Council of State Governments

The Council of State Governments
Abbreviation	CSG
Formation	1933
Founder	Henry Wolcott Toll
Type	non-governmental organization
Location	Lexington, KY;
Executive Director/CEO	David Adkins
Website	www.csg.org

The Council of State Governments (CSG) is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization in the United States that serves all three branches of state government. Founded in 1933 by Colorado state Sen. Henry W. Toll, CSG is a region-based forum that fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy.^[1]

The CSG National Headquarters is located in Lexington, Kentucky, but the council also operates regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City and Sacramento, California. CSG maintains an office in Washington, D.C. that monitors federal government activities and their impact on state issues and programs.

Other CSG services include policy academies, research briefs, webinars and annual conferences and meetings at the national and regional levels.

The CSG Justice Center, which is based in New York City and has offices across the country, provides strategies to increase public safety and strengthen communities.^[2]

CSG national leadership includes a governor, who serves as the national president, and a member of a state legislature, who serves as national chair. CSG regions are chaired by state legislators.

CSG membership includes 56 U.S. states and territories; six Canadian provinces also partner with the council. Annual dues are paid by each state and territory to support the council's operations. In addition, revenue is derived from publication sales, registration fees, corporate grants and contributions, and investment income.

The CSG is considered part of the 'Big Seven', a group of organizations that represent local and state government in the United States.

History

In 1925, Henry Wolcott Toll, then a Colorado state senator, created the American Legislators’ Association, the forerunner to CSG, which provided legislators with information and opportunities to connect.^[3] Toll believed interstate cooperation was imperative for states to maintain control over inherent state issues.

CSG—the only national organization that serves all three branches of state government—was created in 1933. "Probably 12 or 15 of us sat around a table in a small room," Toll recalled 25 years later. "The Council of State Governments had never been heard of before that day."

About five years after CSG was conceived, a new building at 1313 East 60th St., in Chicago became the council's central home. In 1967, CSG and the Commonwealth of Kentucky entered into an agreement that provided CSG with a headquarters building in Lexington, Kentucky. The building was dedicated on June 9, 1969. In 1993, the state financed the construction of a second building to facilitate the council's continued growth.

Some CSG services have been offered since the early years. The Book of the States, which provides comprehensive data and analysis about state governments and their operations, was first published in 1935.^[4] State Government News, which later became the CSG bimonthly magazine, Capitol Ideas, was first published in 1958.^[5]

The Eastern Regional Conference was established in 1937. CSG opened a Washington, D.C. office in 1938. The Midwestern Legislative Conference was established in 1945. Both the Southern Conference—now the Southern Legislative Conference—and the Western Regional Conference—now CSG West—were established in 1947. In 2006, the CSG Justice Center was formed.

The CSG Henry Toll Fellowship program, a leadership development program for state officials, was established in 1986.^[6]

Timeline

1925 – The American Legislators' Association was established in Denver, CO
1930 – The headquarters of the American Legislators' Association moved to Chicago, IL
1935 – The Council of State Governments (CSG) was established
1937 – The Eastern Regional Conference (ERC) was established as the eastern regional office of CSG
1938 – CSG opened a Washington D.C. office
1945 – The Midwestern Legislative Conference (now a part of CSG Midwest) is established as the midwestern regional office of CSG
1947 – The Southern Conference (now the Southern Legislative Conference) and the Western Regional Conference (now known as CSG West) are established to support CSG's work in the southern and western regions
1969 – The CSG headquarters were moved to Lexington, KY
1986 – The CSG Henry Toll Fellowship, a leadership development program for state officials was established
2006 – The CSG Justice Center was formed out of the ERC justice program
2015 – CSG rededicates its national headquarters after a $5.5 million renovation to the original headquarters building^[7]
2016 – CSG changes address to 1776 Avenue of the States

^[6]^[8]

Regional offices

CSG has 6 offices across the country including 4 regional offices, a federal affairs office in Washington D.C., and the headquarters office in Lexington, KY.^[1]

Region	Headquarters	U.S. States	U.S. Territories	Associate Members	Website
CSG West	Sacramento	Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming	American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands	Alberta, British Columbia	CSG West
CSG Midwest	Chicago	Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin		Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario	CSG Midwest
CSG South (also known as Southern Legislative Conference)	Atlanta	Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia			CSG SLC
CSG East (also known as Eastern Regional Conference)	New York City	Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont	Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, Washington, D.C.	New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec	CSG ERC

Justice Center

On December 3, 2006, The Council of State Governments' Governing Board voted to transform the Eastern Regional Conference's (CSG/ERC) criminal justice program into a national Justice Center. The Justice Center's Board of Directors includes state legislative leaders, judges, corrections administrators, juvenile justice agency directors, and law enforcement professionals, who together represent a cross-section of the senior-level state officials who shape criminal justice policy across the country.^[2] The Justice Center is headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Austin, Seattle, Bethesda, and Washington, D.C.

Affiliate organizations

Affiliate organizations contribute specialized expertise, information, resources and issues to the overall mission of CSG. In turn, CSG offers a mechanism by which affiliates may tap into CSG's products and services, and a forum for bringing issues to a broader, collective state audience.

Publications

Capitol Ideas (bimonthly magazine)
The Current State (weekly e-newsletter)
The Book of the States (published annually since 1935, provides data and analyses about state governments and their operations)^[9]
Shared State Legislation or SSL (annual volume that compiles legislation on topics of current importance to states)^[10]

Presidents and Chairs

Year	President	State	Chair	State
1938	Gov. Robert L. Cochran	Nebraska	Sen. Thomas Vernor Smith	Illinois
1939	Gov. Robert L. Cochran	Nebraska	Assemblyman Harold C. Ostertag	New York
1940	Gov. Lloyd C. Stark	Missouri	Rep. Ellwood J. Turner	Pennsylvania
1941	Gov. Harold E. Stassen	Minnesota	Sen. Edgar Brown	South Carolina
1942	Gov. Harold E. Stassen	Minnesota	Sen. Robert C. Hendrickson	New Jersey
1943	Gov. Herbert R. O'Conor	Maryland	Sen. Thurman A. Biddinger	Indiana
1944	Gov. Leverett Saltonstall	Massachusetts	Sen. Grant Macfarlane	Utah
1945	Gov. Herbert B. Maw	Utah	Sen. C. Petrus Peterson	Nebraska
1946	Gov. Edward Martin	Pennsylvania	Rep. S. Denmead Kolb	Maryland
1947	Gov. Millard F. Caldwell	Florida	Sen. John W. Van Ness	Indiana
1948	Gov. Horace Hildreth	Maine	Sen. Charles H. Jenkins	North Carolina
1949	Gov. William Preston Lane Jr.	Maryland	Sen. Burton M. Cross	Maine
1950	Gov. Frank Carlson	Kansas	Sen. John W. Noble	Missouri
1951	Gov. Frank J. Lausche	Ohio	Rep. Bernice T. Van der Vries^{[note 1]}	Illinois
1952	Gov. Val Peterson	Nebraska	Rep. J. Maynard Magruder	Virginia
1953	Gov. Allan Shivers	Texas	Rep. Elisha T. Barrett	New York
1954	Gov. Dan Thornton	Colorado	Sen. Stanton Hall	Mississippi
1955	Gov. Robert F. Kennon	Louisiana	Sen. Carleton G. Howe	Vermont
1956	Gov. Arthur B. Langlie	Washington	Sen. Robert A. Ainsworth Jr.	Louisiana
1957	Gov. Thomas B. Stanley	Virginia	Sen. Frank E. Panzer	Wisconsin
1958	Gov. William G. Stratton	Illinois	Sen. John W. Noble	Missouri
1959	Gov. LeRoy Collins	Florida	Sen. Elisha T. Barrett	New York
1960	Gov. J. Caleb Boggs	Delaware	Sen. James J. McBride	California
1961	Gov. Stephen L.R. McNichols	Colorado	Sen. Hal Bridenbaugh	Nebraska
1962	Gov. Wesley Powell	New Hampshire	Speaker J. D. McCarty	Oklahoma
1963	Gov. Albert D. Rosellini	Washington	Sen. David Davis	Illinois
1964	Gov. John Anderson Jr.	Kansas	Sen. Clarence L. Carpenter	Arizona
1965	Gov. Grant Sawyer	Nevada	Sen. C. George DeStefano	Rhode Island
1966	Gov. John H. Reed	Maine	Sen. Albert M. Spradling Jr.	Missouri
1967	Gov. William L. Guy	North Dakota	Sen. Charles Welch Jr.	Utah
1968	Gov. John A. Volpe	Massachusetts	Sen. Edward L. Marcus	Connecticut
1969	Gov. Buford Ellington	Tennessee	Sen. Edwin C. Becker	North Dakota
1970	Gov. John A. Love	Colorado	Sen. Charles L. Delaney	Vermont
1971	Gov. Warren E. Hearnes	Missouri	Sen. Charles L. Delaney	Vermont
1972	Gov. Arch A. Moore Jr.	West Virginia	Speaker Ray S. Smith, Jr.	Arkansas
1973	Gov. Marvin Mandel	Maryland	Assemblyman Charles J. Conrad	California
1974	Gov. Daniel J. Evans	Washington	Speaker William J. Lanting	Idaho
1975	Gov. Cal Rampton	Utah	Sen. John J. Marchi	New York
1976	Gov. Robert D. Ray	Iowa	Sen. J. Harry Michael Jr.	Virginia
1977	Gov. Reubin O'Donovan Askew	Florida	Speaker Pro Tem John J. Thomas	Indiana
1978	Gov. William G. Milliken	Michigan	Speaker Bill Clayton	Texas
1979	Gov. Julian M. Carroll	Kentucky	Speaker James J. Kennelly	Connecticut
1980	Gov. Otis R. Bowen, M.D.	Indiana	Senate Pres. Oliver Ocasek	Ohio
1981	Gov. George Busbee	Georgia	Rep. William Grannell	Oregon
1982	Gov. Richard A. Snelling	Vermont	Sen. Kenneth C. Royall Jr.	North Carolina
1983	Gov. Scott M. Matheson	Utah	Rep. Timothy J. Moynihan	Connecticut
1984	Gov. James R. Thompson	Illinois	Rep. Roy Hausauer	North Dakota
1985	Gov. Charles S. Robb	Virginia	Sen. James I. Gibson	Nevada
1986	Gov. Robert D. Orr	Indiana	Rep. John E. Miller	Arkansas
1987	Gov. Richard H. Bryan	Nevada	Sen. Hugh Farley	New York
1988	Gov. James Martin	North Carolina	Senate President Pro Tem Mary McClure	South Dakota
1989	Gov. William A. O'Neill	Connecticut	Senate President Arnold Christensen	Utah
1990	Gov. Michael N. Castle	Delaware	Speaker Thomas B. Murphy	Georgia
1991	Gov. Terry Branstad	Iowa	Sen. W. Paul White	Massachusetts
1992	Gov. Zell Miller	Georgia	Rep. John Connors	Iowa
1993	Gov. Jim Edgar	Illinois	Sen. Jeannette Hamby	Oregon
1994	Gov. Ben Nelson	Nebraska	Rep. Bob Hunter	North Carolina
1995	Gov. Mel Carnahan	Missouri	Assemblyman Bob Wertz	New York
1996	Gov. Mike Leavitt	Utah	Senate President Stan Aronoff	Ohio
1997	Gov. George Pataki	New York	Sen. Jeff Wells	Colorado
1998	Gov. Pedro Rosselló^{[note 2]}	Puerto Rico	Rep. Charlie Williams	Mississippi
1999	Gov. Tommy Thompson	Wisconsin	Sen. Kenneth McClintock^{[note 3]}	Puerto Rico
2000	Gov. Paul E. Patton	Kentucky	Rep. Tom Ryder	Illinois
2001	Gov. Dirk Kempthorne	Idaho	Sen. Manny Aragón^{[note 4]}	New Mexico
2002	Gov. Parris Glendening	Maryland	Sen. John Chichester	Virginia
2003	Gov. Mike Huckabee	Arkansas	Rep. Dan Bosley	Massachusetts
2004	Gov. Frank Murkowski	Alaska	Sen. John Hottinger	Minnesota
2005	Gov. Ruth Ann Minner^{[note 5]}	Delaware	Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick	Nevada
2006	Gov. Jim Douglas	Vermont	Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin	West Virginia
2007	Gov. Brad Henry	Oklahoma	Rep. Deborah Hudson	Delaware
2008	Gov. M. Jodi Rell	Connecticut	Rep. Kim Koppelman	North Dakota
2009	Gov. Joe Manchin III	West Virginia	Senator Bart Davis	Idaho
2010	Gov. Mike Rounds	South Dakota	Senate President David Williams	Kentucky
2011	Gov. Brian Schweitzer	Montana	Rep. Robert (Bob) Godfrey	Connecticut
2012	Gov. Luis Fortuño	Puerto Rico	Sen. Jay Emler	Kansas
2013	Gov. Jay Nixon	Missouri	Sen. Gary Stevens	Alaska
2014	Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin	West Virginia	Sen. Mark Norris	Tennessee
2015	Gov. Brian Sandoval	Nevada	Sen. Carl Marcellino	New York
2016	Gov. Jack Markell	Delaware	Sen. Beau McCoy	Nebraska
2017	Gov. Kate Brown	Oregon	Sen. Kelvin Atkinson	Nevada
2018	Gov. Gary Herbert	Utah	Senate President Robert Stivers	Kentucky
2019	Gov. Ricardo Rosselló	Puerto Rico	Sen. Lou D'Allesandro	New Hampshire
2020	Gov. Laura Kelly	Kansas	Rep. Joan Ballweg	Wisconsin
2021	Gov. Laura Kelly	Kansas	Rep. Joan Ballweg	Wisconsin
2022	Gov. David Ige	Hawaii	Sen. Sam Hunt	Washington
2023	Gov. John Carney	Delaware	Rep. Julia Howard	North Carolina

Notes

^ First female Chair
^ First Hispanic President
^ First Hispanic Chair
^ Second Hispanic chair
^ First female President

References

^ ^a ^b "CSG Regional Offices". The Council of State Governments. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "What is the Justice Center?". The Council of State Governments. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
^ "Toll, Henry W. (HenryWolcott), 1887". Social Networks and Archival Content. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
^ "The Book of the States Archive by csg.publications Stack". Issuu. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
^ "Capitol Ideas Magazine". The Council of State Governments. June 23, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Hopkins, Shawntaye (January–February 2016). "From Milestone to Milestone CSG Evolves From the Vision of Henry Toll" (PDF). Capitol Ideas. Kentucky: The Council of State Governments.
^ "State-funded renovation of national group's Lexington headquarters expected to help with productivity". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
^ The Book of the States. Illinois: The Council of State Governments. 1937. pp. 8–13.
^ "Book of the States". CSG Knowledge Center. The Council of State Governments. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
^ "Committee on Shared State Legislation". The Council of State Governments. Retrieved May 13, 2016.