WASHINGTON — Washington state, Utah and Virginia have the most effective state governments in the country, according to a scorecard released Monday by The Pew Center on the States.
The center ranked the states based on how well they manage their budgets, staffs, infrastructure and information.
The states with the highest scores have made accountability and innovation a priority, the report said.
Washington, for example, holds public meetings led by Gov. Christine Gregoire to monitor how its programs are working; the Pew report specifically mentioned her town hall meetings on the budget. The report also cites Washington’s long-term budget perspective and sophisticated projections.
Utah has a sophisticated financial tracking system that provides up-to-the-minute data.
Virginia offers its employees incentives for meeting goals and improving service.
New Hampshire, which got the lowest score, is not closely monitoring its costs and performance, Pew said in a press release.
“Effective state government really matters,” said Neal Johnson, director of Pew’s Government Performance Project, citing infrastructure as evidence. “The Minnesota bridge collapse and the failure of the levees in New Orleans prove that few functions of state government have more direct impact on the daily lives of Americans.”
The Grading the States report card was the fourth in a series of assessments issued by Pew’s Government Performance Project and Governing Magazine. The last was released in 2005.
The rankings are based on reviews by a panel of state government experts. States were graded on their recruitment and retention of qualified employees, their use of information and technology, management of budgets and purchasing systems, and planning for improvements to roads, bridges and other core infrastructure.
Report on Washington
The Pew Center on the States’ full report can be found at www.pewcenteronthestates.org. Most of the material on Washington state is on Page 92 of the PDF document.
Excerpts from the report regarding Washington:
“Washington has been a consistent leader in results-based governance.”
“No state in the nation is better at developing and sharing information than Washington.”
“The state’s financial information system has some flaws. … The state is slowly addressing these issues.”
“Washington continues to face challenges matching revenues and expenditures. The two-thirds majority required in the Legislature to increase taxes has made it difficult for state leaders to raise the funds necessary for balance at times when revenue dips.”
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