2009 North Carolina Code
Chapter 143 - State Departments, Institutions, and Commissions.
§ 143-491. Article I. Findings and Purposes.

§ 143‑491.  Article I. Findings and Purposes.

(a)        The party states find that the South has a sense of community based on common social, cultural and economic needs and fostered by a regional tradition. There are vast potentialities for mutual improvement of each state in the region by cooperative planning for the development, conservation and efficient utilization of human and natural resources in a geographic area large enough to afford a high degree of flexibility in identifying and taking maximum advantage of opportunities for healthy and beneficial growth. The independence of each state and the special needs of subregions are recognized and are to be safeguarded. Accordingly, the cooperation resulting from this Agreement is intended to assist the states in meeting their own problems by enhancing their abilities to recognize and analyze regional opportunities and take account of regional influences in planning and implementing their public policies.

(b)        The purposes of this Agreement are to provide:

(1)        Improved facilities and procedures for study, analysis and planning of governmental policies, programs and activities of regional significance.

(2)        Assistance in the prevention of interstate conflicts and the  promotion of regional cooperation.

(3)        Mechanisms for the coordination of state and local interests  on a regional basis.

(4)        An agency to assist the states in accomplishing the foregoing. (1973, c. 200, s. 1.)