Since its founding, CSG has played an integral role in the development, revision and tracking of interstate compacts. CSG is actively involved in several interstate compact initiatives, including:

Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children

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Military Families move between posts on a regular basis.  While reassignments can often be a boon for career personnel, they can present challenges to the children of military families; losing and making new friends, adjusting to new cities and bases, and changing schools.  According to the Military Education Coalition, the average military student changes schools more than twice during high school and most military children will be in six to nine different school systems in their lives, from Kindergarten to 12th grade. The Council of State Governments (CSG), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Personnel and Readiness, is assembling a national Advisory Group to examine the creation of a new interstate agreement impacting the children of military families.

Interstate Compact for Juveniles

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The Council of State Governments, in cooperation with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, is currently supervising the introduction of the Interstate Compact for Juveniles. At issue are the management, monitoring, supervision and return of juveniles, delinquents and status offenders who are on probation or parole and who have absconded, escaped or run away from supervision and control to states other than where they were sentenced. CSG is committed to ensuring that the compact remains an effective management tool for those juveniles who travel to, or are supervised in, states other than where they were sentenced or reside.

Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children

The Council of State Governments, in cooperation with the American Public Human Services Association, has drafted a revision to the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children. Currently enacted by all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S Virgin Islands, the compact is in need of a massive overhaul to repair its outdated construction and enhance its effectiveness in ensuring that interstate placements are made in a timely and effective manner. The new compact has been enacted in Ohio (June 2006) and is available to all states for consideration.

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact

Since 2001, the Council of Great Lakes Governors (CGLG) has worked to develop a framework of binding agreements among the Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces for managing the Great Lakes resource. The culmination of this effort is the new Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. The agreement details how states and provinces will manage and protect the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin.

Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision

The Council of State Governments led the effort to revise the failing interstate compact, originally conceived in 1937. In collaboration with the National Institute of Corrections, CSG has helped 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands adopt the compact over the last four years and now serves as a secretariat to the Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision. This revised compact serves as a cutting-edge model of what the modern compact mechanism can accomplish - a streamlined, efficient and accountable interstate agreement that applies to a wide range of policy issues.

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)

Administered by CSG's affiliate organization, the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), EMAC is a mutual aid agreement and partnership between states that exists because, from hurricanes to earthquakes and from wildfires to toxic waste spills, all states share a common enemy: the constant threat of disaster. EMAC offers a quick and easy way for states to send personnel and equipment to help disaster relief efforts in other states. Requests for EMAC assistance are legally binding, contractual arrangements which make states that ask for help responsible for reimbursing all out-of-state costs and liable for out-of-state personnel. EMAC allows states to ask for whatever assistance they need for any emergency, from earthquakes to acts of terrorism. On the other hand, states are not forced to send any assistance unless they are able to. EMAC's simple procedures also mean states can dispense with bureaucratic wrangling.

Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact

Administered from CSG's Midwest Office, the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact (MIPRC) brings together state leaders from across the region to advocate for passenger rail improvements. Formed by compact agreement in 2000, the MIPRC's current members are Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio. The main purposes of the compact are to promote, coordinate and support regional improvements to passenger rail service: 1) Promote development and implementation of improvements and long-range plans for intercity passenger rail service in the Midwest; 2) Coordinate interaction among Midwestern state officials, and among the public and private sector at all levels (federal, state and local); and 3) Support current state efforts being conducted through state DOTs.