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Multistate agreements to reopen after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
Ballotpedia’s coverage of COVID-19 includes how federal, state, and local governments are responding, and how those responses are influencing election rules and operations, political campaigns, the economy, schools, and more.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, several states announced the formation of multistate agreements or regional partnerships for reopening and lifting stay-at-home orders. According to announcements, the agreements were intended to enable states to work collaboratively and develop shared frameworks for how to reopen the region, though each coalition's approach may be different.
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This article catalogs multistate agreements announced by state governments to reopen after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On this page, you will find:
- A map of multistate agreements
- Information about the Multistate Council
- Information about by the Western States Pact
- Information about by the Midwestern States Partnership
- Information about Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire
- Information about the Southern States Coalition
- Information about the Student Loan Multistate Agreement
- General resources for citizens
Overview
The map below shows the multistate agreements established to discuss reopening states after the coronavirus pandemic.
Multistate Council
On April 13, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced a seven-state working group that would discuss coordinated ways to reopen the economy across the region. The announced members of the working group were Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.[1]
According to a press release from Gov. Cuomo's office, the agreement follows the recognition by the governors of the seven states that there is a shared, integrated regional economy. The multistate agreement builds on "the states' ongoing regional approach in combating the coronavirus pandemic."[2]
The goal of the Multistate Council is to "develop a fully integrated regional framework to gradually lift the states' stay at home orders while minimizing the risk of increased spread of the virus."[2]
Each state contributed its top economic development official, health official, and governor's chief of staff to the group.[3] On April 19, the governors announced their appointees to the council.[4]
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On May 3, 2020, Gov. Cuomo announced a seven-state regional purchasing consortium to obtain personal protective equipment, test, ventilators, and other medical equipment.[5]
On May 15, four governors part of the Multistate Council, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D), Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, announced plans to reopen public and private beaches, with certain restrictions in place, effective May 22.[6]
Click the links below for more on how each state in this multistate agreement responded to the coronavirus pandemic.
Western States Pact
On April 13, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) issued a joint statement announcing that the three states would work together on a shared approach for opening their states.[7] On April 27, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) announced that their states joined the Western States Pact.[8]
According to a press release from Gov. Newsom's office, while each state is building its own plan, the states have agreed on three main principles as they continue to build the West Coast framework.[7]
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Click here to read the full press release from the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
On May 11, the Western States Pact sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), requesting $1 trillion in direct and flexible relief to state and local governments.[10]
Click the links below for more on how each state in this multistate agreement responded to the coronavirus pandemic.
Midwestern States Partnership
In a news release on April 16, the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin announced a multistate agreement to discuss reopening the economies of their states together. The release said that while the states would work together on the plan, they may not each take the same steps to reopen at the same time.[11]
According to the release from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office, the seven states would closely examine at least four factors when making the determination to reopen their economies.[12]
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Click here to read the full release from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office.
Click the links below for more on how each state in this multistate agreement responded to the coronavirus pandemic.
Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire
On April 14, 2020, Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced that she, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu had been in talks about how to reopen their states after the coronavirus pandemic. According to Mills, the governors discussed "how and when to lift any restrictions based on medical evidence."[13]
Click the links below for more on how each state in this multistate agreement responded to the coronavirus pandemic.
Southern States Coalition
On April 21, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mentioned in an interview that he and the governors of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee were working together to reopen their states after the coronavirus pandemic. According to Gov. DeSantis, “We have had a meeting with all the Southeastern governors — Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee...And we shared a lot of ideas. I think we will be the same page on some stuff.”[14]
Click the links below for more on how each state in this multistate agreement responded to the coronavirus pandemic.
Student Loan Multistate Agreement
On May 4, nine states reached an agreement with more than a dozen private student loan organizations to provide protection to private student loan holders. The agreement covers borrowers in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. New York secured its own agreement separately.[15]
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
General resources
The chart below shows coronavirus statistics from countries across the world. The information is provided by Real Clear Politics.
Click the links below to explore official resources related to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Department of Education
- World Health Organization
- Trends in Number of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the US Reported to CDC, by State/Territory
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations, Our World in Data (Number of vaccines administered)
- Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker, New York Times (Progress of vaccine trials)
Footnotes
- ↑ Business Insider, "New York Gov. Cuomo unveils multistate coalition to reopen economy after coronavirus," April 13, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Governor Andrew Cuomo, "Governor Cuomo, Governor Murphy, Governor Lamont, Governor Wolf, Governor Carney, Governor Raimondo Announce Multi-State Council to Get People Back to Work and Restore the Economy," April 13, 2020
- ↑ Business Insider, "New York Gov. Cuomo unveils multi-state coalition to reopen economy after coronavirus," April 13, 2020
- ↑ NBC New York, "7 Governors in Northeast Announce Appointees for Multistate Council to Restore Economy," April 19, 2020
- ↑ Patch.com North Fork, New York, "7-State Regional Consortium Created To Purchase PPE: Cuomo," May 3, 2020
- ↑ Click here to read the full press release from the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Governor of Washington, "Washington, Oregon and California announce Western States Pact," April 13, 2020
- ↑ POLITICO, "Nevada, Colorado join West Coast reopening alliance," April 27, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Western States Pact, "Letter to Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, and Chuck Schumer, May 11, 2020
- ↑ Business Insider, "Midwestern states have formed a 3rd coalition to reopen the economy," April 16, 2020
- ↑ The Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, "Midwest Governors Announce Partnership to Reopen Regional Economy," April 16, 2020
- ↑ [https://bangordailynews.com/2020/04/14/politics/maine-coordinating-with-n-h-vermont-on-reopening-economy-amid-coronavirus/ Bangor Daily News, "Maine coordinating with NH, Vermont on reopening economy amid coronavirus," April 14, 2020}
- ↑ POLITICO, "Southern governors create a Covid-19 coalition and experts fear a 'perfect storm'," April 21, 2020
- ↑ Forbes, "These 10 States Are Suspending Payments For Millions Of Private Student Loan Borrowers," May 4, 2020
