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The final decision will be left up to each institution in consultation with its faculty and staff.
Illinois drivers soon could roll along rural interstates at 70 mph after House lawmakers approved a higher speed limit on nonurban highways despite safety concerns and a possible veto showdown with the governor.
A state that once leaned solidly to the center-right has become the newest focal point in the national debate over same-sex relationships.
Minnesota homeowners facing foreclosure will soon get added protections under a bill Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to sign into law.
Right now, state law says sick children need the approval of a psychiatrist, a pediatrician, and the doctor treating the child's illness if the pediatrician is not in charge in order to qualify for medical marijuana.
The five vetoes, follow-through on Brewer’s promise to block legislation until her top priorities move forward, capped a tense day that saw some lawmakers receive threats over their support for the plan to provide health care for more of the state’s poor.
Gov. Paul LePage handed down an instant veto minutes after the Senate gave final passage to a bill that links repayment of Maine’s hospital debt to an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program.
Gov. Rick Perry has condemned the decision by Boy Scouts of America's national leadership on Thursday to admit openly gay scouts.
The Washington state bridge that collapsed Thursday night shared a trait with a bridge in Minneapolis, which fell Aug. 1, 2007.
Most state and local public officials favor universal background checks, however, support varies when it comes to other proposals to prevent gun violence.
Miami city commissioners, who in recent years have cut severance pay and pensions to balance budgets, could vote Tuesday to allow four of the city's highest earners to return from retirement and collect their pension on top of their hefty salary.
View an interactive map with updated figures for cities with populations exceeding 50,000.
The move comes at a time when Congress is preparing to develop its long-term passenger rail bill.
States are increasingly offering more mobile apps to citizens in the hopes of connecting better with them and improving the efficiency of service delivery.
All-day kindergarten should become a reality throughout Minnesota in fall 2014 under an education-funding bill signed by Gov. Mark Dayton that DFLers consider one of their chief accomplishments of the legislative session.
State Treasurer Martha Shoffner resigned a day after appearing in federal court to face an extortion charge.
Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray will resign from the administration next month to run the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, positioning himself as a hometown cheerleader far from Beacon Hill where he saw his reputation tarnished the last few years.
A coalition of gun owners, gun dealers and firearms rights organizations have sued the governor and members of the state's attorney's office, contending that the gun law passed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings violates the Constitution.
The pro-Democratic women’s group EMILY’s List is throwing its support behind Pennsylvania Rep. Allyson Schwartz in her bid to defeat incumbent GOP Gov. Tom Corbett.
Penguin has agreed to pay $75 million to settle e-book pricing lawsuits filed by many states and private class plaintiffs, bringing an end to the long-running complaints in the U.S.
Months of argument and anguish over Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push for sweeping school closings came to a climax Wednesday as his hand-picked Board of Education voted to shut 49 elementary schools and transfer thousands of children to new classroom settings.
Up to 13,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by Monday's tornado that may have caused up $2 billion in damages, nearly double earlier estimates.
New Census estimates suggest that many larger cities continue to see populations climb, including some that could be experiencing their first growth in years. View data for each city.
The Charlotte mayor didn't face many hardball questions from senators.
Advances in technology like drones, fences and surveillance cameras are playing a prominent role in the immigration debate. Some argue they've made the border more secure than ever, but governors in border states say the work is far from done.
Gov. Rick Scott has signed into law a number of election law changes that roll back ones made by GOP lawmakers in 2011. The changes focus on expanding voter access and easing long lines at the polls.
A text message conversation about how once management fads fade, the best concepts remain.
Albert Ashwood is the longest serving state emergency management chief in the country.
Eric Garcetti will be the first elected Jewish mayor of the city. At 42, he will also be the youngest in more than a century. He is scheduled to take office July 1.
As rescue and recovery efforts continue in Moore, Okla., following the devastating tornado that struck Monday afternoon, attention has focused, in particular, on the schools that were hit – and in some cases, largely demolished.
Arizona is likely to appeal the ruling and may ask the nation's high court to re-examine the right to abortion, established in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision.
Democratic voters in financially troubled Harrisburg denied Mayor Linda Thompson a second term, choosing bookstore owner Eric Papenfuse to try to help the financially strapped capital.
Anthony D. Weiner, once a rising star of New York politics whose career cratered over revelations of his sexually explicit life online, announced an improbable bid for the job he has long coveted: mayor.
Despite the support of five city commissioners and healthy advocacy groups, voters rejected a measure to fluoridate city water.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law a new school finance bill that would change the way the state doles out money for education — but only if taxpayers pass an estimated $1 billion tax increase.
One of the state’s five redistricting commissioners resigned his post, citing a “toxic” atmosphere that has stalled the panel’s work.
E.W. Jackson, a virtual unknown who has never held public office, suggested that Planned Parenthood has done more to hurt blacks than the Ku Klux Klan and called gays and lesbians “perverted” and “very sick people.”
Per pupil spending fell for the first time ever in fiscal year 2011, with 21 states reporting declines. See rankings and totals for each state.
As passenger rail legislation expires this fall, those money-losing routes could be in the cross hairs of House Republicans.
During the 2000s, the number of poor living in U.S. suburbs grew by 64 percent -- more than twice the 29 percent growth rate in cities.
Virginia is the sixth state to reach an agreement with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to run a pilot project coordinating care for dual eligibles.
The Supreme Court has agreed to revisit the issue of church-state separation and decide whether a town council can begin most of its monthly meetings with a prayer from a Christian pastor.
Public-sector management news you should know.
The Governor's Council on Impaired Driving is rolling out advertisements that emphasize how much it costs to get cited for drunken driving, and that people convicted of the crime stand may lose their license.
A Sacramento judge Monday refused to stop a strike today by thousands of employees at the UC Davis Medical Center and four other UC hospitals – but ordered a limited number of critical care employees to stay on the job.
Alaskan officials are hoping to prod the federal government into measuring the amount of oil and gas beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and are offering state money as part of their plan to push the project forward.
The Democratic Legislature eked out a major victory for organized labor, giving in-home child-care providers and personal care attendants the right to unionize at a time when union power is in full retreat in many state capitols.
Massachusetts, which served as the model for Obamacare, conducts competitive bidding to promote cost-efficient plans in its exchange. But in the 34 states where the federal government will be running the exchange, the government has decided to permit any plan to qualify that meets a minimum set of standards set by the law.
A survey of likely voters finds that non-Latino whites make up 32 percent of the city's population but are likely to total 51 percent of the vote. Latinos make up 44 percent of the population, but many are ineligible to vote.
Three bills aimed at controlling gun violence gained final legislative approval in the state Assembly, making them the first of what is expected to be a big batch of gun control legislation to land on Gov. Chris Christie’s desk.
The high-end clothing line backed by reality star Khloe Kardashian yanked a New York-themed t-shirt from its website hours after New York Gov. Cuomo’s administration warned the item may be violating copyright law because the design of the $35 shirt looks almost identical to a state Department of Agriculture logo.
At least 51 people were killed when a massive tornado blasted through central Oklahoma, flattening neighborhoods and destroying two elementary schools. The grim work of search, rescue and recovery continues today.
Curtis Loftis has made it his mission to overhaul the investment commission that oversees the state’s pension fund. But it hasn't been easy.
The pressure mounts as 18 states work to build Obamacare's online insurance marketplaces before the deadline -- a task that some health care veterans say is the most challenging they've ever faced.
"Bertha," named after Seattle's first female mayor, will soon start digging tunnels to replace the city's iconic highway that was destroyed by a disaster more than ten years ago.
California government officials and private-sector leaders are collaborating on a comprehensive cybersecurity plan for the state -- the California Cybersecurity Task Force. It will be the first state-led collaboration of its kind.
Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Saturday a measure that allows stiffer penalties for people convicted of using social media to organize mob attacks.
America shouldn't settle for infrastructure that gets a grade of D-plus. There are steps we can take right now to build the infrastructure we need.
The Colorado Department of Corrections and Denver Health Medical Center are launching a telemedicine pilot program in June for incarcerated patients that need consultations specialized areas.
The city is the largest in the country that still does not fluoridate it's water supply and the debate over the issue has sharply divided it's usually polite progressives. Citizens will go to the polls to vote on the issue Tuesday.
The gun buyback was designed, in part, to get unwanted weapons out of homes and into the hands of Phoenix police before a new law takes effect requiring police to sell the guns instead of destroy them. But the program was so successful that police are already struggling to process the more than 1,000 weapons in their possession.
Rejuvenated by a Democratic scandal in Washington and a tea party conservative atop their ticket, Virginia Republicans nominated a trio of statewide candidates whose fate will be closely watched as an indicator of the health of the national GOP.
The law was briefly the earliest abortion ban in the nation. But later the same month, North Dakota went even further, passing a ban on abortions after six weeks.
The state's largest hospitals were relieved to learn Gov. Rick Scott will approve $65 million aimed at easing the transition to a new Medicaid payment system. In return, hospitals agreed not to ask for more such money next year.
Gov. Jan Brewer, one of the state’s conservative firebrands who has attracted a national following with her messages of states’ rights and border security, is walking a political tightrope as she pushes to reshape how the state provides health care to the poor.
The suspension of rail service rail service in the Connecticut suburbs of New York City after the collision of two trains will mean thousands more vehicles on Interstate 95 and other major roads that often are clogged even under the best conditions.
The Democratic governor must weigh not only the merits of the bill but also the politics, given his re-election campaign next year.
While the resignation of Assemblyman Vito Lopez, a veteran Brooklyn Democrat accused of sexually harassing several women, ends an effort to expel him from the legislature, the scrutiny is not over for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
The ever-growing volume of information created and captured by the modern digitized world is an opportunity for government to reinvent itself.
Lawmakers in New Jersey have proposed paying part of college graduates' student loans if they agree to live in cities in need of revitalization.
View data showing changes in total employment for each state so far this year.
Known as the Michael Morton Act, the law aims to avoid wrongful convictions by preventing prosecutors from suppressing evidence.
Government officials now have access to vast amounts of data to help develop state energy policy and assess energy sustainability.
In a move that other states are expected to follow, California is giving people who contact the state's new health exchange to buy insurance the opportunity to register to vote at the same time.
The Interior Department proposed new rules to regulate hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas drilling on federal lands, drawing criticism from environmentalists and the industry.
A federal judge refused to suspend Gov. Jan Brewer’s policy denying driver’s licenses to young undocumented immigrants who receive work permits through President Barack Obama’s deferred-action policy.
State officials released proposed rules for a legal seed-to-store marijuana system that would allow adults to buy an ounce of tested, labeled pot seven days a week.
Facing a possible two-day strike next week by patient care and technical workers, the five large University of California medical centers are starting to cancel elective surgeries.
In a brief, three-line order, a judge formally lifted the binding agreement the U.S. Department of Justice imposed on the LAPD in 2001, which spelled out dozens of major reforms the police agency had to implement and frequent audits it was required to undergo.
New Jersey and New York are both considering raising the minimum age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products to 21.
Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill that allows school districts to let people with police training be armed in schools.
As the 2013-14 funding plan boomeranged between the Legislature and the state board of education, the state education superintendent revealed that the state had to find an extra $29 million for the current school year; meanwhile, parents of students in the voucher program rallied to keep their kids enrolled.
Once a top priority, a hike in the minimum wage is falling off the agenda as the House and Senate disagree on how much it should rise.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who has made job creation his top priority, has rejected a proposed deal to bring major Internet retailer Amazon to the state because it would have meant that Floridians would have to pay sales tax on Internet purchases made through the company.
News you should know about transportation and infrastructure.
In an effort to increase revenue, transit agencies are working to find new twists to old advertising methods.
The Illinois legislature has passed a bill allowing 17-year-olds to vote in primaries if they are going to turn 18 by the November general election. In doing so they become the 13th state to allow this group of teens to vote in primaries.
State leaders say they had no choice to find new gas tax revenue since they risked losing federal funds.
State and local government officials increasingly disapprove of President Obama and fear the country is headed in the wrong direction, a new Governing survey finds.
Moody's, the credit ratings agency, has warned that Detroit’s preliminary financial operating plan opens the door to place bondholders on the hook for the city’s debts, a move that would further damage the city’s already low credit rating.
Houston physician and Republican campaign donor Steve Hotze has written two songs about his opposition to federal health reform.
Just about as weak as Democrats are in the reddest states.
The days of numerous flights from the nation’s small, medium and large airports are over.
A new law in Oklahoma severely restricting end-of-life options for patients raises a number of questions for doctors and is adding fuel to the national debate about end of life care.
Some D.C. Council members are crafting legislation to lessen the penalties for marijuana possession, hoping to settle the matter before outside groups petition the issue onto the ballot.
In a legal first, a couple is suing the state Department of Social Services for removing their child’s penis and testicular tissue in an effort to “assign” him to the female sex while in foster care.
Republicans are warning the government against withholding federal funding from -- or offering financial incentives to -- states to prod them to adopt tougher drunken driving laws.
In a national address earlier this month, Gov. Pat McCrory called on President Barack Obama to approve the state’s Medicaid request, but it’s clear that the state’s doctors and other health care professionals aren’t convinced that managed care is the best course.
Former Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, known for his hard-line stances on immigration, is strongly considering a run for governor in 2014.
The two lawsuits, filed on behalf of parents and their special needs children, say the proposed school closings are unfair, will harm students with disabilities and are discriminatory because almost all the students affected are African-American.
Marilyn Tavenner on Wednesday was easily confirmed by the Senate to run the agency in charge of Medicare, Medicaid and setting up much of the health care law.
The House bill would cut about $2.5 billion a year — or a little more than 3 percent — from the food stamp program, which is used by 1 in 7 Americans.
A 50-state analysis by the National Institute on Money in State Politics found that Indiana, Alabama, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota and South Carolina don’t have a single law on the books to require super PACs and nonprofits to disclose their finances,
The public is dissatisfied with our courts. What the judicial system needs is a culture of performance-based innovation.
Many of the nation’s urban areas see their populations jump during the day with an influx of workers, requiring additional public services. View which counties have the most out-of-town commuters.
Defined-benefit plans put all the risk on states and localities; defined-contribution plans put it all on employees. Now there's a new approach to risk sharing.
A new rating system aims to build sustainability considerations into the entire infrastructure process, from planning to implementation.
The National Transportation Safety Board recommended Tuesday that states lower their threshold for drunken driving from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent or less.
Over the past decade, 32 states have successfully cut their carbon emissions, while 18 states have seen increases.
Minnesota becomes the 12th state to allow same-sex marriage with Gov. Mark Dayton's signature, which was celebrated with a large festival.
The District's Chief Financial Officer, who's known as "Dr. No," will retire in July.
Though some residents argued that teenagers lack the maturity and experience to handle the responsibility of voting, the Takoma Park City Council in Maryland passed an amendment to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in city elections.
A three-judge panel said it will hear arguments on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s decision to grab up to $162 million in affordable-housing funds for his proposed $32.9 billion budget
A federal judge signed an order blocking implementation of a Utah law prohibiting some Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service employees from enforcing state laws anywhere in Utah after the U.S. Department of Justice argued the law was unconstitutional.
A bipartisan bill to stiffen Washington state’s DUI penalties cleared its first legislative hurdle, while a safety board in the other Washington sought to kick off a national conversation about changing the very definition of drunken driving.
Lawsuits defending some of the state’s most controversial laws have cost millions of dollars and thousands of hours of state employee time, diverting them from other important work.
The bills address a number of issues within the child welfare system, including expanding the number of case-specific child fatality reviews and creating a statewide hotline for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.
Florida House Republicans, who last month loudly and proudly rejected billions of dollars in federal money that would have provided health insurance to 1 million low-income people, pay less than the $25 a month they wanted to charge poor Floridians for basic coverage.
Brown put lawmakers on notice that he had no desire to ratchet up spending despite a multibillion-dollar windfall of tax receipts in recent months.
Anthony Weiner’s new campaign manager for his nascent mayoral bid is a recent Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee adviser who spent four months working on a failed Staten Island congressional race last year.
State lawmakers moving to fix the nation's worst-funded pension system have a choice: a plan that saves a lot of money or one that might survive a court challenge.
San Francisco was the first city to create college savings accounts for every kindergartener in public school. Now other jurisdictions are contemplating a similar program.
Merging jurisdictions to reduce costs seems like a good idea, but it's fraught with difficulty. The real potential for efficiency lies in sharing services.
Florida House Republicans last month rejected billions of dollars in federal money that would have provided health insurance to 1 million poor Floridians while keeping their own health insurance premiums staggeringly low.
Wyoming Republicans Sen. Mike Enzi and Rep. Cynthia Lummis plan to introduce bills next week allowing states to collect royalties directly from companies that develop oil, gas and coal on federal lands.
Cities like San Francisco and Chicago are running into resistance from drivers as they try to meet demand for more bike lanes.
The Vermont House voted Monday evening to make the state the first in the U.S. to legislate allowing physicians to provide lethal medication to terminally ill patients who request it.
Republicans who won control over state legislatures on principles of small government are facing pressure to spend budget surpluses on roads, schools and buildings that were cut or neglected during the recession.
Following a fight over the direction and control of the party that saw party chairman Mark Kennedy resign to form a new organization to be called the Alabama Democratic Majority, the new leader of the party announced at a meeting Monday that the party is broke and unable to pay it's bills.
The Minnesota Senate voted 37-30 to legalize same-sex marriage. The measure next moves to Gov. Mark Dayton, who will sign it in a ceremony at 5 p.m. today on the south steps of the Capitol.
Gov. Jan Brewer has told lawmakers she's done signing bills until they get moving on Medicaid expansion and the state budget.
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is taking aim at Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, saying her fundraising efforts and coordination with private entities to implement President Barack Obama's new health care law "may be illegal."
The shift in California's penal system, referred to as "realignment," is one of the nation's largest criminal justice experiments and has done its job in at least one respect: The population in the state's 33 adult prisons has dropped so much that the system now ranks second to Texas in the number of inmates.
In a unanimous vote, the City Council gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would require businesses getting large city contracts or financial support to hire 51 percent of new workers from Baltimore.
The money was found in a Transportation Department special fund, making officials wonder whether other misplaced money can be found.
Mandatory sick leave is being championed by several localities across the nation. At the same time the progressive public health measure is sparking fierce opposition in several state legislatures.
Recent moves by the republican-controlled legislature that could hurt the city's finances has raised speculation that it being targeted as part of a political vendetta.
The lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's new teacher evaluation system was touted as the first of its kind, but it's unlikely to be the last.
When Amtrak unveils the first of 70 new locomotives Monday at a plant in California, it will mark what the national passenger railroad service hopes will be a new era of better reliability, streamlined maintenance and better energy efficiency.
The Minnesota Senate is expected to give final approval on Monday to a bill that would make the state the 12th in the United States to allow same-sex couples to marry and only the second in the Midwest.
The Kentucky Republican tells a crowd in Iowa he wants to be considered on his merits and escape the shadow of father Ron Paul as he explores the possibility of a Presidential run.
At various points over the past two years, Internal Revenue Service officials targeted nonprofit groups that criticized the government and sought to educate Americans about the U.S. Constitution, according to documents in an audit conducted by the agency’s inspector general.
New trends show the American workforce may be regaining the mobility it enjoyed before the recession as home prices in major cities rise.
In the wake of an admission by an IRS official that conservative groups had been targeted for additional scrutiny, Rep. Michael Turner will introduce legislation Monday that would increase the penalty for singling out ideological organizations —including the possibility of jail time.
Satellite city offices are not uncommon for large cities, but San Diego Mayor Bob Filner’s newest outpost is in another country. By opening San Diego’s Tijuana office this year, the mayor hopes to promote cross-border relations and foster economic partnerships.
Detroit is broke and faces a bleak future given the precarious financial path it's on, according to a new report out by the city's state-appointed emergency manager.
Scientists have found that urban hubs with over 10 million people are increasingly responsible for human-caused global warming, prompting closer study of cities across the country and around the globe.
Local and state officials believe the immigration overhaul bill will encourage those in the country illegally to come out of the shadows and turn to local services during the proposed 13-year-long pathway to citizenship.
Following the explosion of a fertilizer plant last month, officials and residents across the state are reexamining safety regulations.
Trying to stem the tide of restrictive voting measures passed in recent years by Republicans, voting rights activists have successfully targeted states controlled by Democrats to win reforms expanding voting rights.
