State legislatures: taking on America's issues.

State legislatures are setting the agenda for action at the turn of the century. The 1998 NCSL Annual Meeting demonstrated the ability of states to stay at the forefront of ideas.

The concerns on the minds of Americans - education, taxes, health care, child care, crime - were the issues on the minds of the nation's state legislators as they met in Las Vegas at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Certainly with less fanfare than Congress and the White House, state legislatures are setting the agenda for action at the turn of the century.

Sessions held at the Annual Meeting demonstrated the ability of states to stay at the forefront of ideas. What's new in managed care, electric utility restructuring, criminal justice and commerce over the Internet? The answers begin in America's state legislatures.

Lawmakers from the 50 states proved once again they are leading the way in solving the issues most critical to the people. They demonstrated how to create new jobs and spur the economy through innovative programs; how to ensure patients get the health care they deserve; how to make the streets safe from juvenile crime; how to make sure that a good education is a reality for kids, not just a promise; how to streamline taxes so citizens get the kind of government they want and can afford. They participated in more than 160 sessions that showed that state legislatures are the place where ideas become real.

"The front line of this nation's policy development is in our state legislatures," said NCSL President Daniel T. Blue. "Information that was exchanged by our delegates at our Annual Meeting will help shape and guide legislative policy across the nation."

One recurring theme of the meeting was heightened interest and renewed focus on state legislatures. The process of devolution - where local solutions define a shift of power from the federal government to the states - has moved key decisions out of Washington and into 50 state legislative chambers.

Although devolution may seem like a Washington term, indeed, state legislatures have defined the term by their action on several key issues in recent years. Models of successful welfare reform were in practice in a majority of states before Congress and the president adopted federal legislation in 1996. Federal laws followed state examples on how to insure children who did not have access to health care. There are numerous other examples.

"Americans are looking for leadership, and they are finding it in their state legislatures," said NCSL past President Richard Finan. "Our challenge, as we commemorate 25 years of working together through NCSL, is to build the confidence in Americans that state legislatures can responsibly handle this larger agenda of issues."

NCSL President-elect Paul Mannweiler agrees. "The issues we address in state legislatures today are at the heart of our functioning democracy. That's why we regularly appear before Congress to object to federal regulations that would preempt state laws and impose national systems."

At the Annual Meeting, legislators took key votes on ways to protect states' ability to make decisions free of federal mandates. Policy votes were taken on the national tobacco settlement, child support programs, the environment, freedom of speech on the Internet and other important subjects.

"States traditionally find the solutions to meet the needs of their citizens," said New Hampshire House Speaker Donna Sytek. "As a result, public confidence is growing in the ability of state legislatures to best address the important issues of our times."

A recent study released this year by the Pew Center for the People and the Press ranked state government ahead of local and federal government as a source to address problems. States earned an 81 percent approval rating compared to 78 for local and 60 for the federal government.

Perhaps this is one reason why many notable leaders take the time to address the nation's legislators at the Annual Meeting. The 1998 meeting attracted U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former presidential press Secretary Dee Dee Myers, Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley, CNN Political Analyst William Schneider and others.

"As America approaches a new century, state legislatures will continue to solve the country's problems," said NCSL Executive Director William Pound. "And NCSL stands ready to help them."