Editing Interstate compact (section)

== Description ==
Most early interstate compacts resolved boundary disputes, but since the early 20th century, compacts have increasingly been used as a tool of state cooperation and mutual recognition on infrastructure, services and professional licensing, often to ease administrative barriers and reduce costs and litigation.<ref name=":0" /> In some cases, an agreement will create a new multi-state [[special-purpose district|governmental agency]] which is responsible for administering or improving some shared resource such as a [[seaport]] or [[public transportation]] infrastructure. Compacts may also be limited to a certain multi-state region, may be open to all states and insular areas, or may be open to subnational governments in other countries. 

Interstate compacts are distinct from, but may involve aspects of, the following: 

* [[Model act|Model acts]], which are proposed [[statute]]s produced by non-governmental bodies of legal experts to be passed by state legislatures independently, rather than constituting an agreement among multiple states; 
* [[Executive agreement|executive agreements]] between governors or statewide executive officers of states, which may or may not have the backing of statute or state constitutional law;
* State-level [[Trigger law|trigger laws]] which provide for an automatic action if another one or more states, or the federal government, perform a specified action; or
* State-level laws mandating, permitting or prohibiting state cooperation with another state government or the federal government regarding certain actions.

=== Interstate agencies ===
Several interstate compacts may establish multi-state agencies in order to coordinate policy between, or perform tasks on behalf of, member states. Such agencies may take the form of commissions, with at least one representative from a member state with a voting role in the commission. Alternatively, member states to a compact may opt for cooperation with a single independent non-profit organization which carries out designated tasks without government funding. Actions or rules changes taken by commissions or non-profits may require ratification by the member states to take effect, depending often on whether such actions may alter the terms of the compact.