2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 33 - Human Services › Chapter 59 - Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children [Contingently Enacted] › § 5912. Oversight; dispute resolution; enforcement [Contingently enacted]

§ 5912. Oversight; dispute resolution; enforcement [Contingently enacted]
(a) Oversight.
(1) The Interstate Commission shall oversee the administration and operation of the Compact.
(2) The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government in each member state shall enforce this Compact and the rules of the Interstate Commission and shall take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate the Compact’s purposes and intent. The Compact and its rules shall be binding in the compacting states to the extent and in the manner provided for in this Compact.
(3) All courts shall take judicial notice of the Compact and the rules in any judicial or administrative proceeding in a member state pertaining to the subject matter of this Compact.
(4) The Interstate Commission shall be entitled to receive service of process in any action in which the validity of a compact provision or rule is the issue for which a judicial determination has been sought and shall have standing to intervene in any proceedings. Failure to provide service of process to the Interstate Commission shall render any judgment, order, or other determination, however so captioned or classified, void as to the Interstate Commission, this Compact, its bylaws, or rules of the Interstate Commission.
(b) Dispute Resolution.
(1) The Interstate Commission shall attempt, upon the request of a member state, to resolve disputes that are subject to the Compact and that may arise among member states and between member and nonmember states.
(2) The Interstate Commission shall promulgate a rule providing for both mediation and binding dispute resolution for disputes among compacting states. The costs of such mediation or dispute resolution shall be the responsibility of the parties to the dispute.
(c) Enforcement. If the Interstate Commission determines that a member state has defaulted in the performance of its obligations or responsibilities under this Compact or its bylaws or rules, the Interstate Commission may do any of the following:
(1) Provide remedial training and specific technical assistance.
(2) Provide written notice to the defaulting state and other member states of the nature of the default and the means of curing the default. The Interstate Commission shall specify the conditions by which the defaulting state must cure its default.
(3) By majority vote of the members, initiate against a defaulting member state legal action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia or, at the discretion of the Interstate Commission, in the federal district where the Interstate Commission has its principal office, to enforce compliance with the provisions of the Compact and its bylaws or rules. The relief sought may include both injunctive relief and damages. In the event judicial enforcement is necessary, the prevailing party shall be awarded all costs of such litigation including reasonable attorney’s fees.
(4) Avail itself of any other remedies available under state law or the regulation of official or professional conduct. (Contingently added 2021, No. 101 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)