1) I've often been curious about US regional commissions. Here is an overview of the seven entities by Julie M. Lawhorn, who authored this CRS InFocus report (updated 20 December 2021): 'Federal Regional Commissions and Authorities: Overview of Structure and Activities'.
Download CRS_InFocus_Fed_Reg_Commiss_Authorities_Structure_Activities_20Dec2021
Summary
Federal regional commissions and authorities address perceived regional economic underdevelopment. These organizations generally accommodate multileveled and multijurisdictional participation and implementation, which Congress could utilize to address growing interest in broad-based and intensive economic development efforts. Current commissions and authorities represent some regions; other regions could adopt similar entities. This In Focus outlines each organization’s structure, activities, and recent funding. For this report, FY2022 appropriated funding amounts are from P.L. 117-58. FY2022 amounts do not include funding provided through the annual appropriations process, as annual appropriations had not been enacted as of the date of publication.
Next up - more detail.
2) Here is more detail: Julie M. Lawhorn authored this CRS report (updated 22 December 2021) that sheds more light on these entities: 'Federal Regional Commissions and Authorities: Structural Features and Function'.
Download CRS_Report_Federal_RegComm_Authorites-Structural_Features_Functions_22Dec2021
Summary
This report describes the structure, activities, legislative history, and funding history of the seven federal regional commissions and authorities:
the Appalachian Regional Commission;
the Delta Regional Authority;
the Denali Commission;
the Northern Border Regional Commission;
the Northern Great Plains Regional Authority;
the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission; and the
Southwest Border Regional Commission.
All seven regional commissions and authorities are modeled after the Appalachian Regional Commission structure, which is composed of a federal co-chair appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and the member state governors, of which one is appointed the state co-chair. This structure is broadly replicated in the other commissions and authorities, albeit with notable variations and exceptions to local contexts. In addition, the service areas for all of the federal regional commissions and authorities are defined in statute and thus can only be amended or modified through congressional action. While the service areas for the federal regional commissions and authorities have shifted over time, those jurisdictions have not changed radically in their respective service lives.
Of the seven federal regional commissions and authorities, four could be considered active: the Appalachian Regional Commission; the Delta Regional Authority; the Denali Commission; and the Northern Border Regional Commission. In December 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed the first federal co-chairperson for the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, thereby allowing it to convene and begin other activities.
The four currently active regional commissions and authority received $15 million to $180 million in appropriations in FY2021 for their various activities. Each of the four functioning regional commissions and authority engage in economic development to varying extents, and address multiple programmatic activities in their respective service areas. These activities may include, but are not limited, to basic infrastructure; energy; ecology/environment and natural resources; workforce/labor; and business development.
Though they are federally chartered, receive congressional appropriations for their administration and activities, and include an appointed federal representative in their respective leadership structures (the federal co-chair and his/her alternate, as applicable), the federal regional commissions and authorities are quasi-governmental partnerships between the federal government and the constituent state(s) of a given authority or commission. This partnership structure, which also typically includes substantial input and efforts at the sub-state level, represents a unique federal approach to economic development and a potentially flexible mechanism for coordinating strategic economic development goals and aligning them with local, state, and multi-state/regional priorities and contexts.
Congress has expressed interest in the federal regional commissions and authorities pursuant to its appropriations and oversight authority, as well as its interest in facilitating economic development programming. Given relevant congressional interest, the federal regional commissions and authorities provide a model of functioning economic development approaches that are place-based, intergovernmental, and multifaceted in their programmatic orientation (e.g., infrastructure, energy, environment/ecology, workforce, business development).
Introduction
Congress authorized seven federal regional commissions and authorities to address instances of major economic distress in certain defined socio-economic regions (Table A-1):
the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC);
the Delta Regional Authority (DRA);
the Denali Commission;
the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC);
the Northern Great Plains Regional Authority (NGPRA);
the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission (SCRC); and
the Southwest Border Regional Commission (SBRC).
Four of the seven entities are currently active and receive regular annual appropriations: ARC, DRA, the Denali Commission, and the NBRC. The SCRC has received regular annual appropriations since FY2010, but lacked a Senate-confirmed federal co-chair until December 2021. All but one (Alaska’s Denali Commission) serve multi-state regions (Figure B-1).
The federal regional commissions are functioning examples of place-based and intergovernmental approaches to economic development, which receive regular congressional interest. The federal regional commissions and authorities integrate federal and state economic development priorities alongside regional and local considerations (Figure A-1). As federally chartered agencies created by acts of Congress, the federal regional commissions and authorities depend on congressional appropriations for their activities and administration, and are subject to congressional oversight.
The first such federal regional commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission, was founded in 1965. The other commissions and authorities may have roots in the intervening decades, but were not founded until 1998 (Denali), 2000 (Delta Regional Authority), and 2002 (the Northern Great Plains Regional Authority). The most recent commissions—Northern Border Regional Commission, Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, and Southwest Border Regional Commission—were authorized in 2008.
Certain strategic emphases and programs have evolved over time in each of the functioning federal regional commissions and authorities. However, their overarching missions to address economic distress have not changed, and their associated activities have broadly remained consistent to those goals as funding has allowed. In practice, the functioning federal regional commissions and authorities engage in their respective economic development efforts through multiple program areas, which may include, but are not limited to basic infrastructure; energy; ecology/environment and natural resources; workforce/labor; and business development. This report describes the structure, activities, legislative history, and funding history of seven federally chartered regional commissions and authorities.
Concluding Notes
Given their geographic reach, broad activities, and integrated intergovernmental structures, the federal regional commissions and authorities are a significant element of federal economic development efforts. At the same time, as organizations that are largely governed by the respective state-based commissioners, the federal regional commissions and authorities are not typical federal agencies but federally chartered entities that integrate federal funding and direction with state and local economic development priorities.
This structure provides Congress with a flexible platform to support economic development efforts. The intergovernmental structure allows for strategic-level economic development initiatives to be launched at the federal level and implemented across multi-state jurisdictions with extensive state and local input, and more adaptable to regional needs.
The federal regional commissions and authorities reflect an emphasis by the federal government on place-based economic development strategies sensitive to regional and local contexts. However, the geographic specificity and varying functionality of the statutorily authorized federal regional commissions and authorities, both active and inactive, potentially raise questions about the efficacy and equity of federal economic development policies.
Enjoy!
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change” - Albert Einstein
The discovery of this ancient reservoir from the First Temple period in Jerusalem reshapes debates on ancient water systems in Jerusalem. Photographic credit: Vladimir Naykhin. IAA
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