“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” 10th amendment to the US Constitution
Because of the federal nature of the American government, the national government frequently requires state and local governments to comply with federal rules, often with the threat of financial penalties for noncompliance. Unfunded Mandates are simply put, a way for the Federal Government to make themselves look like they are doing something, at the expense of the state and local government. They tell us “You have to do (put in whatever program you like here) but we’re not going to pay for it. Figure it out yourself.”
[In 1997, the Court again ruled that a federal act, this time the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, violated the Tenth Amendment (Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997)). The act required state and local law enforcement officials to conduct background checks on persons attempting to purchase handguns. Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, applied New York v. United States to show that the law violated the Tenth Amendment. Since the act “forced participation of the State’s executive in the actual administration of a federal program,” it was unconstitutional.] Excerpt from Wikipedia.
To bad the feds don’t pay any attention to court rulings they don’t like.
