Legislative Process Federal Mandates Are Orders From Essay

Legislative Process

Federal mandates are orders from a central government that require compliance by state and local governments and individuals. Many times, mandates are signed into law "without the federal funds to support their execution" (Zaretsky 5). Additionally, mandates can be divided into different categories and require compliance by different agencies, companies, or individuals.

One fairly recent mandate stems from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which was signed into law on March 30, 2010. Under the PPACA, an individual mandate requires people to purchase an insurance policy or face fines if they are not otherwise covered by an employer-sponsored insurance program or other public insurance program.

Under the PPACA, it has been mandated that new insurance plans cover certain preventive services without charging a deductible, co-pay, or requiring co-insurance. Furthermore, the "contraceptive mandate," requires that health insurance providers include contraception in their health insurance plans and policies.This mandate is to go into effect on August 1, 2012.

On April 5, 2012, the Jumpstart Our Business Startup (JOBS) Act was signed into law by President Obama. Under the JOBS Act, a Congressional mandate orders the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to "eliminate a rule prohibiting 'general solicitation' in situations where 'accredited investors' are participating in the offering process" (Lammi). It is argued that SEC's imposition of these limitations "tread on issuers' commercial speech rights and are a significant impediment in the formation of capital, especially for startups" (Lammi). As such, the JOBS Act requires the SEC to eliminate the "speech restraint within 90 days" (Lammi).

The process by which a government considers bills and laws is commonly referred to as the legislative process. It can be argued that citizens are effectively represented in the legislative process and that their influence is often.....