Washington, DC, USA. As state lawmakers gather for their 2012 legislative sessions, taxes are emerging as a key issue, with at least half a dozen Republican governors pressing for sweeping tax cuts and just as many Democrats pushing for tax increases.

One of the biggest tax battles will be in New Jersey, where Governor Chris Christie is calling for an across-the-board 10 percent cut in the state income tax.

Washington, DC, USA. Less than a year from now, states will have to prove to Washington that they are capable of running a health insurance exchange on their own, or the federal government will create one for them.

The way it looks now, only a handful of states are likely to make that deadline.

Montgomery, AL, USA. Weeks before Alabama’s legislative session is scheduled to begin, Governor Robert Bentley has sparked debate among legislators about a proposal to use money earmarked for education to fill other holes in the budget.

The Republican governor, entering his second year in office, plans to ask the legislature to approve a constitutional amendment to combine the state’s Education Trust Fund, drawn from income and sales taxes, with the separate General Fund, which pays for oth

Washington, DC, USA. After four years of epic budget woes, states are ready for an improved 2012. Some are even poised to add dollars back to programs they wish they never had to cut.

During the depths of the Great Recession, states had to do many unsavory things to balance their budgets.

Washington, DC, USA. In health care history, 2012 will be remembered for the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the Obama administration’s health overhaul.

But in the states, 2012 will likely be remembered less as an historic turning point than as a gradual continuation of their longstanding struggles to get Medicaid costs under control.