Tom Rosentiel

It’s too soon to know how far the new Congress might go in accepting the president’s State of the Union proposals on health care, energy, immigration and education, but states aren’t waiting to find out – they’ve taken the lead on these domestic issues.

Already effectively on hold in 12 states, the death penalty will come under further attack in state legislatures and courts this year. In particular, lethal injection, once seen as a more humane alternative to the gas chamber, electric chair, firing squad or gallows now faces serious challenges.

A new poll finds the number of Americans who got most of their information about the 2006 campaign on the internet doubled from the 2002 mid-term election, and many used the web to become politically involved.

It’s not for sale yet, but in the latest trend of revenue generating strategies, states have taken to selling off, leasing out and cashing in on some of their most valuable assets, primarily toll roads. Several big deals were consummated in 2006, including a $3.8 billion deal in Indiana to lease a state toll road to a private Australian-Spanish consortium.

Worries about voter fraud, terrorism and illegal immigration are driving a surge in stiff new identification requirements. To weed out those who aren’t citizens, all Americans increasingly need a paper trail to qualify for some of the perks of citizenship — from driver’s licenses to Medicaid help.

Massachusetts has accomplished the improbable: It got Democrats and Republicans to agree on how to provide nearly every resident with health insurance. And it did so without boosting taxes or pushing aside private health plans. Other states – from Vermont to California — are also trying to close the uninsured gap.

Statehouses awash in surpluses ventured into new projects in 2006, from first-in-the-nation preschool for all 3-year-olds in Illinois to a space pad in New Mexico plus advances on such issues as health care, immigration, the minimum wage and global warming that stymied Congress.

Governors spiced up their annual greeting cards with a mix of sacred and secular themes, personalizing holiday messages with family recipes, Bible verses and even some original artwork.