Council of State Governments

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Founded in 1933 by Colorado State Senator Henry Toll after identifying the need for a national association to serve state leaders and their institutions, the Council of State Governments (CSG) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit state-sustained organization that serves the executive, judicial and legislative branches of state government through leadership education, research and information services. CSG is the only multibranch organization forecasting policy trends for the community of states, commonwealths and territories on a national and regional basis, alerting state elected and appointed officials to emerging social, economic and political trends; offers innovative state policy responses to rapidly changing conditions; and advocates multistate problem-solving to maximize resources and competitiveness. It is also the sponsor of the highly competitive States Innovations Awards which recognizes the most innovative and proven state government programs in the nation.

CSG champions state sovereignty through participation in court cases that have reached the United States Supreme Court, as well as congressional testimony on legislation affecting states' rights.

Headquartered in Lexington, KY, all state and territorial governors, legislators and top state officials in all three branches of government are members of CSG and each state and territory appropriates an annual fee to help sustain CSG's operations. These state contributions, in addition to grants and entrepreneurial efforts (publication sales, registration fees, corporate grants and contributions, as well as investment income) round out CSG's annual budget. The Council also operates four regional offices that focus on the needs, special concerns and opportunities of the Eastern, Midwestern, Western and Southern states. In addition, the Council maintains an office in Washington, D.C, to monitor activities in the federal government and their impact on state issues and programs.

The organization is headed by a Governor who serves as President and a state legislator who serves as Chairman. Leaders from the nation's territories may also be elected to head CSG, such as Puerto Rico's former governor, Pedro Rosselló, who served as President in 1998, and the U.S. territory's current Senate President Kenneth McClintock, who served as CSG's Chairman in 1999. Several Canadian provinces are international members of some of CSG's regional subdivisions, notably the "Eastern Regional Conference" or ERC. In fact, Quebec City was chosen as the venue for CSG's annual national meeting in 1999, as well as ERC's annual regional meeting this summer. The current president is Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and the current Chair is Delaware Representative Deborah Hudson.

CSG is the precursor and partner of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), with which it shares Executive Committee members, and is the umbrella organization for multiple state leaders' organizations as well as research entities, such as the Healthy States Initiatives, founded by CSG and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), headquartered in Atlanta, GA, as well as the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.