Once employed for such mundane issues as inmate transfers, natural resource management and state boundary definitions, interstate compacts have suddenly become the latest tool for legislators looking to buck the federal government on a slew of controversial topics.

The interstate compact bills proposed this year address issues ranging from firearms regulation and endangered species protection to denying citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants and blocking the new federal health care mandates.

This year, nine bills propose interstate compacts, a stark contrast from only four interstate compact bills that were proposed during the four previous years. Only one of those became law. All of the current interstate compact bills are aimed at challenging the federal government’s authority in some arena.

If they’re passed in Arizona and signed into law, they’ll then need federal approval to go into effect.

For Arizona lawmakers like Sen. Sylvia … Read More »