The 800-Pound Gorilla in the Room.

• Author: Storey, Tim
• Position: FROM THE CEO - State budget

You've probably heard the old children's riddle: Where does an 800-pound gorilla sit?

Answer: Anywhere it wants.

The 800-pound gorilla of essentially every regular legislative session is the state budget. Every experienced legislator and all staff know that the budget is the vortex around which all other bills swirl. If you want to accomplish something of note during your time in the legislature, you have to understand the budget. It's one of the first things you learn in new legislator school. And the more you learn about the budget process, the better your chance to train the proverbial gorilla to sit where you want it to sit.

That's what this issue of State Legislatures magazine is all about. Money, budgets and taxes. When seeking co-sponsors for your legislation, be ready for question No. 1: "How much will it cost?" Followed immediately by, "Where will the funding come from?"

Unlike Congress and the White House, states enact balanced budgets. It's literally required by law in all but one of the states, and it's a matter of practice in Vermont, the only state without such a requirement. Fiscal responsibility is one of the many areas where states are superior to the federal government in policymaking. American legislatures have been responsible stewards of public funds for over 400 years. And, yes, I know that boondoggles happen, so let's say they are 99.9% trusted stewards.

Each year, legislatures appropriate close to $3 trillion in public funds on everything from public education to local water projects to nature preserves. That includes hundreds of billions of federal dollars that must go through the state appropriations process. Almost all states do this in less than six months and manage to do extensive diligence to allocate the money wisely. Again, the folks in Washington could learn a thing or two from how legislatures get the job done in a timely manner.

Current fiscal data from legislatures indicates that states are in very good shape headed into 2022 sessions, despite the lingering threats of inflation and supply chain issues. That is partly because of...