BOS Archive

CSG is pleased to announce that the entire archive of The Book of the States dating back to 1935 is now available online in its entirety. As the introduction to the 1937 volume explains, "The Council of State Governments hopes that you will enjoy it; the Council knows that it can be useful to you."

Since 1933, The Council of State Governments has served as a resource for state leaders and a catalyst for innovation and excellence in state governance. Just two years after its founding, CSG published the first volume of The Book of the States. For 78 years, The Book of the States has remained a reference tool of choice, providing relevant, accurate and timely information about the states and territories.

For its first 65 years, The Book of the States was published on a biennial basis. In 2002, CSG began publishing the book annually to better capture the pace of change and policy enactments of state governments. In 2010, CSG took this format shift to the next evolutionary level by making the entire book available online in an electronic format through the organization's Knowledge Center. Volumes from 2010 to the present can be found at www.csg.org/bookofthestates.

YEARS AVAILABLE:

Book of the States 2011, Chapter 4: State Executive Branch

Audrey Wall

Friday, July 1, 2011 at 12:00 AM

Chapter 4 of the 2011 Book of the States contains the following articles and tables:

The Resurgence of Crystal Meth: Trends and State Responses

Jeremy Williams

Friday, July 1, 2011 at 12:00 AM

Crystal methamphetamine, perhaps one of the most addictive and dangerous drugs in existence, has continuously plagued rural and urban regions of the country for the last three decades. States have attempted to address the growing production and distribution of the drug, along with the destructive repercussions it has wrought in the lives of those who have become addicted to it, largely through tougher laws that restrict the sale of precursor drugs used in meth production. While these measures have been as a whole effective in temporarily reducing the production of crystal meth, producers have found new ways of circumventing existing laws. For this reason, states are examining new and innovative ways to combat this terrible drug.

Trends in Public Retirement Systems: Stresses in the System

Sujit CanagaRetna

Wednesday, June 1, 2005 at 12:00 AM

Severe weaknesses in the financial health of the nation’s public retirement systems rank as yet another force currently buffeting state and local government finances. Further compounding the problems faced by these public retirement funds are the following developments: the precarious financial position of private sector pensions and the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; the looming shortfalls expected in the Social Security and Medicare programs in coming decades; and the low personal savings rates of most Americans, coupled with the high rates of consumer and household debt. Given that the baby boomer generation is rapidly nearing retirement age and that America’s senior population is growing faster than the number of younger workers needed to cover their retirement needs, policy-makers across the country are paying a great deal of attention to this unfortunate confluence of events.