Council of State Governments

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 senator Henry W. Toll, CSG is a region-based forum that fosters the exchange of insights and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. The CSG National Headquarters is located in Lexington, Kentucky. 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 is considered part of the 'Big Seven', a group of organizations that represent local and state government in the United States. 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. 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.

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. 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. State Government News, which later became the CSG bimonthly magazine, Capitol Ideas, was first published in 1958.

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.