Archive
Cyclists and pedestrians were among the biggest losers in the recently enacted highway law, which reduced funding for bicycle paths and walking trails and softened a requirement that states spend a portion of their federal aid on transportation “enhancements.”
The move comes in response to Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s proposal to close 20 traditional public schools across the city.
Officials in Colorado and Washington states are trying to figure out how to keep stoned drivers off the road.
With the passing a handful of ballot measures on Election Day and the surface transportation bill this spring, 2013 will be a busy year for infrastructure and transportation projects.
California's two public university systems retreated from various tuition hikes as Gov. Jerry Brown suggested the moves would be ill-timed coming just a week after voters approved a tax increase for education.
Several governors are reapplying pressure on Congress to extend a tax credit whose looming expiration has prompted layoffs.
The task force commissioned by Gov. Rick Scott to review the Stand Your Ground law prepared its final report, indicating that the law is mostly fine as it is.
Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst made a rare joint appearance to advocate drug tests for Texas residents seeking welfare or unemployment benefits.
More than 40 percent of the children who died of abuse and neglect in the last six years in Colorado had families or caregivers known to child protection workers who could have saved them.
State Board of Education members blasted Georgia Cyber Academy officials, saying the online school is failing to meet the needs of its special education students.
The law requires everyone — no matter where they were born — to prove their citizenship or legal residency to renew their professional licenses. With too few state workers to process the extra paperwork, licenses for doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals are expiring.
In September, the Oklahoma State Department of Health opted not to renew its WIC contract with Planned Parenthood, a decision the organization’s CEO said was politically motivated.
The widespread popularity of Hawaii’s solar energy incentive -- and mass confusion over how to implement it -- have dealt a blow to the state’s treasury and become a major topic in state politics.
A program in Washington state uses data sharing to help veterans access proper benefits, and saves millions in state Medicaid funding.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court banned mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for juveniles convicted of murder five months ago, state courts have struggled to apply the ruling.
Collaborative networks are happening all over. A comprehensive new study focusing on public safety provides a roadmap for spreading them across the governmental landscape.
Initiative 1240, the measure that will allow 40 charter schools to open in Washington state, has passed.
Georgia voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment that will allow a state committee to authorize charter schools, but some legislators and educators are not dropping their fight to stop it.
Maryland's DNA law, which allows police to take samples of suspects' genetic material for possible matches to other crimes, will be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court next year, the justices announced.
Gov. Chris Christie said that he might reconsider his calls for a tax cut if revenue collections take a big hit from Hurricane Sandy.
When the White House promised that any online petition getting more than 25,000 signatures would get a thorough review and an official response, officials probably weren't thinking about requests for secession.
These systems are flourishing because the unemployed can either trade skills for local currency or swap their time for other services.
After years of avoiding it, human services professionals are starting to get hard-nosed about where they invest.
Washington state has made one of government's strongest commitments to this approach to government efficiency, one that's likely to survive a change in administrations.
Can a collaborative network help 2nd tier cities?
The new law prohibits landlords and employers from discriminating against the homeless when they apply for apartments or jobs, and affirms their right to be in public spaces such as parks and libraries.
Democrat Jay Inslee sealed his victory in Washington's hard-fought gubernatorial race Friday, as Republican Rob McKenna conceded in an evening phone call.
Chief among them are recent initiatives that address veterans’ mental health and housing concerns, two of the biggest issues facing the soldiers returning from the past decade’s conflicts.
A growing number of lawmakers want Congress to step in to streamline voters' trips to the polls.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s request would exceed the roughly $12 billion in federal disaster aid available without action from Congress, where there is likely to be opposition to additional spending.
At least for the next four years, libertarians can appear on general-election ballots without having to meet onerous petition-gathering requirements.
China and Saudi Arabia helped pushed the number of international students in the U.S. to 764,495 last year.
Los Angeles County, home to a billion-dollar-plus porn industry, voted to require performers to use condoms when filming sex scenes.
Even with fact-checking at an all-time high, we're finding it harder and harder to agree on basic facts. How can we ever agree on effective policy?
We need a robust national innovation and competitiveness strategy.
Governors are making their health exchange plans known as the Nov. 16 deadline approaches.
Inslee led McKenna statewide by 56,849 votes out of nearly 2.3 million ballots counted as of 5:15 p.m. Thursday — a lead of 51.2 percent to 48.8 percent.
The high court agreed with a federal appeals court ruling earlier in the day that stayed the execution preparations and prevented him from becoming the first person put to death in the state since 1999.
That represents a shift for the governor, who previously said that if the law stood, he would prefer to have Virginia control its own exchange.
A state district judge granted Planned Parenthood a temporary injunction that -- for now -- will allow tens of thousands of women to continue receiving contraceptives and health screenings through the Women's Health Program from the organization's clinics.
Each candidate captured 669 votes, but one ballot Bobby McDonald is sure would have gone his way was never cast: his wife.
Updated results show new party composition of state legislatures, with only a few races undecided.
Voters approved statewide bond measures on the ballot November 6.
We told you what we thought would happen, so let's see how we did.
Those who backed Proposition 37 to label genetically engineered food are looking north to Washington and Oregon and east to Connecticut and Vermont.
Hickenlooper said understanding the federal response will be vital as state lawmakers and officials look at how to move forward with new regulations for marijuana stores.
With Illinois voters narrowly rejecting a constitutional amendment on pensions, those on both sides of the issue said the state is in largely the same place it would have been had voters approved the measure: facing tough choices about needed reforms.
Iowans set a record for turnout in a presidential election on Tuesday, and the percentage of registered voters casting ballots is the highest in 20 years.
Voters delivered mixed verdicts on a raft of education-related ballot questions, highlighting the deep divide across the country over how to run public schools.
Maryland voters narrowly approved one ballot measure allowing same-sex marriage and gave broad approval to another that extends in-state college tuition rates to some illegal immigrants. No similar measures had ever been enacted by a public vote in any state.
Less than half the votes have been counted, but both Democratic candidates in Montana and Washington state are leading.
Both parties have chalked up wins at the state legislative level, but the Democrats could have a modest advantage.
See where Democrats and Republicans added or lost seats in all 50 states.
Innovative public officials and utility managers are finding cost-effective ways to fix our aging water systems and save billions of dollars in the process.
View updated results and maps for all state legislative races.
Obama's reelection means implementation will continue, but much is left to the states.
Maryland is one of 11 states to have passed some version of the DREAM Act.
Residents of the territory voted affirmatively to become the 51st U.S. state, but the island's political future remains unclear.
Two efforts to change policies on state-prescribed death failed at the ballot boxes.
They're the first states to allow recreational use of the drug, setting up a potential showdown between state laws and federal prohibition.
Voters in three states approved marriage for same-sex couples for the first time in history. In a fourth state, a measure to ban gay marriage was defeated.
President Barack Obama won a second term Tuesday after a fierce campaign battle, amid a struggling economy, over the role and size of the federal government.
Conservatives fail to oust incumbents in Florida and Iowa, but the GOP is strong in Michigan and North Carolina.
See how measures on same-sex marriage, marijuana, immigration, abortion and so much more did on Election Night. For full coverage and analysis, visit Governing's null
In most of the contests, the party in power is on its way out -- though that doesn't mean the national balance of power is flipping.
With two contests yet to be called, Republicans can celebrate a one-seat gain in North Carolina.
Arkansas Republicans took control of at least one chamber of the state legislature and captured all of the state's congressional seats for the first time since Reconstruction.
Results of a vote on the same issue was still pending in Washington, as was a measure that would ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota.
Voters in Arizona’s Maricopa County have reelected Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the face of Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement law.
In a sweeping rejection of the GOP-led Legislature’s overload of the ballot, eight of the 11 lengthy constitutional amendments failed.
Pat McCrory became the first Republican elected governor in 20 years, easily defeating his rival Tuesday and giving his party complete control of lawmaking for the first time since the 1800s.
The recall language said Janice Daniels, a former real estate agent, had verbally attacked city employees at a public meeting; made offensive remarks about homosexuals; referred to the city charter’s language as “whimsical” and removed any reference to the charter in her oath of office, and opposed accepting federal aid to build a regional transit center.
Pence and Daniels share a fiscally conservative outlook, but experts and Democrats say Pence could take on social issues that Gov. Mitch Daniels avoided.
The initiative would raise income taxes on wealthy earners for seven years and hike the statewide sales tax by a quarter-cent on the dollar for four years, raising about $6 billion a year for the state budget.
Voters have approved a revision of California's landmark Three Strikes sentencing law, passing a measure that eliminates 25 years-to-life sentences for inmates whose third felony offense is not a serious or violent crime.
Nothing else has worked. A local entrepreneur is asking the city to give his ideas a chance.
Some states have started to offer vendors the option of submitting their responses to RFPs on tablet devices.
Plus: Finding Medicaid waste and more management news
More than 4.5 million people have voted early, which accounts for 38 percent of the state's 12 million registered voters and half of the ones likely to cast a ballot.
More than 375,000 South Carolinians already have voted absentee -- the most ever in state history.
State schools superintendent John Barge's opposition is not against charter schools themselves but rather the creation of a third organization to do what two others already have the power to do.
This year, for the first time, a third of the nation’s 25- to 29-year-olds have earned at least a bachelor’s degree.
While Tuesday’s election may not break the national logjam over how to address climate change, a few states will take decisive action on energy policy in the coming week.
President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney evenly split the vote in Dixville Notch, N.H., the village near the Canadian border famous for their midnight vote that is traditionally thought to predict the eventual winner of the election.
Inmates awaiting trial or serving a sentence for a misdemeanor are allowed to vote as long as they aren't barred by a past felony conviction. Most states, however, don't actively help these people vote.
New Jersey and New York both said they would allow voters uprooted by Hurricane Sandy to cast provisional ballots anywhere in their states. But the provisional ballots could not be used in local and Congressional races.
A local candidate says a crucial piece of Ohio vote-tallying software was not properly vetted by the state and could be hacked. A judge will hear the case on Election Day and decide whether to grant an injunction against use of the software Tuesday.
Three states have experimented with bringing public universities on as full partners in administering the low-income insurance program.
Health-care officials are paying close attention to the elderly since Sandy left millions in the dark.
Arizona’s new law forbids abortions past 20 weeks of gestation except in medical emergencies.
Violent crime continued to fall in the largest U.S. cities along the Southwest border last year even as neighboring Mexican crime groups clashed for control of the illegal drug and human smuggling trades.
The fight for control of the New York State Senate has grown unexpectedly competitive in the final moments of this year’s campaign, with Hurricane Sandy adding a large dose of uncertainty to the vote.
Ideas to protect low-lying coastal cities -- even those ideas once dismissed as too expensive or far-fetched -- are getting a second look from officials and scientists worried that climate change will spawn a succession of ever-more-violent Sandys.
Despite bitter lessons from the recent past, U.S. hospitals are far from ready to protect patients when disaster strikes their facilities.
Retirement systems could go a long way toward addressing their problems by getting real about their investment returns.
Most of us are all too comfortable in our habits. The lesson for leaders in an era of change: Make the novel seem familiar.
Building on a successful tax break for Twitter, San Francisco's mayor is asking voters to change the way the city taxes businesses that create jobs.
The two candidates vying in a runoff have polarized views on the merit of the multi-billion dollar effort.
State and local government employment fell slightly in October after revised estimates indicated the sector rebounded in recent months.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett's endorsement of Republican Attorney General candidate David Freed has allowed the phantom of Jerry Sandusky to play a factor in his race against Democrat Kathleen Kane.
The new online system provides access to any licensed physician, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner in the state of Nebraska, the same group authorized to approve paper applications. They enter patient information and provide their approval.
Missoula Mayor John Engen doesn’t want to start slapping fines on people who don’t shovel their sidewalks – but some councilors are calling for the $25 to $50 penalties.
The city of Sacramento is reviving a long-stalled plan to bring down the fences. The goal is an unbroken public path running another 10 miles to Freeport. The idea is stirring old emotions that kept the plan in the shadows for 15 years.
A century ago, Montanans banned corporate political spending in their state, repelled by brazen power plays from copper tycoons. But the law was overturned last year by the Supreme Court, and special-interest money is again flooding Montana.
Gov. Corbett said Thursday that homeowners will not have to pay hurricane deductibles on insurance claims resulting from damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.
At least three Republican state representatives in the Portland area are getting hammered with Democratic ads accusing them of voting for a bill that would allow banks to grab driver license data to use for marketing purposes.
If voters in California next week reject ballot measures to raise taxes, school districts in the Golden State will be among the first victims of spending cuts - a major concern not only for teachers and parents but also bondholders.
A coalition of hospitals sued the U.S. government on Thursday, claiming that private auditors hired to crack down on improper Medicare payments are denying hospitals hundreds of millions of dollars in legal payments for necessary care.
The long-debated plan to ease nightmarish traffic commutes isn't going anywhere if a veteran politician has his way. Outlying residents say the line is a matter of social equity.
MyFairElection aims to make voters more active in monitoring their polling places to improve the fairness and quality of the electoral process.
We've rounded up all our ratings and rankings for the Electoral College, governors' races, control of the state legislatures and state attorney general contests.
State officials are trying to account for a 50 percent drop in senior bus ridership in one county.
A look inside the state's anti-tax dynamic and how it plays out in statewide races.
Community health centers in New Hampshire were the most likely to keep diabetics' blood sugar under control. Vermont’s health centers had the best child immunization rates. Maine’s centers had the highest percent of pregnant women getting early prenatal care.
Ameridose, a sister company of the U.S. pharmacy linked to a meningitis outbreak that has killed 29 people, announced on Wednesday a voluntary recall of all its products, a move to cooperate with regulators that could nevertheless create shortages of some drugs.
The top official in the county that encompasses Chicago said Wednesday that she will drop plans for a controversial nickel-per-bullet tax but will continue support for a $25 tax on firearms.
The office of Utah Lt. Gov. Greg Bell says Brent L. Andrews of Sunset — a Democratic candidate for State Senate District 20 — failed to file a campaign financial disclosure form before the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline, so he will be disqualified from the election as required by law.
A new law takes effect today in Oklahoma — anyone licensed to carry a concealed firearm can choose to carry a weapon out in the open, in a belt or shoulder holster, loaded or unloaded.
South Carolina taxpayers and their children who were victims of a massive data breach at the Department of Revenue will receive free lifetime credit fraud resolution, Gov. Nikki Haley announced Tuesday.
Marijuana activists in Washington state hope voters will be reassured by strict new "stoned driving" standards, despite opposition from medical cannabis users who say the limits would make it hard for them to ever drive legally.
The measure on Tuesday's California ballot asks voters if food companies should be required to label genetically engineered food. At the core of the debate is a seemingly simple question: Is it safe to eat?
Voters in nine states will consider borrowing more than $3 billion for schools and roads in statewide bond measures on the ballot November 6, including a few that could test some governors’ influence.
During a year dominated by discussion of the state's deepening pension crisis, voters across Illinois will find on their ballot a question asking if they want to make it tougher for governments to approve increased retirement benefits for public employees.
Drivers in southeastern Michigan are back on edge after a spate of new shootings at cars along or near Interstate 96, including one over the weekend that injured a driver for the first time.
Determined to find a new solution to Los Angeles' budget crisis, City Councilman Herb Wesson said Tuesday he wants his colleagues to prepare a half-cent sales tax hike proposal for the ballot in the March municipal election.
As Wichitans decide whether to add the cavity-fighting chemical to their city’s drinking water, the two sides in the campaign for the Nov. 6 election are pounding away at each other with rhetorical clubs labeled “public good” and “freedom of choice.”
The D.C. Board of Elections has extended the hours of early voting in the District until 9 p.m. this week to accommodate for the two days that polling locations were closed because of Hurricane Sandy.
A candidate for the position of public administrator in Sanders County died after the ballots were printed, meaning the incumbent will win unless someone mounts a successful write-in campaign.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is preparing for Hurricane Sandy to disrupt next week’s elections, agency Administrator Craig Fugate said Monday afternoon.
The U.S. government's total spending on intelligence activities fell in 2012, the second year in a row of declines after years of soaring security spending since the September 11 attacks in 2001.
The Supreme Court on Monday considered who has a right to challenge government eavesdropping on conversations between people in the United States and outside the country in a case touching on federal efforts to fight terrorism.
Teachers helped students correct mistakes on standardized tests, prepared them with actual test questions or left instructional posters displayed in the classroom during testing, according to school district reports.
The mayor's office announced Monday that it will no longer pursue a fee increase on local businesses to pay for extra health inspectors.
Arizona Parks Director Bryan Martyn said his agency has “critical funding issues” and is asking for additional state funding of about $15.5million for capital projects, operations and staff.
In a conservative state where the presidential vote isn’t in doubt, the fate of the education laws has taken center stage on the November ballot.
The deadly meningitis outbreak tied to steroid injections from potentially tainted medications spread to a 19th state on Monday with the first case reported in Rhode Island, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An illuminating book lists 14 "tools of government." The trick is employing them wisely.
With Election Day looming, a few races go down to the wire. For full election coverage and analysis, go to Governing's null
As Hurricane Sandy approaches, Romney's pledge in the GOP primary to return FEMA's responsibilities to the states has been revisited.
Gunfire detection technology is going to get another shot in Chicago.
An investigation by The Oregonian finds child welfare workers in different states often fail to communicate about a family's history or a child's needs.
Medical-marijuana advocates are apprehensive of the changes Amendment 64 could bring to the industry.
Planned Parenthood and Texas officials are headed back to court in early November, the latest round of legal wrangling in a fight over funding.
A regularly updated state-by-state report on Hurricane Sandy as it barrels up the East Coast, threatening to create havoc for tens of millions of people.
The Obama administration will soon take on a new role as the sponsor of at least two nationwide health insurance plans to be operated under contract with the federal government and offered to consumers in every state.
The court is scheduled on Wednesday to hear Florida's appeal of two decisions by that state's highest court that found the detection of drugs by trained police dogs had violated the constitutional ban on unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
View assessment data and tax exempt totals for U.S. cities
The "sequester" and other looming federal budget actions will affect governments at every level. These fiscal decisions will be made without adequate data and without the intergovernmental forums we need.
With less than two weeks before Election Day, supporters of Troy Mayor Janice Daniels are battling hard with those who want to recall her just one year after she was narrowly elected.
CalPERS formally challenged the city of San Bernardino's right to file for bankruptcy protection after the city fell behind on $5.2 million in payments.
