The leaders.

• Position: Interview

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House Speaker Bob Bergren, Democrat, Montana: Bergren was elected to the House in 2004 and was elected speaker in 2009. (The Montana House is split 50-50 and the governor's party gets to select the speaker.)

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Senator Michael Bishop, majority leader, Republican, Michigan: Bishop is in his final Senate term. He was elected Senate majority leader in 2006. He was first elected to the House in 1998.

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House Speaker Larry Cretul, Republican, Florida: Cretul was elected speaker in 2009. He was first elected to the House in 2002.

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Senator Steven Horsford, majority floor leader, Democrat, Nevada: Horsford was elected to the Senate in 2004. He was elected majority floor leader in 2008.

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Senate President Therese Murray, Democrat, Massachusetts: Murray was elected to the Senate in 1992. She was elected Senate president in 2007.

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Senate President Michael Waddoups, Republican, Utah: Waddoups was elected Senate president in 2009. He entered the House in 1987 and moved to the Senate in 1996.

The six state leaders shared their thoughts on eight questions with State Legislatures. Here are some additional responses.

STATE LEGISLATURES: Over the past year, we've elected a new president, seated a new Congress, and seen passage of a massive stimulus bill to try to get us out of the worst recession since the 1930s. How have these developments affected your state?

FLORIDA HOUSE SPEAKER LARRY CRETUL: When we began the budget process, we were reluctant to calculate in those stimulus dollars. We knew the stimulus was going to go away.

MASSACHUSETTS SENATE PRESIDENT THERESE MURRAY: The fact that Congress gave us stimulus money helped us through a really rocky '09. The money was a Godsend, but we've pretty much used it all.

UTAH SENATE PRESIDENT MICHAEL WADDOUPS: The stimulus obviously helped immensely as we were trying to put together a balanced budget last year.

SL: When do you think your state will return to stable fiscal footing?

MONTANA HOUSE SPEAKER BOB BERGREN: I think we are poised to take advantage of a lot of opportunities with our natural resources. We've upped renewable portfolios to almost 15 percent.

MICHIGAN SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MICHAEL BISHOP: There is no way to tell. We would like to think that we are reaching that point, but our tax revenue is continuing to decline below our already low projections. All the elements are...