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School choice programs provide state money to help families who want to educate their kids outside of public school. After launching programs targeted at disadvantaged students, many states are opening the programs up to everyone.
Now 25,000 members strong, financially secure and long blessed with thoughtful leadership, the Government Finance Officers Association is poised to address the challenges to come for those who manage the public purse.
The incinerated town of Lahaina has barely begun to recover. Policymakers have scrambled to ease inflexible laws and regulations but rebuilding would be happening much more quickly if that had happened before the fires.
The number of Americans who would be pushed into medical debt by congressional proposals to cut Medicaid and other health programs...
Michigan state Rep. Thomas Kunse, a Republican. In response to a question about additional disclosures on a personal finance disclosure form, Kunse wrote, “I removed the tag off my mattress.” Despite that flippant entry, Kunse offered more detail on his disclosure form than many of his colleagues, naming lobbying groups from which he’d accepted food and drink. "Everything should be disclosed," Kunse said. "There should be no secrets.” (Detroit News)
Getting ticketed by AI cameras using license plate data was never popular. Now there are concerns about financial mismanagement and a lawsuit between vendors that ran the program in Mississippi.
With classroom behavior notably worse than it was prior to the pandemic, a number of states are increasing penalties to address aggression and disruption.
The bill would devote most new funds to highways but transit would also get a boost. The major revenue raiser is a 15-cent increase to the gas tax.
Local transit agencies are facing a budget gap of nearly $800 million. The Illinois Senate has passed a bill to provide nearly double that amount and overhaul the systems but the House has not yet acted.
Oregon has enacted a law that's the first of its kind, protecting doctors from corporate interference over medical decision-making.
Most states have seen their collections drop below 15-year trends. Federal actions may also provide a drag on revenue.
Hospital associations say more rural facilities will close if Medicaid cuts go through. Potential aid includes changes to matching rates and provider taxes.
The number of states that had tax revenue below their 15-year trends in 2024. That number had increased from 27 the year before and represents a dramatic spike from 2022, when only one state was below trend.
Jensen Huang, the CEO of AI chip designer Nvidia. Tech companies in particular are warning workers that disruptions are coming due to AI, signaling to stockholders that they’re willing to embrace coming changes to employment needs. (Washington Post)
Forty-one percent of unsheltered seniors were never homeless before age 50. Finding them all homes will be difficult but helps focus outreach efforts.
Threats and harassment are on the rise, but strategies exist to bring down the temperature and reduce the likelihood of deadly outcomes.
House Republicans want to repeal tax credits for clean-energy projects, and the industry is already slowing. But the jobs and benefits would boost GOP-leaning states and congressional districts.
With Congress on the verge of passing new mandates, state Medicaid directors warn that the planned implementation date at the end of next year is too soon.
The number of full-time city positions added to the payroll by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott in his final budget proposal ...
Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been leading in polls in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary all year. He maintains a solid lead, with Marist’s latest poll showing him with support from 38 percent of voters, compared with state Rep. Zohran Mamdani at 27 percent. While Cuomo’s numbers are holding steady, Mamdani is gaining strength among previously undecided voters. (New York Daily News)
The package will offer more support for ROTC, increase scholarships, guarantee in-state rates for ROTC participants and give early access to registration for students in military-related programs.
Dallas police have lost the faith of the public but turning things around will take time, says new Chief Daniel Comeaux. His emphasis will be on reforming internal affairs, stepping up use of drones and a heavy focus on recruiting.
State lawmakers have passed dozens of bills aimed at promoting housing supply and affordability this year, with significant proposals awaiting final approval in Texas and California.
Just what is the military allowed to do in dealing with local disturbances? We’re finding out.
A provision in the federal budget bill would bar states from taking any action on AI. This would derail careful legislation designed to promote the technology while offering needed safeguards.
The state has paid out more than $500 million to settle lawsuits during this fiscal year, mostly in foster care cases – a sixfold increase since 2018.
The share of Americans getting news from social media and video networks such as YouTube...
Arthur Caplan, founding head of the division of medical ethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. He was referring to new rules from the Department of Veterans Affairs that would allow medical staff to decline to treat patients based on their personal characteristics, such as being Democrats or unmarried. Federally protected classes such as race and religion remain sacrosanct but other groups are not, with explicit redaction of protection based on politics or marital status. (The Guardian)
The state will spend $75 million moving more people with mental illness from jails to treatment facilities. “You’re not coming out better after three years at our jail,” said one sheriff.
State Public Defender André de Gruy. Mississippi lawmakers have approved nearly $700,000 for a pilot program to address a shortage of public defenders serving low-income defendants in rural areas. The money will help pay for more attorneys, which should help offer defense to indigent clients beginning the day they are charged, an area where Mississippi does not meet national standards. (Marshall Project)
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