Federal Agencies Seldom Check If Rules Pre-Empt State, Local Laws

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Federal agencies are all but ignoring an executive order first put forth by President Reagan requiring they prepare federalism assessments to determine if rules and regulations pre-empt state and local laws, according to the General Accounting Office.

In a review of more than 11,000 rules and regulations issued from April 1996 to December 1998, the GAO found federal agencies had prepared only five federalism assessments.

The worst offender was the Environmental Protection Agency, which completely ignored the order and whether its regulations impeded local authority in more than 1,900 rules it listed during this period.

"Congress and the administration …