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FL-8. Mandates <br />Mandates have increasingly become a serious so-irce of conflict between <br />the local and federal levels of government. As the federal role in domestic <br />programs has declined and assistance to cities has been reduced, the cost of <br />such federal requirements has been more difficult to afford at the local level. <br />Often such requirements do not reasonably respond to limited tax base and local <br />needs. In addition, congressional efforts to reduce the federal deficit have <br />passed on new costs to local government including expansion of Medicare <br />coverage requirements for employees sad accelerated payment of social security <br />deductions. Tax reform provisions will also add to costs of issuing municipal <br />bonds. <br />S. 2387 requires both the executive and legislative branches of the federal <br />government to become more aware of the costs to local government of implementing <br />such regulations. The legislation also requires the federal government to <br />direct its attention to ways in which such costs can be reduced. The concept of <br />regulatory relief is welcome aid to dealing with the growth in the number and <br />coat of federal mandates that often overlook local priorities and fiscal <br />capacity. <br />