The issue the Supreme Court will decide in City of Arlington & Cable, Telecommunications, and Technology Committee v. FCC is whether courts should defer to a federal agency’s determination that it has authority to interpret a statute.   If this issue seems a bit esoteric, the facts of the case help illustrate what is at stake for state government. 

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The Council of State Government supports state sovereignty over online gaming regulation and opposes further federal regulation.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The Council of State Governments urges the current and future U.S. Secretaries of State to continue the practice of appointing a Special Representative to the Office of Global Intergovernmental Affairs.

Next week, Arizona voters will go to the polls and cast their votes on Proposition 120 which would amend the state constitution to declare Arizona's "sovereign and exclusive authority and jurisdiction over the air, water, public lands, minerals, wildlife and other natural resources within its boundaries." The controversial proposal is a reaction by frustrated lawmakers with federal land management policies they believe stymie development and limit economic growth. Opponents of the proposal object to opening up millions of acres protected public lands including wilderness areas and wildlife refuges to potential development, and have raised special concern that the proposal would turn over the iconic Grand Canyon National Park to state control.

Partisan polarization characterizes the current period of coercive federalism, shaping state-federal relations in often conflictual ways. Major clashes have occurred over health care, immigration, education, environmental protection, voting rights and numerous cultural issues such as abortion. State-federal disputes over health care and immigration have, moreover, generated two U.S. Supreme Court contests that could mark a pivotal advance or rollback of federal power over the states. At the same time, austerity and scrambles for tax revenue continue to characterize intergovernmental fiscal relations, while social welfare spending drives state budgets and squeezes funding for nonwelfare functions and for local governments.

Chapter 2 of the 2012 Book of the States contains the following articles and tables:

With the flow of federal funding slowing dramatically, states will need to look to Washington for flexibility rather than dollars to meet their own budget challenges.

The Uniform Law Commission is actively engaging with the federal government on behalf of the states to create and preserve an effective balance of federalism. It is also serving to increase the dialogue about the benefits of cooperative federalism and developing guiding principles on how responsibilities can be best allocated to preserve the balance of state and federal roles.