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Gov. Christie said he felt as if he were in Alice in Wonderland.
The leaders of Georgia’s purchasing office on saving money, realizing the importance of data analysts and being underappreciated.
A project in Philadelphia used a streamlined approach to procurement to get quick results.
In an effort to help people become less car-dependent, cities like Denver are getting directly involved in the creation of transportation apps.
The governor vetoed his first two bills of the year Tuesday. One was a controversial measure to allow the use of religious texts in Idaho schools, and the other a funding bill meant to accompany a failed bill to apply for a Medicaid expansion waiver.
State Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley was elected to a 10-year term Tuesday, overcoming a challenge from Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg and keeping the job Gov. Scott Walker appointed her to in the fall.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett easily won re-election Tuesday after a bitter and personal race, overcoming a challenge from Ald. Bob Donovan.
Florida health administrators have agreed to settle a long-simmering lawsuit that claims the state's Medicaid insurance program for needy children is so poorly funded and managed that impoverished youngsters are consigned to a second-rate healthcare system where long waits for access and substandard care are the norm.
A north Alabama lawmaker Tuesday filed articles of impeachment against Gov. Robert Bentley over what he called "incompetency" and an inability to lead.
If pre-election scenarios about two proposed tax increases were accurate, the city will need to eliminate more than 13 percent of its workforce, including the positions of seven police officers.
Amid a flurry of strongly worded tweets, PayPal on Tuesday became the first and only prominent tech company to commit to moving operations out of North Carolina, whose governor last week signed into law a bill that bars local governments from passing antidiscrimination protections for LGBT people.
San Francisco became the first U.S. city to require six weeks of paid leave for new parents Tuesday, nearly doubling the amount of money new parents will bring in while caring for their newborns.
The Philadelphia School Reform Commission has come up empty in its bid to undo a recent, devastating state Supreme Court ruling that curtailed powers it thought it had.
New Jersey's political impasse over how to rescue Atlantic City is risking the state's reputation as a reliable financial backstop for distressed municipalities and threatens to plunge the resort town into a bankruptcy that would affect cities across the state.
A new federal rule could make it more expensive for governments to issue debt in a financial crisis.
A federal judge on Monday approved a $20.8 billion settlement negotiated between BP and a group of plaintiffs including the federal government, Texas and four other Gulf Coast states and hundreds of local governments stemming from the energy giant's 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.
Puerto Rico proposed a new plan on Monday to restructure its debt, offering some creditors better terms than an earlier plan but falling well short of winning broad support.
Republican state Rep. Dan Carter of Bethel announced that he is running for U.S. Senate on Monday, five weeks before the party is scheduled to pick a nominee.
Virginia high school is going to look different for the freshmen who enroll in 2018.
For years, the federal government, states and some cities have enthusiastically made vast troves of data open to the public.
When Ohio tallied what many already knew was an alarming surge in overdose deaths from an opioid known as fentanyl, the state asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed 19 bills Friday that West Virginia lawmakers passed at the end of the 60-day legislative session, including several measures that would have lifted various gun restrictions.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Monday vetoed a bill that would have required schools to notify parents of any "sexually explicit" content in a class and offer an alternative. The bill was triggered by concern over Toni Morrison's Pulizter-winning novel "Beloved."
The justices unanimously rejected a challenge to the way Texas -- and every other state -- draws its legislative lines. They did, however, leave one question unsettled.
The 55-year-old crack addict counted his change outside a Harlem liquor store. He had just over a dollar, leaving him 35 cents short of the cheapest mini-bottle.
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday approved a constitutional amendment backed by utility companies that would maintain the status quo in how solar energy is regulated.
Last week, lawyers for the state of Texas got the latest in a string of bad legal news.
Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear on Friday said that Gov. Matt Bevin should rescind his ordered mid-year cuts to university budgets within seven days, or face litigation.
A Manhattan federal judge signed off on a class-action settlement Thursday expected to drastically reduce the use of solitary confinement in New York state prisons and improve conditions in "the hole" for prisoners who undergo it.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed three bills targeting abortion providers, including one requiring them to follow outdated federal guidelines for the most common abortion drug and prescribe it at much higher doses than needed.
More than a dozen state attorneys general gathered in New York earlier this week, ostensibly to announce their support for President Obama’s efforts to combat global warming and to underscore their intention to collaborate on investigations involving climate-related issues.
The latest jobs report shows local government employment increasing, while state and federal employment stagnates.
The federal government is changing the way it reimburses states for Native Americans' health care. The implications could be big -- and not just for Native Americans.
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said Thursday a federal appeals court has ruled that Arkansas and six other states can intervene in a lawsuit challenging a Federal Communications Commission order limiting the rates that can be charged for inmates’ phone calls.
With far more people behind bars than any other country—including China, Russia, and India— the United States is rightly viewed as the world’s incarceration leader. But for nearly a decade, an important domestic shift has been under way.
Gov. Christie on Thursday said he would personally campaign against a proposed constitutional amendment to expand casino gambling to North Jersey if the Assembly does not pass legislation authorizing a state takeover of Atlantic City's finances.
A new group of San Francisco police officers was implicated in exchanging bigoted text messages, fueling increased scrutiny of the city force and prompting a review of court cases handled by those officers for potential bias, authorities said Thursday.
Chicago Public Schools said it won't seek to discipline employees who take part in a one-day strike Friday, but district officials said they will launch a legal challenge to what they've maintained is an unlawful walkout by the Chicago Teachers Union.
A federal judge ruled Thursday that Mississippi’s ban on same-sex couples adopting children is unconstitutional, making gay adoption legal in all 50 states.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Most people don't know they can get their juvenile records erased. Thanks to a group of young people, there's now an app for that.
In Minnesota, women will be paid to persuade resistant farmers to care and do something about the state's increasingly polluted waterways.
The new rules could create an influx of patients with mental health and substance abuse issues in states that are already struggling to meet the current demand.
Even in this intense presidential election season, voter turnout has been abysmal. There's a better way to get voters to participate.
Gov. Scott Walker signed 56 bills Wednesday, including ones that will block property tax increases for some public schools, bar local governments from banning plastic bags and make it illegal to use cellphones while driving in construction zones.
Abortion rights advocates in Ohio celebrated a rare victory Wednesday when the federal Food and Drug Administration relaxed requirements for a medication that induces abortion, expanding access to the procedure.
Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill into law Tuesday that mandates the state crime lab triage and process the backlog of untested rape kits sitting in police departments across Oregon.
How do fix a problem if you don’t know its size?
Rebekah Mason, the woman reputedly on the other end of the line in Gov. Robert Bentley's sexually-charged phone calls, resigned from her position as Bentley's top aide Wednesday.
As promised, Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday vetoed a bill that said no minister or religious organization could be penalized for acting on a belief that marriage should be only between a man and a woman.
A group of grad students is implementing an award-winning idea for encouraging young homeless people to use health and social services.
Most places focus on pensions for cost-cutting. But a new study argues it would be easier for governments to reduce the collective $1 trillion they owe in retiree health care.
What Arizona lawmakers have done gets at many of the most serious problems facing public pensions everywhere. Now it's up to the state's voters.
Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill this morning that will send $48.7 million to the financially struggling Detroit Public Schools district to ensure that it doesn't run out of cash and be forced to shut its doors next month.
Legislation to block Planned Parenthood from receiving any state funding was vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
No charges will be filed against the two Minneapolis officers involved in the shooting death last fall of Jamar Clark, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Wednesday, citing DNA and other evidence that Clark had a hand on one officer's gun during a struggle and was not handcuffed when shot.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry may have stumped for Ted Cruz for president, but there's no record he voted in this year's Republican primary in Texas. A spokesman for Perry suggested his ballot may have been lost in the mail.
Countering Connecticut's Tax Proposals, Florida Governor Extends Warm Invitation to Land of Tax Cuts
Maybe Yale's dorms would be replaced with cabanas on Florida's Gulf Coast beach.
In its latest crackdown on school corruption in Detroit, the federal government today dropped a legal bomb on 12 current and former principals, one administrator and a vendor -- all of them charged with running a nearly $1-million bribery and kickback scheme involving school supplies that were rarely ever delivered.
For the second time in a year, Portland city leaders are making a political statement by preparing a travel embargo against a state deemed to have discriminatory laws.
Roy Cooper, the North Carolina attorney general, said Tuesday that his office will not defend state officials and state agencies against the law adopted last week that strikes down locally enacted protections for lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
As city councilors here discussed the local water system recently, Summer Smith, a homeowner, rose to ask a question: “Can you explain in plain English what ‘emergent water conditions’ means? It sounds kind of alarming.”
New research shows certain graduated driver licensing laws result in fewer teens being arrested for nontraffic-related crimes.
<i>The Week in Politics</i>: Legislatures Take On Minimum Wage, Legal Scandals in the South and More
The most important election news and political dynamics at the state and local levels.
Hawaii's decision to end the state's most popular solar incentive program has caused more than a dozen solar companies to close up shop, lay off staff members or cut employee hours, according to a leading industry association.
Two transgender people and a lesbian law professor at N.C. Central University filed a lawsuit in federal court early Monday challenging North Carolina's new law that bans local governments from passing local anti-discrimination ordinances and dictates that transgender residents use the public restrooms of their biological sex.
Gov. Butch Otter Monday ruled out calling a special legislative session or taking action on his own to advance an Idaho-designed, federally-funded health care program for 78,000 poor and uninsured Idahoans.
The governor has signed a bill that makes Utah the first state to require doctors to give anesthesia to women having an abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy or later.
The Justice Department today announced that it is resuming a controversial practice that allows local police departments to funnel a large portion of assets seized from citizens into their own coffers under federal law.
Reeling for months since the Laquan McDonald shooting put an unflattering national spotlight on the Chicago Police Department, Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday took an important step in trying to repair the damage by introducing longtime cop Eddie Johnson, an African-American, as the city's new interim police superintendent.
State Sen. Virgil Smith started serving his 10-month jail sentence today as punishment for shooting his ex-wife's Mercedes-Benz, but he never resigned from his job as a legislator.
Other countries teach conflict resolution to at-risk youth as a way to break the cycle of violent retaliation. The idea is slowly catching on in America.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Monday vetoed the "religious liberty" bill that triggered a wave of criticism from gay rights groups and business leaders and presented him with one of the most consequential challenges he's faced since his election to Georgia's top office.
Abortion clinics throughout Florida will go without taxpayer funds, face increased reporting requirements and new hurdles for doctors providing the procedure under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Rick Scott.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday passed on hearing former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appeal of his conviction and 14-year prison sentence on sweeping corruption charges.
Nowhere are the problems with pension funding more evident than in Kentucky, where the state lost millions because of the stock market. Lawmakers are now debating how to recover.
Leaning forward on a two-seat swing beneath a shady tree, Ricardo Lopez ticked off his lofty political ambitions:
The wildfire in Barber County was declared 81 percent controlled on Sunday evening, according to officials.
A pilot program requiring drug screenings for public assistance applicants will soon start in West Virginia.
After former Gov. Rick Perry issued an executive order in December 2014 mandating the use of E-Verify for state agencies, some lawmakers noted the directive lacked a mechanism to ensure compliance.
California lawmakers have reached a tentative deal with labor groups to increase the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next six years, a move that could head off a costly fight at the ballot box in November.
Even as mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus advance northward, lawmakers in 18 states are trying to block the fetal tissue research that might reveal the keys to unlocking the disease and preventing the massive birth defects associated with it.
Policies are one thing. Implementing them is another. The next president needs to pay attention to our intergovernmental system.
In an interview, Scott Pattison of the National Governors Association says he wants to guide the group through a period of fierce partisanship.
View numbers of local school districts and student enrollment statistics for states and metro areas.
Chicago Public Schools will provide about 250 "contingency sites" for students locked out of the classroom by a one-day teachers strike April 1, while also asking teachers who disagree with the walkout to report for work.
As Maricopa County voters dealt with excruciatingly long wait times, Pima County residents struggled with a different challenge on Tuesday: incorrect party-affiliation listings that prevented some from casting a ballot.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a Republican Party appeal seeking to close Montana's primary elections in June, meaning any registered voter will be able to select a GOP ballot.
Chicago's police oversight agency has tapped an outside law firm to perform an audit on whether police shooting investigations by the agency have been conducted properly.
Gov. Mike Pence made Indiana the second state in the nation to ban abortions sought because the fetus has a disability, signing into law Thursday an expansion of the state's already restrictive abortion laws.
A controversial law that criminalizes women who give birth to drug-dependent babies will sunset later this year after a bill in front of a House committee failed Tuesday.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
The Chicago Tribune filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the Chicago Police Department violated state open-records laws by failing to produce emails sent by, received by or copied to former Superintendent Garry McCarthy.
The woman who accused Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson of molesting her two decades ago when she was a teenager in Phoenix appeared on camera to tell her story for the first time Tuesday night.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, responding to allegations from the former head of the state's law enforcement agency, said Wednesday afternoon that he made inappropriate remarks to a senior female staffer but denied participating in a "physical, sexual relationship."
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday signed into law a needle exchange program to combat HIV in Miami-Dade County and new requirements that rape kits be tested within 120 days.
Delivering a potentially serious blow to one of the fastest growing production hubs in the country, Walt Disney Co. is threatening to no longer film in the state of Georgia if an anti-gay bill is signed into law there.
he North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday approved and sent to the governor a bill that would prevent local governments from passing nondiscrimination ordinances and from opening bathrooms for people to use based on the gender with which they identify.
After a slowdown during the economic downturn, the great migration to the South and Southwest is back.
A panel appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder acknowledges missteps at all levels of government, but says the state's governor, agencies and emergency managers are chiefly to blame.
Gov. Tom Wolf said this afternoon he will allow an appropriations bill to complete this year's state budget to become law without his signature.
A variation on the existing model would provide a money back guarantee should a project fail.
The most important election news and political dynamics at the state and local levels.
While states are focused on the opioid epidemic, they may not be paying enough attention to the lab-created drugs that are hard to control.
The state’s secretary of transportation, Stephanie Pollack, is a liberal in a conservative administration and an advocate in an administrative post. But she’s making it work.
States and cities want to support women- and minority-owned businesses. But they often don’t know who they’re really paying.
North Carolina's fight over LGBT protections is part of a larger recent shift in political dynamics: States are thwarting local laws any chance they get -- while simultaneously complaining about federal intrusion on their own.
The former mayor, convicted of corruption, is trying to win back voters’ trust. The odds are she will.
The nation's prescription opioid and heroin abuse epidemic took center stage in Washington on Tuesday as the White House, Congress and regulatory agencies all weighed in on the issue that has captured the attention of Democrats and Republicans.
State lawmakers now face a political ultimatum over California's minimum wage: quickly take action to boost it above the current $10 an hour, or stand aside for a fall campaign in which voters are urged to do it themselves.
When passengers board a public bus in Maryland, chances are they’re not only on camera, but their conversations are being recorded as well.
Hackers demanded a ransom from two more Southern California hospitals last week and federal authorities are investigating the case.
Sarah Palin is ready to bring her folksy, backwoods wisdom to court.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich called for the destruction of the terrorist movement that attacked an airport and subway station in Belgium while disagreeing with more aggressive rhetoric from his opponents for the Republican presidential nomination on an issue that is a high priority with GOP voters.
The New York City Council passed sweeping changes to the zoning code on Tuesday, compelling private developers to build low-cost rental units and handing Mayor Bill de Blasio a victory on the centerpiece of his efforts to blunt neighborhood gentrification.
If you have experienced issues trying to vote online for today's Republican party political caucus, you may not be alone.
Asking government workers to contribute more is reasonable. Setting out to punish them isn't.
A new award-winning website aims to better educate voters about downballot races, which people often know little (if anything) about.
Our latest Electoral College handicapping shows nearly a dozen states are increasingly leaning toward picking a Democrat to be the next president.
The city may build an aerial gondola to shuttle people into and out of its oldest neighborhood.
The ruling lets unions keep collecting fees from nonunion members -- for now. The case is likely to be retried.
You’ve probably read about the Windy City’s money problems. But chances are they're worse than you thought, and a recent ruling didn't help.
It’s one of the few issues with bipartisan support in Washington. But for several reasons, the chances for change this year are dwindling.
Many of the governors with the highest approval ratings were elected on the other party’s turf.
The sleek new stations throughout the city let users make 911 calls and search the web -- all for free.
There's a growing movement to make the drug that can reverse overdoses widely available at pharmacies, police departments and schools.
In much of the country, school districts survive even when they have few students. In an era of budget cutbacks, these districts are prime targets for consolidation.
The Supreme Court effectively extended the reach of the Second Amendment Monday, saying the constitutional right to "bear arms" is not limited to handguns and other firearms, and may include an electric stun gun.
Public transit rarely competes for riders with the likes of Uber, Car2Go or bike sharing. Instead, the different transit modes help each other.
Adam Kelly Ward, whom appeals courts have recognized as mentally ill, is set for execution Tuesday evening in a 2005 shooting death.
Tim Cullen’s marijuana business brought in millions of dollars last year, but he’s had a hard time finding a bank to take the money.
North Carolina Republican Party leaders are seeking to oust their chairman, Hasan Harnett, after the party’s Central Committee on Sunday took a vote of no confidence, restricted his duties and banned him from party headquarters.
A leading credit rating agency dialed back its outlook on the State of Michigan, citing increasing costs associated with the City of Flint's water crisis and the financially distressed Detroit Public Schools.
Supreme Court justices vigorously questioned all sides Monday morning as they delved into the legislative intent behind Hampton Roads' congressional lines and wondered how much right elected officials have to pick their voters.
There's a push to tear them down. But they're one of the biggest things driving the urban renaissance.
Riding the subway is a sign of a good life -- according to pop culture, anyway.
States are not only anticipating a wave of retirements but also trouble filling the vacancies. How are they preparing?
At least 20 states are developing performance-based systems for funding higher education. The impact varies widely from state to state.
At least one state is using the experience to find a new way to prepare for the next recession.
Presidential contenders have plans for making college more affordable. But it's an issue not easily solved from the Oval Office.
As states act more like independent sovereigns, Washington has itself to blame.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a conservative challenge to the marijuana legalization laws adopted in Colorado and elsewhere that permit adults to buy, sell or use an ounce of the drug.
Did Sen. Larry Obhof really vote to fund Obamacare in Ohio? Did his Republican primary opponent, anti-abortion activist Janet Folger Porter, refuse to support personhood status for unborn crime victims?
Less than a month after taking office, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller flew to Oklahoma City with a top aide, billing the taxpayers at least $1,120 for flights and a rental car, budget records show.
The number of children sleeping in Child Protective Services offices shot up after an internal policy change at the agency limited child placements, according to state data released Thursday.
Politics in Chicago frequently is a rough-and-tumble affair but rarely does a campaign literally draw blood.
Texas women had nearly 9,000 fewer abortions in the first full year since new restrictions forced more than half of the state's abortion clinics to close.
For the first time ever, the Missouri House used a power Wednesday forcing the governor to release less than $1 million he has held back from various programs.
Political junkies and history buffs have spent weeks dreaming about the unlikeliest possible scenarios that could determine the 2016 election: contested conventions, third-party bids, a cross-party ticket.
