Jumping into the gaping rift that lies between the states and federal government, representatives from four major local government organizations took to Capitol Hill Wednesday to argue that the federal government has preempted states' rights on a host of issues, including the Telecommunications Act and the Internet Tax Freedom Act.
Spokesmen from the National Governor's Association, National League of Cities, National Conference of State Legislatures and National Association of Counties appeared before the House Government Reform subcommittee and distributed a list of nearly 20 bills that they say preempted state and local authority.
NCSL spokesman Frank Shafroth said that number is steadily rising, and noted that there are more instances of preemption in the deregulation and technology arenas.
"The whole issue of the Internet raises hard questions," Shafroth said. "It transcends boundaries and so it's a powerful force for preemption."
Clarence Anthony, NLC representative and mayor of South Bay, Fla., held up the Internet Tax Freedom Act as the prime example of a problem for local governments. "[It] impedes states' and local governments' ability to tax sales and service over the Internet in the same manner as all other sales and services are taxed-despite the fact that no such limitations would apply to the federal government," Anthony said.
The groups voiced their support of the Federalism Act, H.R. 2245, a bipartisan bill that establishes guidelines for legislative and executive branch actions before they preempt local governments.
State Representative Daniel T. Blue, Jr., D-N.C., County Commissioner Javier M. Gonzales, D-Sante Fe County, N.M., and NGA Executive Director Raymond C. Scheppach also testified in support of the legislation, mirrored in the Senate with S. 1214, the Federalism Accountability Act of 1999.
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