On February 12th through 14th Edgar Ruiz, Director of CSG West, along with staff member Erica Miller traveled to Salem, Oregon for a visit with state legislators and staff. The visit provided an opportunity for in person meetings with many of the legislative leaders, as well as CSG West committee members and Western Legislative Academy (WLA) alumni. As an added bonus, the visit included the opportunity to celebrate the state's birthday on Wednesday, February 14th.
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR PROPOSES CHANGES TO REGIONAL BOUNDARIES FOR BUREAUS
CSG West would like share recently received information related to the U.S. Department of Interior's (DOI) plans for reorganization. On January 11 -12, DOI held briefing calls with Governors, local governments, and stakeholders to discuss a draft map of revised DOI unified regional boundaries. Based on feedback, an updated draft of the map was created and has been provided below for review. The updated draft map incorporates input received related to concerns of splitting states into multiple regions while still following the original intent of boundaries organized along watersheds and ecosystems.
For access to the provided documents, click below:
The Council of State Governments (CSG) and several other organizations joined the amicus brief filed by the State & Local Legal Center (SLLC) in the South Dakota v. Wayfair case that is scheduled to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Oral arguments are scheduled to begin on April 17 during which the Court will decide whether or not to overturn decades of precedent related a physical presence requirement in collecting sales taxes set forth in National Bellas Hess v. Department of Revenue of Illinois and later reaffirmed in Quill v. North Dakota.
The SLLC amicus brief points out that in 2015 states and local governments lost an estimated $26 billion in sales tax revenue due to an inability to collect owed taxes from retailers with no in-state presence. While the brief encourages the Court to overturn Quill, it also allows for the option to replace the physical presence requirement. In the event that the Court opts to make such a replacement, the brief encourages the adoption of an economic nexus requirement similar to the one currently included in South Dakota legislation.
For additional information and resource links, click below.
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