The more things change-.

• Author: Tubbesing, Carl
• Position: 1998 year-end developments in Washington, DC

Even the coolest Washington insiders were stunned by year-end developments in the nation's capital; but it doesn't look as if state-federal relations will be much affected.

Political Science 101. Final exam. Multiple choice. (Check only one.)

(1) Which of the following recent events will affect the states' lobbying priorities in Washington, D.C., in 1999?

_____ The House impeachment proceedings against President Clinton.

_____ The Democratic gains in the House mid-term elections.

_____ Speaker Gingrich's resignation and the election of Congressman Livingston as the new speaker of the House.

_____ All of the above.

_____ None of the above.

If you checked "none of the above," you're probably right. Impeachment hearings are grave, nearly unprecedented and they preoccupy the news media. The political party of no previous president has ever gained seats in the sixth year of his term. And Congressman Gingrich's decision left Washington insiders gasping. But as dramatic as these events have been, they are unlikely to alter recent patterns in the relations between state officials and the federal government.

(2) Which of the following will characterize the states' lobbying concerns in 1999?

_____ Battling against federal attempts to preempt state authority.

_____ Renewing the fight against unfunded mandates.

_____ Ensuring fair treatment in federal budget negotiations.

_____ Getting ready for issues such as Social Security reform and tax reform, that may take several years to settle.

_____ All of the above.

If you chose "all of the above," you are right again. For the past two years, state officials have concentrated most of their lobbying resources on opposing federal proposals to preempt state prerogatives and authority. The first year of the 106th Congress, however, promises no dominant theme for state officials. The number of proposals to preempt state laws will not abate. If anything, there will be even more attempts to preempt in 1999 than there were in the last couple of years.

Added to the states' lobbying concerns in 1999, though, will be a resurgence in proposals to impose unfunded mandates on state governments, new funding constraints imposed by the 1997 balanced budget agreement, other budget-related issues and preparations for solving problems associated with the Social Security system, Internet taxation and other longer term issues.

WARDING OFF PREEMPTION

The greatest current tension between the federal and state governments is over the question of national standards vs. state flexibility and adaptability. The pressure for federal preeminence - that is, preemption of state authority - is driven by several factors, including technological advancements, radical changes in the world marketplace and campaign fundraising. Opponents of federal preemption note the advantages of experimentation at the state level, the cultural and economic diversity among the states, and the responsiveness and accountability of state legislators.

New Hampshire Speaker Donna Sytek calls the past three years "the most successful lobbying period the National Conference of State Legislatures has ever had." She supports her claim with the role legislators played in devolving several major programs to the states including welfare, safe drinking water and work force training. "Equally important,though," she says, "is the overall success we've had in forestalling proposals to supplant state authority with federal standards."

In 1998 alone, state legislators helped thwart congressional efforts to preempt state authority in at least eight major areas. Bills to preempt state product liability laws and to remove property rights cases from state to federal purview met identical fates. Opponents, including state legislators, were able to garner enough support to cause Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott to pull them off the calendar.

A major overhaul of banking and insurance laws passed out of the House, moved out of the Senate Banking Committee, but, in the final days of the session, failed to muster enough support for approval. Negotiations to produce a bill that would federalize juvenile justice laws faltered during Congress' final week. Competing bills to preempt state managed care laws also died in the last hours of the 1998 session.

Maine's U.S. Senator Susan Collins and...