States cooperation over economic policy have precedent
Hartley 11’ [Todd Jefferson Hartley: B.A. in Interpersonal Communication from Mississippi College and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt University Law School, associate with Watkins & Eager PLLC, 2011, University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy: Vol. 22: Iss. 1, Article 3. “Handshake Deals: The Future of Informal State Agreements and the Interstate Compacts Clause”]//LA
Federalism is making a comeback in the United States. The federal government is both unwilling and unable to solve many urgent social problems. State governments, unsurprisingly, are constantly looking for alternative solutions to interstate issues when Congress fails to act. Recently, several U.S. states, along with Mexican states and Canadian provinces, decided to act without federal approval to address the most pressing of all social issues-climate change. The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) was formed when the governors of five western states agreed, in a "memorandum of understanding," to work together informally to address climate change in the face of congressional gridlock. The WCI now consists of twenty-seven North American governments and includes almost one third of the North American economy. 2 The WCI is "a collaboration of independent jurisdictions working together to identify, evaluate, and implement policies to tackle climate change at a regional level." 3 By 2012, the WCI members will implement, through independent legislation in each member jurisdiction, a fully operational cap and trade program which will heavily regulate all sectors of the economy within the WCI member 4 jurisdictions.