E-ZPass and the Compacts Clause

From the E-ZPass Group’s website,

In 1990, seven toll facilities from the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania joined to form an alliance known as the E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG).

and from their member webpage,

Starting with only seven members in 1993 in three States, the E-ZPass Group today includes the below listed members in 19 States.

From the U.S Constitution,

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, […] enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State

Did Congress ever provide consent?

~Max

But those are toll facilities, not the states themselves. At least, I think.

Yes, the US congress is all for it.

Toll facilities in other contexts are an extension of the state.

For example the Port Authority of New Jersey and New York is a joint venture duly recognized by Congress, probably one of the most famous. It is also one of the founding members of E-ZPass.

Contrast with another founding member, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, whose five commissioners are appointed directly by the governor of Pennsylvania.

~Max

There are many agreements or compacts among states, like Metro-North between Connecticut and New York, or Powerball and Megamillions lotteries.

From what I can tell that law (“MAP-21”) was passed in 2012 while E-ZPass went into effect in the '90s. Furthermore MAP-21 seems to describe a different toll system. I doubt whether that could pass as consent for E-ZPass.

ETA: A plaintext search of the law did not turn up any results for “ez”, “e-z”, or “zpass”.

~Max

Congress provided consent with P.L. 91-159, 1969.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a governmental
corporation of the state of New York, and Connecticut Transportation
Authority, an agency of the state of Connecticut, acting individually,
but in cooperation with each other, or as co-venturers where they deem
it advisable and practical, are hereby authorized to do the following
where permissible under the enabling laws of their respective states […]

~Max

Interstate compacts don’t necessarily require explicit Congressional approval.

The Supreme Court ruled in Virginia v. Tennessee (1893) that the Compacts Clause only applies to compacts that “tending to the increase of political power in the States, which may encroach upon or interfere with the just supremacy of the United States.” This was affirmed by several other SCOTUS rulings in the 1970s and 80s.

There are quite a few interstate compacts and agreements, and some (such as the Multistate Lottery Agreement mentioned above) have never been directly approved by Congress.