ABSTRACT
The deep roots of Ronald Reagan federalism can be traced to his years as governor of California. There he gained first-hand experience with the competence of state government. The Regulatory Reform Task Force that Reagan established under Vice President Bush was requested, among other things, to ease the federal regulatory burdens on state and local governments. In 1981 President Reagan proposed the most farreaching effort ever attempted to consolidate federal grant-in-aid programs to state and local governments. On February 11, 1982, Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan met with President Reagan and others to discuss job training legislation. President Reagan moved swiftly to make necessary institutional arrangements to help implement his regulatory relief goals. The Reagan administration's regulatory relief for state and local governments went far beyond just block grants, covering a broad range of federal programs directed at diverse operating functions of government.
