Interest in discussing state fiscal policies and the role of money in politics in those policy decisions surfaced as a priority topic at the November 2002 CF DataExchange convening in Baltimore. A small group signed up and began meeting by phone in 2003. The experiences of this first CFDX work group reveal the synergistic value of targeted discussion of issues, in this case fiscal policies, that cut across state lines. It also highlighted the variations between states and that rarely can one "cookie cutter" research approach be identified or developed.