Nine Republicans and one Democrat made the American Legislative Exchange Council’s list of 2021’s 10 best governors in a new report on economic freedom. 

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte made it into the second tier of Four-star governors who “have competitive policy grades but fall just behind five-star governors.” All but two governors fall in the top 20 for Fiscal Policy rankings, with Governor Mike Parson (MO) being ranked 2nd. Governor Greg Gianforte (MT), who was inaugurated in 2021, put an income tax reduction plan in place in his first legislative session and has already improved from his predecessor’s rank.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – all Republicans – were the top three governors in the country, according to the joint report by the American Legislative Exchange Council and Economist Arthur Laffer & Associates.

The “2021 Laffer-ALEC Report on Economic Freedom: Grading America’s 50 Governors” ranked each governor on their current economic performance and their fiscal and executive policies over their term in office. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, and Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, rounded out the top five. The others who made the top ten were Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (6), New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (7), Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (8), Georgia Brian Kemp (9) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (10).

Nine Republicans and one Democrat made the American Legislative Exchange Council’s list of 2021’s 10 best governors in a new report on economic freedom. 

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – all Republicans – were the top three governors in the country, according to the joint report by the American Legislative Exchange Council and Economist Arthur Laffer & Associates.

The “2021 Laffer-ALEC Report on Economic Freedom: Grading America’s 50 Governors” ranked each governor on their current economic performance and their fiscal and executive policies over their term in office. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, and Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, rounded out the top five. The others who made the top ten were Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (6), New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (7), Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (8), Georgia Brian Kemp (9) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (10).

Some of the notations in the report regarding Gov. Gianforte’s ranking were the following:

—Montana Governor Greg Gianforte proposed reducing the state’s top marginal income tax rate, reducing business equipment taxes, reducing capital gains taxes on employee-owned stock sales and expanding a tax credit for apprenticeship training.

—Montana reformed its personal and corporate income taxes in Governor Greg Gianforte’s first legislative session, reducing personal income tax rates, repealing 16 tax credits and changing the apportionment factor for corporate income taxes. The state’s top personal income tax rate will be reduced from 6.9 percent to 6.5 percent in 2022. Montana also cut business equipment taxes for 4,000 Montana businesses, including 1,500 farming and ranching operations, by raising the exemption threshold from $100,000 to $200,000.

—The states with the largest improvements in unemployment rates were Montana (1st), North Dakota (2nd), Vermont (3rd), Nebraska (4th) and South Dakota (5th). Meanwhile, states like New Mexico (50th), Alaska (49th), California (48th), West Virginia (47th) and Louisiana (46th) are bringing up the rear.

—Several other states enacted reductions to their top personal income tax rates prior to the publication of these rankings in November of 2021. Those states are Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

—Arizona, Florida and Indiana have had school choice programs for years and are continuously expanding options for parents. Vouchers and tax credit scholarship programs have been the traditional vehicles for school choice. This year Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and South Dakota started or expanded such programs.

—Four Governors, rather than end participation, are instead using federal funds to provide back-to-work bonuses for workers. Arizona Governor Ducey is providing a $2,000 back-to-work bonus; Montana Governor Gianforte a $1,200 bonus; Oklahoma Governor Stitt a $1,200 bonus for the first 20,000 laid-off workers who are rehired; and New Hampshire Governor Sununu, for those who work full-time for eight weeks, is providing up to $1,000, while part-time workers could receive up to $500.10