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The state law that could have triggered the exodus of thousands of children from failing St. Louis schools is unconstitutional and unenforceable, a St. Louis County Circuit Court judge ruled.
Defined-benefit fans tout this hybrid, but taxpayers need protections.
View average credit scores for each state with data compiled by reporting agencies.
A comprehensive, multifaceted partnership balances support and compassion with an expectation of self-reliance. And it saves money.
Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are already allowed to fly over some Virginia college campuses, and according to a local police chief, they'll be coming to Northern Virginia in the next few years.
The Supreme Court’s consideration of the health law highlights the need for a new look at the boundaries of our federal system.
While average college tuition increased in every state in 2011, early returns suggest the number won’t be that high in 2012. But in some states, it's only going to get worse, reports Stateline.org.
After the controversy over former Philadelphia schools superintendent Arlene Ackerman's nearly $1 million buyout, the Pennsylvania Senate voted this week to limit the severance pay to departing school leaders to one year's salary and benefits if they have more than two years of their contract remaining.
The CEO of the Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth talks about what it takes to make virtual medicine a reality.
State Sen. Chris Smith assembled his own 18-member committee when he felt Gov. Rick Scott didn't move swiftly enough in his review of the law following the February shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford. His independent task force is making a dozen recommendations for change in Florida's Stand Your Ground Law.
The report cards, a first for the chamber, rate senators and delegates on their support for the business community and for initiatives that will, in the chamber’s estimation, “move Virginia forward.”
Transportation Secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley, the first woman to lead Maryland’s sprawling transportation agency, will leave her post at the end of June, according to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s office. She was a lead surrogate for O’Malley’s failed attempt this year to convince the state’s General Assembly to apply a 6-percent sales tax to gasoline.
Hours after the Department of Justice greenlighted the GOP-drawn Congressional map, a Florida state circuit court ruled against a Democratic challenge to the state’s new Congressional map, denying a motion that the map violates the state constitution and declining to issue an injunction against the map.
Would Gov. Chris Christie accept an invitation from Mitt Romney to run for vice president? "I really have no interest in being vice president," he said, but "he might be able to convince me."
The governor issued an expected veto of a bill that would have required physicians to be physically present every time an abortion pill like RU-486 is prescribed, and again every time such a pill is swallowed.
Gov. Scott Walker raised an unprecedented $13.2 million over three months to fight off the recall bid against him, outdistancing his Democratic challengers and driving home the challenge they will have in beating the Republican incumbent.
Spending on highways and arterial streets maintained by the state will decline about 20 percent overall in Illinois in the next six years under an austerity transportation plan billed as "Transforming Transportation for Tomorrow."
Texas cannot bar Planned Parenthood from serving low-income women through a key health program until the group's lawsuit against the state is decided, a federal judge ruled.
The nation's high court turns down an appeal from L.A. County lawyers, who argued that the sheriff could not be held personally liable for the stabbing of an inmate at Men's Central Jail in 2006.
The American Society of Civil Engineer's latest report says a failure to invest in energy infrastructure could have huge economic consequences for the country.
Plus: Patient-ranked doctors and more management news
You might expect that a federal program to help needy mothers buy food for their children would be seeing increased participation these days. But the opposite is true.
A new tool released by the College Board shows that states differ widely in how they track community college completion.
The Supreme Court wants a lower court to look again at the latest attempt by former Ill. Gov. George Ryan to overturn his corruption convictions.
Democrats are now just a little more than a month away from the big showdown with Gov. Scott Walker they have been craving for over a year — but rather than excitement, there is growing fear within the party that they just might blow it.
Maryland’s top law enforcement officials are pushing back against a recent Court of Appeals decision that prohibits DNA collection from suspects charged — but not yet convicted — of violent crimes, saying the ruling will allow dangerous criminals to go undetected by authorities.
On state university campuses across the country, the concept of consolidating campuses and academic assets has gained increasing traction in recent years as state support for higher education declines, and there's a growing sense that tuition increases are becoming politically untenable at public universities.
The next piece of New Jersey government that may hit the market could provide the biggest windfall - and the biggest controversy. The Treasury Department has sought information from vendors about privatizing the $2.6 billion state lottery.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools will debut its first video game-themed magnet this fall. But the school may be a hard sell for parents.
A Star-Ledger analysis of sick and vacation time records for lawmakers and other public employees show that politicians can reap generous rewards from the same system they are charged with policing. The payouts also take sizable chunks out of local budgets that are already under duress.
Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a bill to allow the sale and use of a wide array of consumer fireworks, including aerial rockets and firecrackers.
Federal officials have signed off on plans by Gov. Scott Walker's administration to cut costs in state health programs that will lead to an estimated more than 17,000 people leaving or being turned away.
The booming medical-marijuana industry in Washington is struggling to gain business legitimacy. Already on shaky legal footing because of the conflict between state and federal law, dispensaries are bogged down by troubles with banking and federal taxes.
Cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools is racing to spend about $16 million in federal tutoring grants by the end of the summer to avoid losing the money in a program plagued by dwindling participation and financial missteps.
Many taxpayers opt not to pay use tax. View reported totals and estimated amounts uncollected for each state.
Studying the health impact of projects in various sectors, particularly transportation, could influence future policymaking.
The annual ranking combines health, economy, government performance and other factors.
Opponents of Michigan's sweeping emergency manager law have gathered enough signatures to put a repeal measure on the November ballot, state elections officials said Wednesday.
View new and historical data on personal income per capita for each U.S. county.
The student loan bubble could hurt state and local revenue.
Current and historical changes in personal income per capita for each U.S. County
The Tennessee House has voted to approve a Republican bill aiming to require children to be older before they can enroll in kindergarten over Democrats' arguments that the measure is aimed at laying off teachers.
Online coupon site threatens to leave Washington, D.C. if it doesn't get a tax break.
U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, Pennsylvania's longest-serving congressman, lost his re-election bid in the Democratic primary, while Rep. Mark Critz beat fellow Democratic incumbent Rep. Jason Altmire.
A day before the Supreme Court was to hear arguments on an Arizona statute that expanded the immigration enforcement powers of local police, the author of the law defended it in a Senate hearing under sharp questioning from Democrats, saying it “removes the political handcuffs from state and local law enforcement.”
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who was invited to Tuesday’s Senate hearing but declined to attend, laced into Senate Democrats and accused them of a “political stunt” for threatening to take legislative action if the Supreme Court upholds her state’s controversial immigration law.
Two conservative Democrats who voted against the president’s health care plan went down in defeat Tuesday, falling victim to primary opponents who cast them as far out of step with their party. Redistricting played a role in both defeats.
Mitt Romney won all five Republican presidential primaries Tuesday night, completing a sweep of contests in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Sen. Joe Lieberman introduced legislation giving budget autonomy to the District of Columbia. Currently, the District’s funds are tied up in the Congressional appropriations process, where each threat of a government shutdown due to disagreements over spending deals puts D.C. operations at risk of a citywide halt.
The plan - subject to public comment and commission approval - would close 40 schools next year and 64 by 2017, move thousands more students to charters, and dismantle the central office in favor of "achievement networks" that would compete to run groups of 25 schools and would sign performance-based contracts.
A state Court of Criminal Appeals judge can continue hearing cases, including those related to driving under the influence, despite his own arrest on a DUI charge, court officials said. Although the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Code of Judicial Conduct states that judges “shall respect and comply with the law,” nothing in the rules precludes them from hearing cases when facing a misdemeanor charge.
Brushing aside demands for more oversight and bitter memories of the parking meter deal, the City Council approved a revolutionary change that will allow private investors to pump $1.7 billion into “transformative” infrastructure projects the city cannot afford to build on its own.
Two Wyoming House members, including the potential new Speaker of the House, announced this week that they’ll seek re-election. If elected, House Republican Majority Leader Tom Lubnau said he’ll look to run for House Speaker.
State Controller John Chiang cannot block lawmakers' pay based on his interpretation of the budget they pass, a Sacramento judge tentatively ruled Tuesday, handing the Legislature a significant win as it enters the busy season for budget writing. Chiang's unprecedented denial of legislative pay last year, based on his finding that state lawmakers had failed to pass a balanced budget, was popular beyond the Capitol. But some lawmakers suggested the controller's 12-day pay drought hurt their ability to pay household bills.
A new report from University of Virginia's Miller Center offers ways for the transportation community to improve its outreach.
A Brookings panel explored how to harness the potential of new technologies while analyzing challenges and benefits, both practical and fiscal.
Now that private-sector groups are allowed to spend unlimited amounts of money in state elections, who’s really running for office?
John Kitzhaber once called Oregon “ungovernable.” Now, he’s forging bipartisan alliances that are making it one of the best-governed states in the nation.
Despite a looming budget shortfall, Wisconsin's governor is fattening some state employees' paychecks. Here's why that's a good thing to do.
While George Zimmerman is free on bail, the police chief criticized for not charging him after Trayvon Martin's slaying remains under scrutiny, as city commissioners want to wait for the results of a federal investigation to decide if they will accept Chief Bill Lee's resignation.
The fate of Ohio's newly drawn legislative map is in the balance Tuesday as lawyers spar before the Ohio Supreme Court over whether Republicans who controlled the process gerrymandered the lines for political gain outside of public view.
While higher education came out ahead in the budget, funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs was eliminated.
The state Senate approved legislation that allows prosecutors to add a second murder or assault charge when a pregnant woman and an embryo she is carrying are harmed, sending the bill to Gov. Bill Haslam for his signature.
The City of Detroit's transportation and city lighting would be privatized and services to residents would be reduced under the the first budget being crafted with state oversight of the city's finances.
The Senate approved the bill, Senate File 430, on a 49-0 vote, sending the legislation to Gov. Terry Branstad, who championed the bill as one of his top legislative priorities this year. The agency, which will cost taxpayers $122,500 a year, will help mediate disputes between governments and record seekers, working partly as an enforcer to current law.
In Michigan, financial advisers take control of cities on the brink of bankruptcy.
High energy prices and an economy that has been slow to rebound are worsening Social Security's finances, shortening the life of the trust funds that support program by three years, the government said Monday.
One idea floating around on how to help cities pay for water infrastructure has already helped finance big transportation projects with large, low-interest loans directly from the feds.
Several states were embarrassed by faulty counts in their caucuses, which are run by political parties rather than by public officials.
Unlike many high-profile bankruptcies, Stockton’s financial woes are the result of many different factors that are not unusual for many localities.
San Francisco hopes that by raising some prices based on supply and demand, it can ensure there’s always at least one open spot on every block. According to a New York Times analysis, it may be working.
As the storm over the GSA’s lavish Vegas conference grips Washington, public managers at all levels of government have important questions to ask.
In his new book, political scientist Alan Rosenthal professes that no one gets what they want more than governors. Find out why.
Alex Morse, a recent college graduate, is in charge of a town with one of the nation’s worst unemployment rates. But he has plans to change that.
Consumption of leafy green vegetables is growing, as is the risk of E. coli contamination. California and Arizona are taking the lead in keeping them clean.
For now, Utah is one of only a handful of states that still allow nearly unrestricted access to psychotropic drugs. Does limiting access to their meds put the mentally ill at risk?
The upkeep and restoration of older city halls often become casualties of budgets squeezed by the Great Recession.
Can an innovative transit idea keep Silicon Valley -- home to tech giants like Google and Microsoft -- from choking on congestion? Or is the answer to their problems much simpler?
In Southfield, Mich., the mayor takes early morning walks with her constituents – a move that’s changed the physical and civic health of her city.
If the health reform law is upheld, the flexibility it will give states on health insurance exchanges could be a model for healthy federal-state relations.
How Stockton's story unfolds could have major consequences for public employee pensions and bondholders nationwide.
Many governments have shifted into reverse, cutting and even eliminating auditing offices.
An informal group of seven city CIOs is launching its first project: a website that will house standardized data from each city.
Despite enthusiasm for digital textbooks at the national level, states have been slow to get on board. But the movement is gaining strength, according to Stateline.org
For much of the legislative session, Vermont has been embroiled in a debate over whether to end parents' rights to refuse required immunizations for their kids.
Republicans in Congress are getting ready to answer an election-year question that has dogged the party's campaign for months: How would it replace President Barack Obama's healthcare law if the measure is overturned or repealed?
Many across the country will be watching closely when the Supreme Court hears arguments on Wednesday on the bitterly disputed immigration enforcement law that was passed two years ago in Arizona, inspiring the Georgia statute and similar ones in Alabama, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah.
The Corbett administration describes the primary as a "soft rollout" for the requirement that every voter must present an approved form of photo ID. All voters Tuesday will be asked for identification, but they will be allowed to vote regardless, as long as they have voted previously in the same precinct or division.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said he didn't expect to be Mitt Romney's vice-presidential running mate and quoted conservative luminary William F. Buckley to suggest he would "demand reconsideration" if asked to run.
Ten violent deaths in ten days of bloodshed in New Hampshire during April have left residents on edge in a state that prides itself on its low homicide rate.
Citing increased flexibility, Minneapolis plans to switch high schoolers from school buses to public transit over the next two years.
Republican delegates forced six-term Sen. Orrin Hatch into a Republican primary with former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist by fewer than 50 votes Saturday while they nominated Mia Love, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, to take on Rep. Jim Matheson.
The American public for years paid physicians millions of dollars in Medicare bonuses to treat the medically needy in parts of Texas and across the country - even though many doctors no longer qualified for the cash and federal officials knew it, a Houston Chronicle investigation has found.
36 candidates with "no party preference" are running for state and federal office in California this year, the first time the option is available for primary candidates. No-party-preference candidates make up just a fraction of the more than 500 people running for state and federal office on the June ballot. But some observers say a win – or even a good show – by no-party-preference candidates could pave the way for more independents to run for elected office in California.
A new law likely makes Indiana the only state where people are allowed to shoot cops under certain circumstances. The change, police officials say, not only puts officer’s safety at risk but the public’s too.
The chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party said he won't seek re-election next month after days of being pressured by party notables — including the governor — to step down in the fallout over sexual harassment allegations at party headquarters.
The Virginia State Board of Elections says the first campaign finance reporting deadline using a new electronic filing application was a success.
Gov. Bobby Jindal's top budget adviser says he doesn't know how large a hole is left in next year's budget because of changes made to the governor's retirement proposals.
This is an unsettling time for states whose economies revolve around coal. But the future may not be as bleak as doomsayers predict, reports Stateline.org.
SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco judge on Thursday indicated that he will not reinstate suspended San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi or stop the city from pursuing its official misconduct case against him.
The House Republican Caucus voted not to take up the measure this year. Even if the House doesn't take up the personhood bill, the issue remains alive. In March, Personhood Oklahoma has announced a petition drive to put a similar proposal before voters as a state constitutional amendment in November.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has sent every governor in the nation a letter asking for support in improving background checks for gun purchases. His letter was sent the same week as the five-year anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech in which a gunman killed 32 people and wounded 17 others.
Utah is now accepting gold and silver as legal tender for transactions and to settle debts according to a bill recently signed into law by Governor Gary R. Herbert. Several other states have proposed similar measures in the wake of the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve and the decreasing value of paper money.
The top federal prosecutor in northern West Virginia announced the creation of a new unit with a special hotline to aggressively pursue public corruption in a state known for malfeasance.
In an extraordinary act of political theater, the state Democratic chairman described and dismissed outright the sexual harassment claims against the party’s former top official and refused to immediately relinquish his post, despite intense national political pressure.
The three -- the first to be named to the nine-member board -- were former state Treasurer Robert Bowman, Darrell Burks, a senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Ken Whipple, board chairman at the executive search firm Korn/Ferry International.
Boulder District Judge Andrew Macdonald denied an emergency request to block the University of Colorado from closing the Boulder campus to visitors today in its continued efforts to end the annual 4/20 marijuana smoke-out.
The state is retesting 1,700 DUI blood samples after a laboratory employee failed to follow proper procedures, which skewed the results of the tests. The mistakes open the door for defense lawyers to challenge all of the blood testing in driving-under-the-influence cases conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's lab.
Matthew Carmichael replaces Annette Spicuzza on a one-year contract. Spicuzza resigned in the wake of the Nov. 18 pepper-spraying of protesters on campus.
An array of common indicators provide insight into a region's economy. A drop in credit scores can also explain a region's economic situtation.
Most governments have the infrastructure and the planning in place to handle an uptick in needed emergency care. But what about prep for a really big disaster?
If the Supreme Court upholds the health care reform law, state legislatures may take action to avoid having health exchanges set up by the federal government.
Four inmates escaped early Wednesday from a Kansas jail where they were transferred because of overcrowding at a state prison, and three of the men — including a convicted murderer — remained on the loose by late afternoon.
U.S. Rep David Rivera won't be charged with a state crime in Florida following a more than year-long investigation of the Republican's finances, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson says his Rainbow PUSH Coalition will organize to change gun laws in Oklahoma, where a shooting spree recently terrorized residents in a predominantly black section of Tulsa.
Local zoning laws could be limiting access to a quality education for low-income children, according to a new report by the Brookings Institute’s Metropolitan Policy Program.
Lawmakers voted 30-16 to override Gov. Dave Heineman's veto of Legislative Bill 599, which uses taxpayer funds for prenatal care for illegal immigrants.
A 14-month USA TODAY investigation has found that the EPA and state regulators left thousands of families and children in harm's way, doing little to assess the danger around many of the more than 400 potential lead smelter locations on a list compiled by a researcher from old industry directories and given to the EPA in 2001.
Florida's governor will announce Thursday morning who will be part of a task force that will look at the state's gun laws in the aftermath of the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
Newsom will host the weekly hour-long "Gavin Newsom Show" beginning in May. The lieutenant governor said he does not believe there is any conflict of interest in taking the TV job, and said he is "donating the (Current TV) salary to charity."
The Virginia Progressive Caucus called on their colleagues in the General Assembly to stop using state money to send legislators to conferences hosted by the American Legislative Exchange Council following scrutiny of “Stand Your Ground” laws after the slaying of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. The group had lobbied for similar laws in other states.
Defying a White House veto threat, the House passed legislation that extends transportation program funding through September and mandates construction of a controversial oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
Miami-Dade School Board unanimously voted to close a charter school accused of holding raunchy late-night parties in its cafeteria.
She said she is running for governor after becoming more and more frustrated with how state government is being run. Rich pointed out recent budget cuts to state universities and several years of reductions in K-12 funding that were only partially restored in the budget Scott signed into law Tuesday.
Insurance companies will have to offer coverage for autism treatments six months from now. Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, whose daughter, Reagan, has been diagnosed with autism, signed the measures into law, while Gov. Rick Snyder is visiting Michigan National Guard troops in Afghanistan.
The founder of the group that gathered the recall signatures against Gov. Scott Walker is endorsing Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
Variations in enrollment and funding allocations for state pre-K programs.
Voters in southern Arizona's 8th Congressional District chose Republican Jesse Kelly to face former Gabrielle Giffords aide Ron Barber in a special election to replace the wounded ex-congresswoman.
View each state's tax collections and revenue totals for the past five fiscal years
Texas officials have asked for more time to phase out federal funding for a women's health program after federal officials said it was illegal for the state to ban Planned Parenthood from participating in it.
Indianapolis' police chief resigned and two other top officers were suspended Tuesday over the latest blunder in the case of a fatal crash involving a police officer authorities believe was drunk.
The White House is threatening to veto transportation legislation that would extend money for highway construction projects through the end of September because it would mandate construction of a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline that President Barack Obama earlier blocked.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit did strike down Arizona's 2004 voter-approved requirement that residents show proof of citizenship when they register to vote -- at least on federal registration forms.
Most funding 'remains highly speculative,' the California Legislative Analyst's Office says. The high-speed rail agency's chief says the project's environmental and economic benefits were overlooked.
Gov. Jan Brewer rebuffed gun-rights advocates by vetoing for a second time a bill to allow guns on public property. The bill would have let guns into city halls, police stations, county courts, senior centers, swimming pools, libraries and the state Capitol.
Several expected candidates for mayor criticized Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s policy of closing struggling schools and opening smaller ones.
Two new studies say that poor neighborhoods have a wider variety of food choices than do more affluent ones, and found no relationship between the type of food being sold and obesity.
Ushered in amid promises that it would save taxpayers money and deter drug users, a Florida law requiring drug tests for people who seek welfare benefits resulted in no direct savings, snared few drug users and had no effect on the number of applications, according to recently released state data.
Truvada, used to treat patients who are infected, will given to high-risk people who don't have the virus. The grants will go to a group of UC schools, local governments and AIDS organizations.
Jesse Kelly, an Iraq war veteran who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.in 2010, won a Republican special election primary in the seat formerly held by Giffords.
Gov. Rick Scott signed the $70 billion budget into law that adds $1 billion for public schools. He vetoed many South Florida projects.
State elections officials voted 6-0 to leave in place the protest candidates who filed paperwork to run in the recall elections against Gov. Scott Walker and five other GOP officials, ensuring that all the races would hold primary elections May 8 and general elections June 5.
As more law-enforcement agencies are using networking websites to engage their communities, departments are weighing in on the role social media play in the personal lives of their employees and warning of the dangers.
Because state law already bans adults from having sex with or attempting to seduce minors, the key impact of AB 1861 would have been to crack down on affairs between teachers and 18-year-olds.
The costs can continue years after the accused have been ousted. And in some cases, the expenses exceed the amount of city money that officials are accused of stealing or squandering in the first place.
Not so fast. What many people fear about organizational change is loss.
House Rules Committee plans to meet to discuss another extension.
All of the states provide tax incentives for economic development, but most of them don’t do a good job of making sure that they’re getting value for the taxpayers' money.
A homework assignment for 457 investors and administrators
Politicians can't fix pension abuses with voting rules alone.
