What is Compact Law?

Have you ever wondered how large programs like transportation routes, environmental management, and public safety systems work together throughout multiple states? What are the technicalities that make it possible for people to practice their licensed job across state lines? If you have a job with a licensure system, how would your license transfer over if you moved to another state?

The answers to these questions can be found in a highly-overlooked area of the law that deals with something called interstate compact clauses. Interstate compacts are contracts between two or more states that allows for the states to address common problems or promote common goals in order to achieve a unified system. Lexington KY lawyers at EMWN are here to help explain all about compacts!

What are Compact Clauses?

The United States Constitution states in the Compact Clause, "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, ... enter into Any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power."  This enables states to coordinate responses, address and solve problems that affect multiple states. 

Interstate compacts are legally binding contracts developed and governed by and between states. Although it seems from reading the clause that Congress would have to approve every interstate compact made, consent is only required for compacts that would increase state power while simultaneously decreasing federal power. Interstate compacts are most often used to address complex regional issues that affect multiple states. 

If you are affected by an interstate compact, consulting a Lexington attorney can help you understand the rules, requirements, and obligations involved.

Compacts are important agreements that can serve as a backbone for the conduct and conduciveness of industries, landmarks, and programs across multiple states. As compacts are used in so many different areas and industries, our Lexington attorneys at EMWN Law can help you navigate the intricacies of an interstate compact that may apply to you.

History of the Use of Compact Clauses

In the early years of interstate compacts, which were first introduced by the Compact Clause in 1787, states mainly utilized them to establish state boundaries as early maps and boundaries were very imprecise and often inaccurate. For over 100 years, the use of compacts was pretty limited to scenarios of this type. 

Beginning in the 1920s though, compacts were developed for regional issues that applied to multiple states, such as managing interstate bodies of water, including fisheries, and parks. This later led to the use of compacts for interstate transportation: bridges, ports, and regional transportation systems. Many states have bridges and transit systems that cross over into other states and require the transportation departments to work together in order to  control the successful running of these systems. 

An example of this is the Louisville Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project. The bridges that connect Louisville to Southern Indiana are governed and maintained by a bi-state development agreement between the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Indiana Department of Transportation. The development agreement details plans for the states to jointly take on improvement costs and to handle and share toll rates together. 

Now, compacts are used for an even wider range of purposes, including higher education. Kentucky residents may be aware of the Academic Common Market (ACM), administered by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREM) through a compact agreement between Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia. 

Through the ACM, college students from participating states can pay in-state tuition at public out-of-state universities to pursue a degree program that is not offered in their home state. Many out-of-state students come to the University of Kentucky to receive degrees in Equine Science & Management, Product Design, and Engineering! Higher education compacts are a great example of how beneficial interstate compacts can be in making lives easier for Americans through the cooperation of several states.

Other areas that interstate compacts are commonly developed in include: 

• urban planning in metropolitan areas that cross state lines

• preservation of historical sites and tourism

• environmental conservation

• multi-state uniform taxation policies

• fire protection in states that are prepared to prevent and control forest fires with plans created alongside nearby states 

There are many landmarks, natural or historical, that cross multiple state lines and require the cooperation of the several states involved in order to have a uniform system for managing, repairing, preserving, and protecting the important sites. A Lexington attorney can help businesses, organizations, and other parties understand how these agreements may apply to their interests.

Additionally, in areas where high speed rail service transportation is more accessible and common, such as New York City and surrounding areas, New England, and Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area (DMV), interstate rail compacts are necessary to ensure that train transportation may cross state lines in order to provide transportation for those commuting into several states for work or other purposes. Amtrak, America’s only intercity and interstate passenger train system, operates under the interstate rail compacts of the states that it travels through. 

The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) was created in 1996 and enables states to share personnel, equipment, and resources during governor-declared emergencies. All 50 states and U.S. territories are included in EMAC, which is administered by the National Emergency Management Association, headquartered here in Lexington.

EMAC responses across states often occur when firefighters travel to fight wildfires, search and rescue squads and divers are deployed to find someone or something missing in water, and national guard deployments to help control emergencies. These responses are critical when the home state cannot handle the emergency on its own and requires assistance from other states’ resources. 

Interstate Occupational Licensure Compacts

One of the fastest growing industries for interstate compacts is in professional occupational licensing, where states streamline professional licensing in order for licensed workers to move from state to state without having to get relicensed. Some professions that have active interstate licensure compacts among the majority of states include: medicine, nursing, social work, psychology, counseling, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology and speech language pathology. Several other professions are in the process of establishing interstate licensure compacts to provide mobility to professionals. Each profession typically has their own compact that creates rules, licensure requirements, and guidelines for licensed professionals.

These cooperative agreements began in response to problems faced by spouses and families of U.S. military members  who were having trouble getting licensed in several states as their families were often relocated due to military placements. In 2020, the Council for State Governments entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense for assistance with the development of occupational compacts in several professions, to make a more consistent licensure process with easier state-to-state transitions. 

To this date, there are twenty-one professions that have been enacted as licensure compacts. Now, compacts are used for all sorts of Americans, whether that be military family members, traveling professionals, or simply those who are interested in moving from state to state. Although military spouses were a large group of people initially targeted by occupational licensure compacts, these impact millions of Americans through allowing interstate mobility which brings better care to communities in participating states. 

EMWN law offers legal counseling to professional members of compacts as well as the administrative commissions or boards that run interstate compacts. 

One Lexington attorney, EMWN managing member Samantha Nance, serves as an advisor to several interstate compacts through their administrative boards and assists in giving them legal guidance in the existence of their commission. 

Contact Lexington attorneys at EMWN Law for more information on how we can be assistance to your association with an interstate compact!