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The first of almost three dozen indicted educators are expected to walk through the doors of the Fulton County Jail Monday to be processed as accused felons related to alleged cheating on standardized test scores and the covering up of those actions.
After five terms, the city's longest-serving mayor will leave office at the end of the year.
The leadership fight at the University of Virginia is a powerful example of why so many change efforts fail.
California is the latest state to join a national movement to coordinate care for people who qualify for both public health insurance programs.
News you should know about government and technology.
A new report shows that the California bullet train project has reasonable ridership and revenue forecasts, but could be doing a better job at producing cost estimates.
The sequester will cost energy states tens of millions of dollars in mineral revenues, a move that has sparked anger — and surprise — among some state officials who say they should have been informed sooner.
Ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to the Port of Miami, Florida Gov. Rick Scott criticized him and the federal government for not paying their share of port improvement projects costs in the state.
The Illinois Lottery is showing that government officials can hold their own with their private-sector counterparts.
Republican Gov. Pat McCrory is proposing to do away with a volunteer taxpayer check-off program that helps subsidize the political parties, a move more likely to harm the Democrats than the GOP.
Through gut-wrenching tears Nevada lawmakers brought a conclusion to the at-times frightening saga that has gripped the Nevada Legislature for two months, voting Thursday to oust one of their own.
The Armed Citizen Project is part of a national campaign to give shotguns to single women and homeowners in the nation's crime-ridden neighborhoods.
New York’s highest court rejected arguments by two Internet retailers that they should be exempt from collecting state sales tax.
A series of failures in the operation of the state’s unemployment insurance program has resulted in the overpayment of more than $73 million in benefits and created a backlog so long that Tennesseans have had to face unreasonable delays before receiving aid, according to a state audit report.
The mayor of Marcus Hook, charged last week with holding an acquaintance hostage during a drunken encounter at his home, has decided not to run for reelection.
Emboldened by a private primary poll commissioned by EMILY’s List, Schwartz has hired Obama campaign veteran Reesa Kossoff as communications director for her political operation and plans to open a state-level campaign account early next month.
The petitions filed by Christie, the Republican incumbent, had 11,607 signatures compared with 5,836.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear calls its pension reform “a good solution to a thorny problem." But the state’s local governments are far less impressed.
States are trying to ensure there will be enough health professionals to provide care to the millions expected to get insurance next year under Obamacare.
There are ways to take some of the partisan heat out of the discussion.
An influx of young lawmakers could lead to better technology investments.
In the past three years, states and cities have brought in billions of dollars in additional user fees. But there are pitfalls to this form of revenue boost.
Furious at Washington gridlock and seeking to get their party back on top, Republican governors -- like President Ronald Reagan before them -- are waging an anti-tax campaign aimed at the income tax.
The question of who will install fiber-optic networks and who will control them is key because it could impact decades of economic growth. Telecom giants like AT&T think they should be the only player.
Many states -- Washington being the latest -- have revised decades-old codes and statutes to remove any gender bias.
Most of Fayette County’s elected leaders are Tea Partiers, shedding light on how Tea Party reformers -- if given full control -- might shape public policy and overhaul Republican politics at the local level.
Some places aren’t waiting for another Sandy. They're taking matters into their own hands. But what’s best for one city may not be best for the region.
Most states and many municipalities have passed some kind of pension reform in recent years, but only a few did so in a way that addresses the immediate unfunded liability of their plans. Plus: Has pension reform gone null?
A legal fight against the state's new emergency manager law is expected to kick off today -- the same day the law takes effect -- with protesters descending on Detroit as a Federal lawsuit challenging it's constitutionality is being filed.
State and local politicians would rather avoid raising taxes on locals who can boot them out of office, but they also know that tourists can still “vote with their feet” and go where taxes are lower.
When Chief Justice John Roberts implied overturning DOMA could hurt states' rights, it was likely a plea to one of his colleagues.
At least 14 states – but not North Carolina – require collection of health care cost data for use by consumers. New Hampshire and Maine have published estimates online.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino will announce that he will not seek a sixth term in office.
The bill's sponsor said betting on the presidential election was “one of the biggest moneymakers [for the government] in all of betting outside the United States."
The new service showing when a bus or train is delayed and when it should arrive was launched for New York City, Washington, D.C., and the Utah Transit Authority.
Instead of simply financing a traditional system of neighborhood schools, legislators and some governors are headed toward funneling public money directly to families, who would be free to choose the kind of schooling they believe is best for their children.
Some longtime backers of the project are objecting to political compromises that they say undermine legal safeguards for the massive investment.
One of the most hard-fought changes in Michigan history -- right-to-work legislation -- takes effect today, but its effects are largely unknown and not expected to be immediate.
In the world of public finance, a long-running debate over what’s included in state and local financial statements is reaching new heights.
New census estimates find international migration surpassed domestic population growth in 135 metro areas. View data showing which metro areas are welcoming the most immigrants.
Eighty years after Congress repealed prohibition, some cities in Mississippi have decided to permit the sale of hard alcohol.
It might make sense financially, but some argue it isn't ethical.
The Michigan city is rebounding, and its secret to success includes partnerships and a regional agenda.
When a city’s economy depends on one employer, leaders will go to great lengths to make them happy. But to survive, towns need to attract new businesses.
The moderate Republican is resigning as mayor and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors to run for governor.
Cities are contracting with Code for America -- what some call “the Peace Corps for geeks” -- in an effort to seed Silicon Valley virtues in local government.
A test that could curb deaths from the leading cancer killer is fighting for approval.
Created four years ago, the federal office was supposed to engage cities and metro areas in all major policy decisions. Today, the Obama administration has “little to show for its efforts.”
Following the state's takeover of the Camden School District , one of the the school board's youngest and most vocal members resigns, citing politics as the reason for her departure.
A House committee killed a bill that sought to abolish the death penalty, exactly one week after Gov. John Hickenlooper expressed concerns that Coloradans weren't ready to part ways with the execution chamber.
Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed three anti-abortion bills into law, setting the stage for a potentially high-profile and expensive court challenge.
Public tax dollars may be used to fund private school tuition under Indiana's voucher program, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled.
Virginia has become the latest GOP-led state to approve legislation that would ask voters to present a photo ID to cast a ballot.
Gov. Mike Beebe vetoed legislation to require voters to show photo identification at the polls and characterized the measure as “an expensive solution in search of a problem.”
State regulators charged with watching over Colorado's medical marijuana industry have fallen short on everything from tracking inventory and managing their budget to keeping potential bad actors out of the business, a state audit found.
A federal appeals court has sided with a group of Iowa cities challenging Environmental Protection Agency wastewater treatment rules that would have forced cities across the country to spend billions of dollars if the court had upheld them.
Assemblyman Steven Brooks opted not to show up for the historic legislative hearing on whether he's fit to continue serving as a lawmaker after two arrests and an involuntary admission to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
The U.S. Supreme Court's answer will determine whether the justices rule on California's gay marriage ban at all.
Enrollment in California's community colleges has plunged to a 20-year low as budget-strapped campuses have had to slash classes and instructors, according to a report released Monday.
A new report says that state parks are in such disarray and disrepair that officials should cede control of many of them to cities, counties or private operators.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has temporarily shuttered the $510,000-a-year lieutenant governor's office in an effort to save money.
A state Senate committee approved resolutions requesting a task force study the social, economic and religious consequences of legalizing same-sex marriage the same week the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing two landmark cases on the issue.
To win, they'll need to prove they have the most novel and effective way to help low-income New Yorkers.
The five winners of the Mayors Challenge are the cream of a bounteous crop.
Kevyn Orr arrived for his first day on the job at 7 a.m. Monday, an early start to a historic day as Detroit's first emergency financial manager tasked with fixing the city's budget crisis.
Police push for tougher laws as the state becomes No. 1 in use of the drug.
Utah legislators just set an all-time record, apparently, for passing bills and resolutions -- enacting 524 this year, compared to 478 in 2012 and 504 in 2011.
Maryland lawmakers introduced a bill that would give Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III direct control over the county’s schools superintendent and operations.
Gov. Chris Christie’s takeover of Camden schools marks the fourth time the state has taken over a large urban school system. Three of those interventions continue today with only limited success.
Gov. Terry Branstad has proposed a “Healthy Iowa Plan” to cover all of the approximately 89,000 uninsured Iowans earning below 100 percent of federal poverty level.
The support comes at a critical time in Greuel's campaign, as she tries to move past a rocky stretch that included a staff shake-up and continued questions about her ties to labor.
Even before the justices have issued a ruling on the other affirmative action case that they considered this term, they agreed to consider whether Michigan voters had the legal right to bar the state's public colleges and universities from considering race or ethnicity in admissions.
A new report finds all 50 states now maintain online spending transparency websites. View grades issued for each state.
Thirty-seven states had legalized same-sex marriage prior to the Supreme Court ruling.
House Democrats say they're willing to let the state's entire Medicaid program expire to force a debate on Obamacare's expansion.
In a move aimed to make the state appear more financially stable, the Governor and some lawmakers are working on a bill that would move the state's gold deposits from a Federal Reserve Bank in New York City to a secure location in Texas.
The leader of Colorado’s prison system, who was killed last week, was a hero to communities that probably never knew his name.
A new report shows that Web apps used by the public- and private-sector continue to be vulnerable to attack.
A new tool gives administrators and policymakers crucial benchmarking data they need to make the voting process fair, accurate and convenient.
The new bill encourages spending on port dredging and other maintenance.
In an effort to reduce congestion, every traffic light in Los Angeles is now controlled remotely by a software the city has given the federal government to share with other cities.
After a series of missteps in her run for mayor of Los Angeles, City Controller Wendy Greuel has hired a senior aide to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as her new campaign manager for the final weeks before the May runoff.
Arizona passed a law to dismantle a Mexican American studies program, but the legislation has had an unintended effect of renewing interest in ethnic studies and Chicano and Latino literature.
Last April, Mayor Thomas M. Menino challenged Bostonians to lose a collective 1 million pounds in a year’s time. Only 904,303 to go. By April 23.
Camden will become the fourth urban district under state control in New Jersey but will be the first takeover initiated by Gov. Chris Christie.
A groundbreaking study is casting serious doubt on the halfway-house model, concluding that inmates who spent time in these facilities were more likely to return to crime.
From brainstorming to "ideation" to troubleshooting, a city's Innovation Delivery Team has to cover a lot of ground--and do it quickly.
House lawmakers in Illinois have passed the first step toward significant reform of the state's woefully underfunded pension system, but the controversial move would limit cost-of-living increases.
Colorado became the sixth state to allow civil unions for same-sex couples when Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the legislation Thursday. Another nine states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage.
Microsoft disclosed for the first time the number of requests it had received from government law enforcement agencies for data on its hundreds of millions of customers around the world
Gov. Martin O’Malley, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler and grass-roots groups supporting stricter gun control hailed the decision, saying that it places Maryland on firm legal ground as the Legislature looks to tighten gun laws further.
That comes to nearly 13 percent of all elementary and middle schools in the district.
When the governor signs the bill that has cleared both legislative chambers, Oregon will join at least a dozen states in allowing undocumented students to pay the lower rates reserved for residents.
Lawyers will ask a federal judge on Friday to prevent Arizona from denying driver's licenses to young illegal immigrants granted temporary legal status by the federal government.
A federal judge permanently blocked Georgia from enforcing a part of the law that would have punished people who knowingly transport or harbor illegal immigrants or encourage them to come to the state.
Quietly tucked into tentative state budget is a provision that would help NBC move “The Tonight Show” back to New York.
The White House is encouraging skeptical state officials to expand Medicaid by subsidizing the purchase of private insurance for low-income people, even though that approach might be somewhat more expensive, federal and state officials say.
Two cases covering same-sex marriage go before the U.S. Supreme Court this week. Here’s a primer on the cases and the different routes the court might take.
Seeking to adapt to the changing demands of the digital age, some public libraries are beginning to loan out more than just books and movies.
More than 30 attorneys general seats are up for election in 2013-2014. But a whooping 21 are not competitive.
When teams of talented university students take on difficult contemporary issues, impressive things happen.
Last week, Illinois was only the second state to ever be accused of securities fraud -- but it may not be the last. The SEC's head of municipal securities wants to increase its enforcement.
As the area prepares to switch over to a county-run police force, a new training method focused on problem-solving in patrolled neighborhoods is being tested.
After saying no to Gov. Scott's original Medicaid expansion proposal, top Senate Republicans have proposed a plan to use the $55 billion offered as part of President Barack Obama’s health care law to funnel poor Floridians into subsidized, private health insurance.
Gov. Rick Snyder's proposal to expand Medicaid to nearly 500,000 Michigan residents, was rejected in a party-line vote in the state House of Representatives.
Plus: the message that "out of office" replies convey and more management news
There's no doubt that we should be spending more on our roads and bridges and water systems. But what's more important is how we spend it.
The General Assembly is considering the difficult question of whether a dying person should be allowed to legally take his or her own life with the help of a doctor.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan backed Wendy Greuel's mayoral bid and said if she wins, he will join her administration as a senior advisor on the ongoing budget crisis at City Hall.
Gov. Mark Dayton signed it into law, enacting the most sweeping health care change the state has seen in half a century.
The electronic filing fees, charged by the makers of TurboTax and other tax software, are creating a stubborn roadblock in states’ efforts to move the income tax filing system entirely online and save millions of dollars in processing costs.
A bill in Congress would give 27.5 percent of revenue from offshore energy development — including oil, gas, wind and others — to coastal states, plus another 10 percent if the state creates a clean energy or conservation fund.
After weeks of criticism from gun owners, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said he would seek to ease the restriction on the maximum legal capacity of gun magazines.
Philadelphia city officials want an exemption for a 2008 local ordinance that goes further than Obamacare on nutrition labeling.
The national organization created to assist Obama's second-term agenda on a variety of issues before Congress is bringing it's power and influence to the state-level.
Excellent tools are available to monitor energy use across a community. Isn't it time for cities to be benchmarked against each other?
A new poll underlines the disconnect between the debate among lawmakers and the public's knowledge about the federal health law's central provisions.
House democrats reached a compromise on gun legislation, dropping universal background checks and a few other provisions while keeping language that would close the gun-show loophole in the state.
Mayor David Coss and City Councilor Patti Bushee are urging county clerks to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
A Beebe spokesman said the governor would reserve judgment on the bill until Attorney General Dustin McDaniel responds to a lawmaker’s request for an opinion as to its constitutionality.
As the nation debates the use of drones to hunt terrorism suspects abroad, Oregon lawmakers are considering legislation that would regulate how drones could be used there.
The governor announced the creation of a new center to study ways to make schools safer and said different school systems in different types of communities may offer varying solutions.
Georgia could become the only state to force local school boards to consider petitions to transform not just failing but also non-failing traditional public schools into charter schools.
Senate Democrats said that 51 percent of Michigan's residents are being hit with tax increases for the first time this tax season as a result of policy changes made by Gov. Rick Snyder and the Republican legislative majority during the past two years.
Kate Brown's proposal could give Oregon the broadest pool of registered voters in the country.
Walla Walla Community College in Washington state and Santa Barbara City College in California were awarded the prestigious Aspen Prize for success attracting, retaining and graduating students into jobs and four-year universities.
At least four states won’t enforce new sweeping insurance market reforms rolling out next year with the health law — leaving federal health officials in Washington to pick up the slack
Congressional lawmakers are skeptical of some specialty tax-free bonds but largely spoke in support of maintaining the tax-exempt status of the municipal bonds localities and states issue to fund infrastructure projects.
New census figures estimate where residents are moving across county borders. View data for your area.
A Senate committee unveiled the much-awaited legislation, saying it would offer states and localities tools to improve ports, the water supply and flood control.
California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia have formed the West Coast Infrastructure Exchange to find innovative ways to invest in infrastructure.
The legislation fizzled last year as Congress became mired in the fiscal cliff debate. But advocates are hopeful for a different result this time.
The study, published every four years, is a key tool for infrastructure advocates.
Though premature deaths across the United States have reached a 20-year low, the gap between the healthiest and unhealthiest counties is still wide, according to a new report.
More than two dozen bills -- including ones that would broaden the definition of child abuse -- are under consideration in the Pennsylvania House and Senate.
The measure is Arizona’s latest jab at the federal government, which prohibits states from minting their own money.
Canadians are finding that before they can enter pot-friendly Washington, where marijuana is now legal for recreational use, they must first be admitted into the country by the U.S. government, which still outlaws the drug.
State business and government leaders say federal rules stemming from the national health care overhaul threaten to drive up insurance costs in Massachusetts, a state widely viewed as a model for the sweeping legislation signed by President Obama in 2010.
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of the popular social media service Twitter and the mobile payments startup Square, reportedly says he wants to be mayor of New York one day.
The American Society of Civil Engineers awarded the nation's infrastructure a “D” in its last report and a D+ in its most recent report.
The measures proposed are some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, and their passage comes after weeks of tense legislative battles.
Small savings can add up to real money--and better services.
Segregated minority and poor populations foster municipal distress, according to the former receiver for the city of Harrisburg, Pa.
The California Legislature's budget advisors say the state will owe $1 billion extra to many workers when they retire or quit for vacation time unused when they took unpaid days off.
The League of Wisconsin Municipalities' board of directors voted unanimously on Friday to oppose a proposal by Gov. Scott Walker to end residency rules statewide in all units of local government.
He can join with his fellow Republicans and approve measures that are likely to lead to a costly legal battle that opponents say will end in utter failure. Or he could veto bills that have enough support to pass without him, a move that would draw the ire of social conservatives in a state that is historically socially conservative.
Attorneys general from more than a dozen states are pushing Congress to restrict federal funding to for-profit colleges, which face growing complaints that they often leave students with piles of debt but not enough training to find high-paying jobs.
Incoming Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr insisted he pays his taxes as critics questioned how he could govern a cash-strapped city hamstrung by unpaid taxes when he was apparently unaware of liens placed on his Maryland home.
