they revise local land-use regulations to reflect the "seven visions" for growth adopted by nTC the General Assembly last year.Those broad "visions" call on the local governments to channel construction into existing communities, which already have roads and other necessary public works, and away from the state's open and forested spaces.

WASHINGTON - -Many state and local governments are not adequately prepared to deal with a surge of patients in a flu pandemic or quickly distribute vaccine and antiviral drugs, according to two reports by federal investigators being released today. An analysis of preparations by five states and 10 municipalities around the country found that many had failed to take steps crucial during a pandemic, such as recruiting health care workers to volunteer, creating systems to track hospital beds and medical equipment, and determining how to manage a patient load that exceeds what emergency rooms are able to handle.

State and local officials headed to Ocean City for their annual convention this week are in a quandary: how to justify swank receptions and beach parties when times are tough and budgets are tight. Gov. Martin O'Malley decided over the weekend to cancel his planned reception for about 500 guests Friday at the nightclub Seacrets, saving the state $12,301.88 that would have gone for an open bar and renting the space. He and his aides concluded it wouldn't be appropriate to put on the soiree while the state is facing budget shortfalls of hundreds of millions of dollars.

With friends like this Diplomacy was never his strong suit, but President Bush has finally realized it's a job somebody's got to do. Tucked into his 2009 budget is funding to hire nearly 1,100 diplomats. They should help replenish the depleted ranks of the State Department overseas. Mr. Bush's decision likely had more to do with friendship than fortifying the U.S. diplomatic mission - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made several calls on a White House budget appeals committee to plead for expanding the diplomatic corps.

A delegation of Iraqi officials met with Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown yesterday as part of a U.S. State Department program to learn more about the relationship between federal, state and local governments, according to a news release. Mamoon S. Rashid Al-Alwani, governor of Anbar province, Abdulsalam A. Mohammed, chairman of the Anbar Provincial Council, and other Iraqi officials traveled to the United States as part of an International Visitor Leadership Program, sponsored by the State Department.

WASHINGTON - Federal authorities announced yesterday a renewed crackdown against immigrants who have committed crimes in the United States but have managed to avoid deportation. About 80,000 so-called "criminal alien absconders" are estimated to be on the loose, many of them keeping a low profile after having served state and local sentences for their crimes. About 300,000 immigrant "absconders" have received deportation orders but have eluded immigration agents. With a $10 million appropriation from Congress, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it will redouble efforts to find and deport them.

AS MARYLANDERS should know by now, our state has a budget problem. For the coming fiscal year, state general fund revenues are expected to equal $9.9 billion while the cost of providing services is expected to be $11.2 billion. Because there is a constitutional requirement to balance Maryland's budget, sometime between now and the end of March our policy-makers must figure out how to make the spending and revenue numbers match. Some in the legislature would like to consider tax increases as one way to balance the budget.

AS A former speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, I was always sympathetic when my Republican colleagues in Congress spoke of the importance of empowering state and local governments to design programs specifically for their communities. But now that Republicans have taken control of Congress and the White House, they no longer seem very interested in the goal of promoting state flexibility. In fact, their new mantra seems to be replacing liberal micromanagement with conservative micromanagement.

WASHINGTON - I've never met a dog catcher and I've never voted for one, either. But I constantly meet people who associate all politicians who are not the president or vice president, members of Congress, governors or mayors with dog catchers. I teach and write about politics, and when I make arguments about state and local politics, I get the dog catcher reference six or seven times out of 10. For example, when I say that citizens need information about political races at the local and state levels more than the federal level, I get this line: "Right.

ENTERING 2000 and a new century, the 50 states of America seem on a glide path to lasting good times. Their coffers are brimming over. They enjoy virtually full employment. Satisfied constituents. Few political crises. But are states prepared for the brutal reality globalization will bring us -- growing numbers of smart competitors on any continent, poised to capture our markets by providing better services or more economically priced goods? The answer, arguably, is "no." Strong, competent state and local government services are vital to most enterprises.

NEW YORK - The federal government has joined the Oneida Indians in a lawsuit that contends the state and local governments unlawfully acquired 270,000 acres of land in central New York from the Indians nearly 200 years ago, whittling down what had been a sprawling reservation into a 32-acre plot.Though the Oneidas' land claim has been wending its way through federal courts since 1970, the victim of fruitless settlement negotiations between the Indians and three New York governors, the intervention of the Justice Department has focused the attention of state and local officials on the case.