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After serving for all four years of the president's first term, LaHood is departing at a key time of transition in the transportation community.
Says current path is unsustainable.
These best e-government practices aren't from this side of the pond.
Several bills are being drafted that would alter the petition process, including one that would effectively triple the number of signatures required to force a public vote.
Governor Deval Patrick plans to propose broad legislation that would sharply reduce the number of teenagers sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder convictions.
President Barack Obama said he'll sign a $50.5 billion emergency relief measure for Superstorm Sandy victims as soon as it lands on his desk.
As President Obama prepares to lay out his immigration plan during a speech in Las Vegas on Tuesday, a group of bipartisan senators has reached agreement on a framework to overhaul the nation's immigration system.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the Democrats’ bill, which would have raised the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 and tied future increases to the rate of inflation, would have hurt the state’s economy.
A recent change in how HHS plans to run a fund to cushion health plans with lots of high-cost customers is forcing states to rethink their own timetable for shifting some of the sickest people into the health insurance marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act.
Some news commentary has escaped the binary of second amendment rights vs. a full-scale firearms ban.
View an interactive map with health costs for each country, and null our first-ever International Issue online Feb. 1.
City officials across the nation are rethinking nonprofits' tax-exempt status and asking them to help make ends meet.
Faced with limited funds and changing health care laws, the state is making HIV tests more expensive and potentially nonexistent in small or rural Kansas communities.
Oregon is on a short list of states, which includes California and Maine, seen as prime candidates for legalizing pot in 2016, according to drug policy advocates.
Many political observers say it's more important that elected officials represent the views of their constituents.
Pledging to “leave no New Yorker behind” by focusing on public education and neighborhood and pocketbook issues, the city’s public advocate announced that he was joining the race to become the city’s next mayor.
The strike, which has shut down roughly 5,000 of the city’s 7,700 school bus routes, is expected to continue this week, though the drivers’ union and the school bus companies had agreed to meet with a mediator.
After years of not reporting Utah’s mentally ill to a federal database meant to keep guns out of the hands of those with a history of psychiatric problems, the state this week fed more than 10,000 records to the clearinghouse.
Despite its reputation as a state with strong gun-control laws, Massachusetts for more than a decade has not provided mental health records to an FBI database for gun background checks, the result of a 43-year-old state law prohibiting such sharing.
A key group of senators from both parties will unveil the framework of a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, a bipartisan push that would have been unimaginable just months ago on one of the country’s most emotionally divisive issues.
The Maryland Dream Act, which voters approved in November to increase undocumented immigrants’ access to college, will significantly raise tuition for high school students who want to take community college courses.
Real improvement in government isn't a cut-and-paste process. The best leaders look forward to what might be, not backward to what was.
From aerial drones to underwater robots, unmanned systems are moving beyond their military roots. They have the potential to transform government services.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposal to let municipalities short their pension payments for the next quarter century uses fuzzy math, writes Governing's Jonathan Walters.
Under a new proposal by Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia would become the only state without a gas tax.
High construction costs have made it virtually impossible to build new subways. But we still need them.
View state laws regulating local governments filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection
A bill before the Alaska legislature would put defined benefits for state employees back in play after pension reform in the state cut out the option.
Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law, which advocates hope to enact in every state, that extends mandates for child sex-abuse education into elementary and middle schools.
Using a specific set of criteria, we've come up with a list of up-and-coming state officials from multiple fields. This week, we look at the Democratic field.
Seeking to reclaim the state's identity as an innovator and engine of growth, Gov. Jerry Brown declared in a sweeping State of the State address that "California did the impossible" in emerging from financial crisis poised to lead again.
State lawmakers have introduced more than a dozen bills related to gun laws in the first two weeks of the session, with more expected.
The unanimous vote by the five-member, all-Republican board makes Carroll the third Maryland county, after Frederick and Queen Anne’s, to pass such a law.
Tennessee already has a law that could be used as a weak parent trigger, but it requires the signatures of 60 percent of the parents in a school and also requires any changes to be approved by the local school board.
Zuckerberg and his wife will host a fundraiser for Christie next month at their Palo Alto, Calif., home in Christie’s first out-of-state trip to raise money for his re-election.
Republican governors are moving aggressively to cut personal and corporate income taxes, including proposals that would increase reliance on state sales taxes, setting up ambitious experiments in tax reform that could shape what is possible on a national level.
Republicans in Virginia and a handful of other battleground states are pushing for far-reaching changes to the electoral college in an attempt to counter recent success by Democrats.
The way we light our streets can do more than save money for the taxpayers. It can contribute significantly to reducing air pollution.
A new report examines 30 cities' online transparency efforts. View scores for each local government.
Foregoing the old-fashioned public service announcement, local health departments are trying new ways to get the word out.
Maryland becomes the latest state to start seriously question long-term transportation funding plans.
A new analysis shows how the ACA provision banning the denial of health insurance to people with preexisting conditions will impact various states.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Michael Nutter, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, voiced the group's support for Sen. Dianne Feinstein's bill to ban assault weapons.
Using an existing reporting tool, states are moving vets off Medicaid rolls by connecting them to better federal benefits they may not have known about.
Two announcements this week suggest that MOOCs -- massive open online courses -- will increasingly include a route for students to receive academic credit.
Legislation to allow gay marriage in Rhode Island is headed for a vote in the state House after being unanimously endorsed by a legislative committee.
Gov. Pat McCrory’s budget director distanced the Republican chief executive from a proposal to eliminate income taxes in North Carolina and expressed his own “great concerns” with the concept being floated by leading GOP lawmakers.
The governor wants to wipe away the income deduction claimed by Kansans for property taxes they pay on their homes. Nixing that deduction would raise revenue, at least partially offsetting the lower state income tax rates Brownback wants to adopt.
The federal court's decision keeps in place an odd legal split over marijuana, a drug deemed to be as dangerous as heroin and worse than methamphetamine by federal authorities, but one that has been legalized for medical use by voters or legislators in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
Melrose became one of the first cities in the state to propose a ban last November when Massachusetts voters legalized medical marijuana dispensaries.
The agency had angered immigration activists late last month by determining that state law prohibited it from issuing licenses to people granted “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Status” by President Barack Obama’s administration.
A bill that would extend Medicaid coverage to thousands of people in Wyoming failed to earn the endorsement of a legislative committee, but the Senate leadership still wants a full debate on the issue.
The law that bans sex offenders from using sites they know allow access to youths under the age of 18 is too broad, a three-judge federal appeals court determined, and “prohibits substantial protected speech.”
Local governments rarely opt to file for bankruptcy. View totals and bankruptcy laws for each state.
'Positive deviants' within a workforce can be the key to solving tough problems.
Some state officials think the upcoming deadlines for health exchanges are unrealistic. A few are even floating the idea of an extension.
While many states offer tax incentives for people to purchase energy-efficient vehicles like hybrids and electric cars, lawmakers in several states have proposed levying special fees on owners of some such vehicles.
A quirk caused by the redrawing of political boundaries in 2011 has left nearly 4 million Californians without an elected representative in the Senate for the next two years, while others temporarily have two senators.
Unlike corporate bankruptcies, there’s so little precedent for cities filing for bankruptcy protection that case law is being written with each major decision.
Although tax cuts may seem like an easy vote in a legislature dominated by his fellow Republicans, Gov. Mike Pence’s proposal has met resistance.
After falling nearly 11 percent since the 2008 fiscal year, state appropriations for higher education are on the rise in most states. But the long-term effects of budget cuts stemming from the economic downturn still could take years to erase, according to an annual survey.
For fourteen years, proponents have pushed bills unsuccessfully to grant driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. But a changing political climate gives this year's measure a fighting chance to become state law, supporters say.
Georgia shoppers at Amazon.com still aren’t paying sales tax, three weeks after the start of a state law designed to snag the money from the world’s biggest online retailer.
The United States Justice Department joined the nation's professional and collegiate sports leagues in challenging New Jersey's attempt to legalize sports wagering in Atlantic City casinos and the state's four horseracing tracks.
Gov. Dave Heineman has approved the rerouted Keystone XL oil pipeline path, which would move oil from Canada to Texas, putting the final decision squarely in the lap of President Barack Obama’s administration.
A Florida nonprofit is stepping in to help the poor and homeless obtain the identification they need to participate in society.
After telling a legislator that the Assembly Speaker's "first day as speaker would be her last," Steven Brooks is free on bail, though some lawmakers are already discussing the possibility of preventing him from serving in the 2013 legislative session.
While President Barack Obama pushes an overhaul of the country’s federal immigration laws, states are likely to decide whether undocumented immigrants should get in-state tuition.
The decision comes in a case where Secretary of State Scott Gessler sued Denver County Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson in 2011 for sending mail ballots to such so-called "inactive" voters.
Mendocino County is fighting efforts by federal prosecutors to get records on medical marijuana growers who signed up for a program intended to sanction their businesses under state law.
Idaho lawmakers, motivated by the potential for new revenue and the appeal of having more authority over how those lands are managed, are gearing up to follow the lead taken by Utah and Arizona in 2012.
The Port Authority’s police union, which endorsed former Gov. Jon Corzine when Gov. Chris Christie challenged him four years ago, will endorse the New Jersey governor.
There were tremendous differences among the states in 2010. Fifty-eight percent of students in Nevada and 60 percent in Washington, D.C., completed their high school education in four years. By comparison, 91 percent of students in Wisconsin and Vermont did, according to a government report.
Last year, 19 states enacted a total of 43 provisions limiting access to abortion -- half the number that went into effect the previous year, but still the second-highest number since 1985.
Experts say that 2013 will be a minefield of uncertainty for investors as the tax debate in Congress and financial volatility at home raise questions about muni market stability.
The Metro school board is planning to overhaul the way it evaluates the director of schools’ performance annually to also include student outcomes. The change comes as the state is in the middle of its second year of teacher evaluations that factor in students’ test scores and growth.
Two months after long lines plagued Florida on election day, Gov. Rick Scott says he wants to return to 14 days for early voting and limit the length of ballots.
The vote foreshadowed the uphill battle the outspoken governor could face if he seeks the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
In 2011, fewer than half the defendants who had been arrested for illegal possession of a loaded gun in New York City received a state prison sentence
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he was asking all city pension funds -- and mayors across the country -- to examine whether they have investments in assault weapons manufacturers and sellers as the first step toward getting them to divest any such holdings.
Amid a nationwide push for new gun regulations, members of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors have decided to launch an initiative grading gun manufacturers on their compliance with public safety goals. The companies that are least supportive may find it harder to sell their wares to police departments across the country.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s most ardent hard-liners on illegal immigration, is noticeably softening her tone on the issue.
It's hard to imagine a better demonstration of its potential than the worldwide volunteer effort that helped rescue thousands of people after the earthquake in Haiti.
Florida's high court ruled that pension contracts can be adjusted, weighing in on an issue that many believe will make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The fiscal cliff deal seems to have made it all but impossible for about 25 states to collect estate taxes, barring new laws.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read transcripts and view word clouds for each governor's 2013 State of the State address.
States have until Feb. 15 to decide if they want to partner with the feds on their health exchange. Delaware is one state to already choose that route.
View updated job totals and unemployment rates for each state.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full text and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full text and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced on a partnership with Yelp, a popular restaurant review website, to link the city's restaurant health score data and to standardize health score data nationwide.
Lawmakers are starting to wonder whether the tax breaks for seniors have become so generous that they threaten the sustainability of state revenue streams.
Senate Republicans thwarted an effort by Democrats to repeal a law to require women to undergo an ultrasound before getting an abortion.
Fifteen D.C. public schools will close as part of a plan Chancellor Kaya Henderson put forth, a retrenchment amid budget pressures, low enrollment and growing competition from public charter schools.
Gov. Martin O’Malley plans to propose expanding early voting days in Maryland and, for the first time, allowing residents to register on the same day that they cast ballots — moves certain to rankle Republicans.
A federal judge threw out a union’s lawsuit seeking to overturn Indiana’s “right to work” law, saying such a challenge should remain at the state level.
From Oregon to Mississippi, President Barack Obama's proposed ban on new assault weapons and large-capacity magazines struck a nerve among rural lawmen and lawmakers, many of whom vowed to ignore any restrictions – and even try to stop federal officials from enforcing gun policy in their jurisdictions.
Young illegal immigrants participating in the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program should be eligible for driving privileges in North Carolina, said the state Attorney General.
Immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children may obtain Oregon driver’s licenses if they participate in a federal program approved by President Barack Obama.
Economists predict a return to steady economic growth in the latter half of this decade but said inaction on Capitol Hill could reverse that.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
A day after President Obama issued calls for expanded gun rules, the country's mayors are echoing his call for an assault weapons ban.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
A nonprofit is helping cities across the country fund free outdoor gyms in public parks to help combat the nation's obesity epidemic.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered most.
GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval has done his best to avoid a combative legislative session, but that doesn't mean his agenda he detailed in his State of the State address will be met with open arms by the Democratic Legislature.
New York’s local governments are increasingly turning to local tax revenue to make up for sluggish growth in federal and state aid, a trend that experts say is occurring across the country.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said that he has asked the city's three pension funds to review all investments and work to end those in companies that manufacture assault weapons.
Gov. John Kitzhaber said that a bill is in the works that could reduce the number of medical malpractice lawsuits in Oregon and fulfill a promise he made to get his Medicaid reforms through the Legislature last year.
Gov. Rick Snyder called for $1.2 billon in higher gas taxes to help repair the state's crumbling road infrastructure in his third State of the State address, setting up what is sure to be a tough fight for both public support and votes in the Legislature.
Shrugging off the fiscal caution of recent years, Governor Deval Patrick proposed a $1.9 billion tax increase in his State of the Commonwealth address, saying it was necessary for the state to invest more in education and the state’s transportation network to “accelerate growth and expand opportunity.”
The Utah Department of Health has begun notifying 6,000 Utahns on Medicaid that some of their personal information was misplaced by a third-party contractor.
The ratings agency outlines how every traditional revenue stream for colleges and universities is facing some sort of pressure.
In state capitals and city halls nationwide, the National Rifle Association is demonstrating its enduring ability to thwart new firearms regulations and expand rights for gun owners — even after a school massacre in Newtown, Conn., gave the gun-control cause new momentum.
President Obama, in trying to curb gun violence, is pushing for improved mental-health services, a revival of gun-related research and beefed-up reporting about potentially dangerous people who shouldn’t own guns — efforts that are likely to rely heavily on the states and the public health sector.
Two states, two different approaches for fixing how we pay for roads.
An Urban Institute report describes how three police departments saved time and money by reducing the incidence of false alarms.
Despite their opposition to Obama's health-care reform law, a handful of Republican governors have come out in support of expanding Medicaid recently.
A new report warns of governments' continued "failure to invest" in roads, airports, electrical grid and other critical forms of infrastructure.
Responding to petitions from eight states calling for the right to secede, the White House has called for healthy debate, but to not let "that debate tear us apart."
Gov. Jerry Brown hopes to use state purse strings to force down the state university system's expenses, hold the line on tuition and fees, and graduate more students more quickly.
A new California DMV report shows that unlicensed drivers — most of whom are illegal immigrants — are nearly three times as likely to cause a fatal crash, adding fuel to the debate over whether illegal immigrants should be eligible for licenses.
After violent crime had dropped steadily for years, the homicide rate shot up more than 50 percent in 2012 in the third California city to file for bankruptcy last year.
Gov. Dave Heineman talked about eliminating state income taxes on individuals and corporations in his annual State of the State speech.
President Barack Obama announced that the District’s politically charged license plates will be placed on all presidential limousines this weekend, a move city leaders have been waiting on for four years.
More than 8,000 New York City school bus drivers and matrons went on strike over job protection Wednesday morning, leaving some 152,000 students, many disabled, trying to find other ways to get to school.
Reporters from USA TODAY and Gannett news operations nationwide reached out to governors and legislatures in each state to learn what gun-related proposals might be in the works.
The measure that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed expands the definition of banned assault weapons, creates a state database for pistol permits, reduces the maximum number of rounds in a magazine and requires background checks on all gun sales, including those between individuals.
A new report provides insight on how far transit systems can push customers before they switch to other modes of transportation.
People love parks, but building a new urban park is expensive. It’s why so many cities rely heavily on public-private partnerships to build today’s urban parks.
In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings, some states are pumping money into school safety improvements. But there are few options for change.
Read the full speech and view which words were uttered the most.
Washington, D.C., is pioneering a system that takes performance and accountability to a new level.
