Policies of the Reagan administration appear to have stimulated increased coastal state activities in marine resource management. This paper uses the notion of government capacity to explore changes within these states. Capacity refers to the institutional structure, expertise, and commitment of political elites to deal with complex policy issues. Following a brief review of institution‐building within the states, North Carolina and Texas are used to illustrate contrasting approaches to the development of institutional capacity. Although most academic attention has been devoted to national ocean policy and intergovernmental relations, the states themselves are worthy subjects for systematic analysis and comparison. Among the variables which might be addressed are state maritime history; institutional frameworks for marine policy; attitudes and commitments of elites toward ocean resources; the role of scientific rationality in state decisionmaking; and the nature of state political leadership.