Q&A: William T. Pound: legislatures are the single most important public policy arena at a time when the federal government has been gridlocked.

• Position: Interview

Bill Pound, executive director of NSCL, discusses the crucial role of state legislatures and NCSL's mission to help them succeed.

State Legislatures: Voters in November elected some 6,000 state legislators.

Why are state legislatures important? Bill Pound: Because they exemplify representative democracy. They are the chief institution in our democratic system and they embody the voice of the people. Beyond that, legislatures are the single most important public policy arena at a time when the federal government has been gridlocked. The bulk of our major public policy issues comes out of the state legislatures and are resolved there.

SL: What does NCSL do for legislators and why should they care about it?

BP: We provide a wide range of services to the 50 state legislatures and legislative staff. We engage in information sharing on a major scale, so we're able to prevent the reinvention of the wheel in the 50 states. We run one of the largest and, I think, most high quality websites. We also advocate for state legislatures in Washington, D.C., representing them in the committee process in Congress based on what they want. We work continually to improve the operations of state legislatures in the United States and have even consulted with governments in other parts of the world.

SL: Has NCSL's original vision changed through the years?

BP: No, although I think it has probably expanded a bit. We started with the mission to improve state legislatures. We train legislative staff, and to some extent legislators, in how best to be effective in their jobs. We develop and embody the state voice in our federal system. It's changed somewhat in this era of social media, and with the much greater demands placed on state legislatures today than 38 years ago when NCSL was founded. We've had to remain nimble and responsive.

SL: Why is NCSL located in Denver?

BP: The decision was made when the organization was created that it wouldn't be inside the beltway in Washington, D.C. Denver was chosen largely because it was a capital city that had a good transportation and communications infrastructure.

SL: With partisanship so strong, do you see any hope for the parties to come together and find solutions--at least at the state level--and can NCSL play a role in that?

BP: The parties come together more often at the state level than at the federal level. Every state enacts a budget every year--something we don't always see at the federal level. The middle ground can...