Why state legislators matter most.

• Author: Pound, William T.
• Position: FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - Editorial

Welcome all new and returning members elected to serve in our state legislatures. The decisions you make in the next two years will affect the daily lives of your constituents far more than those made by your colleagues in Congress. As you convene in capitols across the country and begin the difficult work of solving some of the nation's biggest challenges, NCSL is here to help. From education and energy to transportation and taxes, we have thorough, unbiased and comprehensive information to help you navigate complex policy issues.

Ironically, during the recent midterm elections, we read and heard the least about the people who matter the most: you, the country's 7,383 state legislators and your staffs. Yet the hard work you will be tackling in 99 chambers across our great country has far-reaching consequences. State legislatures decide how to fund road repairs, which crimes send offenders to prison, how teachers are evaluated, what the minimum wage should be, how to spur job growth, who must get a background check before buying a gun, how to ensure clean drinking water, how to protect people from identity theft. The list goes on.

Americans have made it clear: They want action, not impasse, from their government. And state legislatures, the laboratories of democracy, deliver. You respond first to new issues and emerging concerns. You seek real solutions to difficult problems. You reach across the aisle to find common ground. You...