A State Championship proclamation is a proclamation from the governor of a particular state designating a given BBQ contest a "State Championship". It can also be a concurrent resolution of a state's legislature introduced by one or more state representatives. It basically lends legitimacy to a contest, as well as allowing the winner of the contest to be invited to or qualified for other prestigious BBQ contests. For instance, if an event has 50+ teams, the Grand Champion's team name will be placed into the lottery draw for the Jack Daniels Invitational, Lynchburg, TN. Qualifying dates for the Jack Daniels Invitational qualifying are from September 1 to July 31 for the 2015 BBQ season and August 1 to July 31 for the 2016 BBQ season.

Overall, a State Championship proclamation makes a contest more desirable in the eyes of BBQ cooks. If the event has a proclamation of being a State Championship, the first year there is a 15 team minimum to make it a qualifier, thereafter it is at least 25 teams. The event must have entries of beef, pork, and poultry to be considered for the above invitationals.

If a contest is held on the same weekend each year, say with some other local festival, a concurrent resolution is the best, as there is nothing to change in it every year. However, if a contest changes dates, say from the first weekend in March to the second weekend in March, then it is necessary to get a new proclamation each year, so that the new date will be in it. It usually takes at least 2 weeks for a state to issue a proclamation - check with your state to make sure. Also, many states won't issue a proclamation any more than 60-45 days out from the contest; many contests make it a part of their routine to request a proclamation from the state 6 weeks before the contest. Generally, there is no charge for a state proclamation (other than your time) - but again, check with your state to be certain.

It is a good idea for you to make a copy of the state proclamation - BCA requests it for their files, and it makes a nice addition to your Grand Champion award - most proclamations are quite suitable for framing!

It's been asked "How do you summarize those things that come as a result of a State Championship proclamation, so I can put that on the application for my contest?". Well, this sums it up pretty well:
GRAND CHAMPION'S TEAM NAME WILL BE ENTERED INTO THE LOTTERY DRAWING FOR THE JACK DANIELS INVITATIONAL, LYNCHBURG, TN.

NOTE: as of 1/19/2016, these states have a blanket proclamation:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Iowa
Louisiana
Minnesota
Mississippi
Oregon
Tennessee
Utah
Washington

A blanket proclamation means that all BBQ contests held in the state are proclaimed to be State Championship competitions by the govenor - this means that the contest organizer doesn't have to specifically apply for one.