Adriana, yo interpreto que mandated aquí tiene el meaning de autorizado, no de obligatorio - sería el gasto legalmente autorizado. Mandate: administrate or assign/authority to carry out a policy or course of action. Algo parecido, viene aquí:
www.semissourian.com/story/1181684.htmlWhen the Missouri Legislature returns to work Jan. 3, its spending choices will be dramatically different than they were as recently as two years ago, when legally mandated spending was projected at more than $1 billion more than revenue.
The Republican-controlled legislature, along with new GOP governor Matt Blunt, responded by changing the laws that governed their budget choices, cutting thousands from Medicaid rolls and rewriting the formula for distributing aid to public schools. Those choices, combined with an economic turnaround that has sent a surge of cash into state coffers, now means that the amount of money available for discretionary spending could rival that $1 billion shortfall.