New York has balanced its budget, and California finally shed its reputation as a fiscal laggard, reaching its budget on time for the first time in years. But other states are not on similar paths. In Minnesota, if the Democratic governor and Republican-led legislature cannot agree on a budget by midnight tonight, all nonessential services will shut down, including state parks–dire news,  ahead of the July 4 weekend. So why is it taking so long? And what can we learn from states that have already settled their books?   Matthew Mitchell  is a  research fellow  on State and Local Policy at George Mason University’s  Mercatus Center, and he joins us now.