First, they have been rather busy. Money from the stimulus dried up this year; states spent their legislative sessions scrambling to fill budget gaps.

Some states have only brief legislative sessions-as short as 30 calendar days this year in Virginia, and 45 in Utah - that leave little time for gimmickry.

Alan Rosenthal, who researches state legislatures at Rutgers University, says the town was always hopping during legislative sessions and sleepy the rest of the year.