Developments in Interstate Compact Law and Practice 2020

Abstract

The world of interstate compacts got more complicated following two significant court decisions in 2020. In one decision, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded that the Colorado General Assembly did not have the authority to delegate to the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission the power to issue a standard that differed from a Colorado legislative standard. This holding, if followed in subsequent cases in Colorado and other states for other compacts, would hurt the ability of interstate commissions to create uniform rules for use in all states. In the second decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit concluded that the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor could not seek prospective injunctive relief to prevent the Governor of New Jersey from unilaterally withdrawing from (and thus terminating) the Waterfront Commission compact. This holding, if extended to other cases, would allow state officials to similarly violate interstate compacts with little opportunity to seek injunctive relief in federal court, which is often a more neutral venue for litigation. Other court decisions followed well-established compact law in new factual situations. This article discusses judicial, administrative and legislative developments in interstate compact law in 2020. Discussions of each case, agency action and legislative act present broadly applicable principles of law, not just the outcome for the compact at issue. For context, this article briefly summarizes the principles of law associated with the reported developments and provides citations for further reading.

Keywords: interstate compacts, developments, states