The U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) has long been known for its descriptive and evaluative research on American federalism and for its consistent and reliable dissemination of data on intergovernmental functions and finance. During the past 29 years, the Commission's reports and data have played crucial roles in pinpointing problems, highlighting new issues, and helping private citizens and public officials to shape new directions for the federal system.

With this report, the Commission seeks to highlight yet another new, but not widely known development in American federalism: the revival of interest in state constitutions and state constitutional law.

As it has done so often in the past, the Commission presents here a body of information not otherwise readily available to private citizens and public officials. This report is the first major collection of multistate cases and materials on issues of state constitutional law affecting the 50 states ever to be made available. The report covers a wide range of issues likely to arise under any state constitution and, through cases and other materials, shows how these issues are addressed in similar and different ways by the several states.

This report would not have been possible without the generous efforts of Professor Robert F. Williams

at the Rutgers University School of Law, Camden, NJ. While teaching state constitutional law, Professor Williams assembled much of the material that forms the basis for this report, and a research leave from Rutgers University enabled him to put the materials into the form in which they appear here.

A number of people contributed to the preparation and publication of this report. Professor Williams would like to acknowledge the constant assistance over the years of Professor L. Harold Levinson of Vanderbilt University and Professor Frank P. Grad of Columbia University. Ideas generated by Alaine S. Williams in her law practice provided many insights into the "real world" of state constitutional law.

We would also like to thank Michael E. Libonati, Erick Low, Edwin Meese III, Thomas R. Morris, Martin A. Schwartz, and David M. Skover for comments and suggestions on the initially proposed contents of this report. Any errors of omission or commission, of course, remain the responsibility of the compiler and ACIR staff.

Special appreciation is due to Lori A. O'Bier for tireless typing and retyping of these materials and to Joan Casey for expert editing and proofing.

John Kincaid Executive Director