Crady deGolian, Director of CSG's National Center for Interstate Compacts, outlines the top 5 compacts to watch in 2013, including those dealing with the siting of electricity transmission lines, surplus insurance lines, interstate reciprocity regarding online education, and EMS licensing.  

Water is critically important to Michigan. “If you ask most people in Michigan about the importance of water, they would say, ‘it’s the essence of our being’ or ‘it’s the essence of our living’ or ‘it’s the essence of our life,'” said Patty Birkholz, a former state senator and current director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes. Just look at the state—it touches four of the five Great Lakes and is almost completely surrounded by water. Agriculture, manufacturing and tourism—the state’s three largest industries—depend on the Great Lakes.

A California court ruling is being hailed as a significant victory for states and the interstate compact mechanism. At issue in the case of The Gillette Company v. The Franchise Tax Board was California’s method of collecting and allocating tax dollars from companies that do business across state lines. More broadly, however, the case brought into question a state’s ability to unilaterally amend the terms of a compact it has joined. 

Crady deGolian, Director of the National Center for Interstate Compacts, discusses the importance of this ruling.  For more information, please see "A Victory for Interstate Compacts."

A California court ruling is being hailed as a significant victory for states and the interstate compact mechanism. At issue in the case of The Gillette Company v. The Franchise Tax Board was California’s method of collecting and allocating tax dollars from companies that do business across state lines. More broadly, however, the case brought into question a state’s ability to unilaterally amend the terms of a compact it has joined. 

A California court ruling is being hailed as a significant victory for states and the interstate compact mechanism.  At issue in the case of The Gillette Company v. The Franchise Tax Board was California’s method of collecting and allocating tax dollars from companies that do business across state lines. More broadly, however, the case brought into question a state’s ability to unilaterally amend the terms of a compact it has joined.

Stateline Midwest ~ July/August 2012

With Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich’s signing of HB 473 into law in June, each of the eight Great Lakes states now has water-management plans in place to comply with a historic agreement designed to protect the world’s largest system of fresh surface water.

With growth rates approaching 20 percent, online learning represents the fastest growing segment of the higher education population.  These statistics are only expected to continue climbing as technology continues to improve. The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, developed jointly by CSG and The Presidents’ Forum, that aims to promote interstate reciprocity in online and distance learning. 

First referenced in Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution, interstate compacts are the most formal mechanism available to policymakers seeking state-driven solutions to a wide range of policy challenges. Of all the tools available to state policymakers trying to work cooperatively across borders, interstate compacts are the most formal and perhaps the least understood.¹ Compacts hold a unique place in American history for several different reasons. First, while the use of interstate compacts dates back to the founding of the country, the frequency with which they are used has expanded considerably over the last half century. Second, compacts provide state policymakers with a sustainable tool capable of promoting interstate cooperation without federal intervention. Third, interstate compacts can be used to address a wide range of policy challenges, ranging from insurance reform to environmental regulation and virtually everything in between.