The first year of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was greeted with great expectations in much of the intergovernmental community. State and local governments did, in fact, realize some important victories in the Congress, both in softening the impact of new mandates and in reversing some existing ones. Viewed historically, these achievements certainly break with established trends. Yet, 1996 did not prove to be a watershed year. Significant new mandates and preemptions were passed, while state and local victories were largely achieved in modifying how new mandates were to be implemented, not in determining whether new mandates would be enacted.
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