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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday announced a new unit in his office dedicated to combating human trafficking.
Minnesota state officials are trying to take some of the sting out of high student-loan debt, rolling out a new program that could allow thousands of residents to refinance student loans and drive down monthly payments.
Most state budget offices have fewer employees and more work than they did a decade ago.
Last year at this time, Gov. Rick Snyder was boasting about the state's financial accomplishments, toying with a presidential run, and delivering a State of the State address that said his administration would ensure all Michigan residents could be pulled along by Michigan's "river of opportunity."
President Barack Obama on Saturday declared a federal emergency in Flint, freeing up to $5 million in federal aid to immediately assist with the public health crisis, but he denied Gov. Rick Snyder's request for a disaster declaration.
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider making it harder to prosecute public officials for corruption, agreeing to hear former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's appeal of his conviction for what government lawyers said was a bribery scheme.
Former New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran ended her 30-day jail sentence Sunday morning, leaving the Santa Fe County jail in a light gray sweatsuit and carrying a large, plastic bag full of personal belongings.
In 2003, a tiny girl weighing little more than 20 pounds arrived at an emergency shelter here on the gulf coast, after being shuttled between five foster homes and youth shelters in three months.
More than 18,000 times over the past two years, local jails across the country have failed to hand over deportable immigrants to federal authorities, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement records obtained by The Texas Tribune.
The technology that UPS uses to optimize its routes and achieve big savings shows how powerful data analytics could be across the public sector.
Civic innovation can improve the way government works, but it needs a long runway.
Why are some states losing people, even as the country continues to grow? Jobs, jobs, jobs (and, in some cases, aging).
Many places that initially struggled to bounce back from the recession are finally seeing progress, but more than 90 percent still haven't fully recovered.
Providing property tax relief to Nebraskans is the governor's top priority this year.
Colorado's lovably eccentric governor had fun with his sixth State of the State address Thursday, interrupting his policy plans and economic development announcements with one-liners about cat videos, Taylor Swift lyrics and a groan-worthy foot-in-mouth moment that brought down the (state) House.
Videos of another fatal shooting by a white Chicago police officer of a black teenager were released Thursday, after a federal judge's order that blasted the city for abruptly reversing its opposition to making the surveillance footage public.
Suspects, defense lawyers and prosecutors can continue to enter felony plea bargains in which judges are asked to sign off on criminal charges that may not square with the facts.
The Anne Arundel County state's attorney is investigating former Gov. Martin O'Malley's discounted, tax-free purchase last year of taxpayer-owned furniture from the governor's mansion in Annapolis.
A gambit to impeach Republican Gov. Paul LePage failed overwhelmingly in the Maine House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon after almost three hours of floor debate.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder asked President Barack Obama to declare the area around Flint a federal emergency to combat the escalating crisis over contamination of the city's drinking water.
They're either debating or have already made big changes to their health-care programs for the poor.
Republican legislative leaders were split over Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's proposal to partially fill the state's budget shortfall with tax increases, with Senate President Bill Cole open to the idea and House Speaker Tim Armstead deeply skeptical.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
General Electric's move to Boston is a political home run for both Gov. Charlie Baker and Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who put aside recent frictions to present a unified front that impressed the global powerhouse.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said he didn't understand the gravity of Laquan McDonald's shooting death at the hands of a Chicago police officer until just before the city settled with the teen's family last spring, and that he wasn't aware other officers may have falsified reports about the shooting until just after the video was released to the public.
A year out of office, former Gov. Rick Perry has a new job: chief strategy officer at MCNA Dental, the largest privatively held dental insurance company in the country, according to a spokesman for Perry.
With full federal funding for expanding Medicaid set to expire at the end this year, President Barack Obama is proposing to indefinitely extend the health law provision for any of the 19 states that have not yet adopted the enhanced eligibility.
This time, Gov. Nathan Deal kicked off the session with no dramatic proposal, no controversial idea on the scale of the school takeover plan or the HOPE scholarship overhaul that dominated past legislative gatherings.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe called for bipartisan cooperation during Wednesday's State of the Commonwealth speech, turning at one point during his annual address to hand a cigar to Republican Speaker of the House William Howell.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo set up a number of fronts with which to do battle with lawmakers and various special interest groups Wednesday, proposing a 2016 state budget with massive spending increases on infrastructure, less state aid for schools than education advocates want, and new restrictions on outside earnings by legislators.
There's something to be said for making all workers chip in for the benefits unions provide. But that doesn't get at the issue of unions that wield too much power.
In his 22nd Condition of the State speech Tuesday to lawmakers, Gov. Terry Branstad urged them to be bold and courageous in forging a new path to school funding, homegrown energy and "a more fair and equitable society for all Iowans."
Gov. Paul LePage indicated Tuesday that he might break with longstanding custom and deliver his State of the State address by letter rather than give a speech before the full Legislature.
Minnesota lottery officials know the record-breaking Powerball jackpot is creating a buying frenzy.
In several cities where pension reform has failed, this type of problem-solving has proved beneficial.
Louisiana became the 31st state to expand Medicaid after Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order Tuesday (Jan. 12) that will make more than 300,000 people eligible for the federal health care program.
Gov. Sam Brownback delivered a sometimes defiant State of the State address Tuesday that defended his conservative Republican policies and lashed out at President Barack Obama.
Taking a hard conservative line in Tuesday night's State of the State address, Gov. Mike Pence sided with shielding religious rights in the contentious statewide debate over whether to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers from discrimination.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard's proposal to raise South Dakota's teacher salaries from worst in the nation is drawing praise from two of the state's superintendents.
Not everyone agrees with Gov. Jay Inslee's assessment that Washington lawmakers are "on track" to solve a school funding crisis that has landed the state in contempt of court.
Gov. Rick Scott kicked off the annual legislative session Tuesday by extolling the virtues of job creation and pushing his top two priorities: cutting taxes and spending more money to lure companies to Florida.
Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday night activated the Michigan National Guard to assist with the ongoing crisis of the lead contamination of Flint's drinking water.
It may not have been a campaign speech, but the overtures of Chris Christie’s 6th State of the State address today were easily transferable to the New Jersey governor’s presidential bid.
Mayor Mike Duggan added his voice Tuesday to those of teachers and others calling for state help for Detroit Public Schools, noting that conditions in some of them "break your heart."
Juries, not judges, should be the ones to impose the death penalty in Florida, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Tuesday in a ruling that will force lawmakers in Tallahassee to scramble to revamp how the state metes out sentences for murder.
Republican governors have fought the president’s vision for America since he first took office. But he continues to push even their most-resisted policies.
SandRidge Energy Inc., the largest oil producer in Kansas and largest disposer of waste water in Oklahoma, is refusing to abide by regulations designed to prevent earthquakes, according to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
Faced with a public health and infrastructure crisis in Flint that could take years to fully resolve, Gov. Rick Snyder signed an executive order on Monday to create an inter-agency committee to work on "long-term solutions to the Flint water situation and ongoing public health concerns affecting residents."
Bolstered by second-place ties in two New Hampshire polls released today, Ohio Gov. John Kasich qualified for the prime-time segment of Thursday's GOP presidential debate.
Maryland's second-highest court has intervened and postponed the trial of Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., just as the case was set to get underway Monday with jury selection.
Teachers whose organized sick-out shut down more than 60 Detroit schools today demanded that their voices be heard and that the district address what they've described as deplorable teaching conditions.
Facing one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country, Columbus, Ohio, is taking the time to understand its unique causes.
The technology could help agencies make bus and train routes more efficient and spur more public debate.
Gov. Sam Brownback issued a second executive order on refugee resettlement Friday, broadening his previous order that forbids state agencies from assisting in the resettlement of Syrian refugees to Kansas.
Two foster parents are suing the state Department of Human Services in Oklahoma City federal court over an agency rule they claim is unconstitutional because it prohibits foster and adoptive parents from legally possessing firearms for self-defense.
The federal government is giving air travelers in Minnesota and a handful of other states a two-year reprieve from enforcement of a law that would have banned commercial air travelers who didn't have a new federally approved identification.
The South Carolina governor has been selected to give the GOP's response to the State of the Union. Despite her popularity, she struggles to lead her own state.
Nearly half the states are reinstating work requirements that had been suspended since the Great Recession. But advocates say it’s still too soon.
In a fresh — but long shot — assertion of states’ rights, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday called for a convention of U.S. states to pass nine new amendments to the U.S. Constitution, measures meant to limit the powers of the federal government.
Jim Kenney began his first week as mayor dancing with Philadelphia sports mascots on a stage celebrating his inauguration. He visited classrooms. He dissed misbehaving Mummers and the recently fired Eagles coach.
Stymied for three years by conservative lawmakers unwilling to expand Medicaid, Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter on Thursday proposed a new state program to provide partial health care services to an estimated 78,000 uninsured adults.
The city of Sacramento, Calif., is at the center of a video warning presumably posted by the hacker group Anonymous regarding an anti-camping ordinance aimed at the homeless Jan. 6.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the overseer of the state's massive budget, is turning to sources outside of Albany's bank account to begin a state-run college education program for inmates in some of New York's prisons.
The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority signaled Monday that it is likely to substantially weaken government employee unions by overruling a 1977 decision that has allowed the unions to charge nonmembers for the costs of representing them.
The way governments give out money to solve problems is stuck in the past.
New data depicts weak job growth for all levels of government.
Even one of America's most connected cities is struggling to get everyone online.
A federal court ordered a congressional redistricting Thursday that reassigned millions of voters and changed the racial and political makeup of districts served by Reps. Bobby Scott and Randy Forbes.
Gov. Robert Bentley on Thursday announced the state of Alabama is suing the federal government for non-compliance of the Refugee Act of 1980, which requires federal government to consult with state government before placing refugees in the state.
The Chicago Teachers Union has officially added its voice to those calling for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to step down in light of the city's ongoing controversies over police tactics and accountability.
Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday offered her strongest remarks yet on armed militants' six-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, calling the action "unlawful" and demanding the group "decamp immediately."
Determined to lessen the toll of gun violence, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday the state will seek to strengthen background checks by improving information sharing among agencies and reduce suicides by implementing a statewide prevention plan.
Gov. Paul LePage made a racially charged comment in Bridgton on Wednesday night during one of his regular town hall meetings to promote his policy agenda.
By now, it could easily be called Gov. Jerry Brown's budget doctrine -- an insistence on only modest expansions in state services but liberal payments for one-time expenses and accumulated government debt.
A Republican state lawmaker has filed a measure that would list sex between lobbyists and lawmakers or their staff as gifts that must be reported to the state ethics commission.
New York City officials on Thursday announced a landmark settlement of a sweeping 2013 lawsuit over NYPD surveillance of Muslims that alleged the police intelligence division unconstitutionally deployed informants and infiltrated mosques.
The National Governors Association had seen its influence on federal legislation decline in the past decade. But because of new leadership, things may be looking up.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill Wednesday afternoon that has local officials worried that they won't be able to inform the public about upcoming ballot issues.
The next battle over gun rights in Texas may take place in an unlikely setting: the zoo.
On Jan. 6 at the Governor's Summit on Cybersecurity and Privacy, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced two new programs to strengthen cybersecurity and privacy in the state.
The state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old African-American woman who was found dead three days later in her Waller County Jail cell, has been indicted on perjury charges, a special prosecutor said.
Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered new regulations, including stepped-up inspections and safety measures, for all natural gas storage facilities in California in response to the continuing leak that has displaced thousands of people in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles.
City Commissioner Anthony Clark, who failed to vote for four years, will once again serve as chairman of the three-member board that oversees Philadelphia elections.
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore Wednesday morning said probate judges have a "ministerial duty" to comply with state bans on same-sex marriage, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June striking down such restrictions.
Many city employees in New York City will earn at least $15 an hour by the end of 2018.
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is running for president again.
The federal government has announced a $157 million project to help hospitals and doctors link Medicare and Medicaid patients to needed social services that sometimes have a bigger impact on their health than medical interventions.
Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday announced a shakeup atop the state's Employment Department, replacing the agency's director just days after a state audit raised concerns about security lapses and tax troubles involving the department's aging computer systems.
Gov. Scott Walker, in keeping with past practice, won't pardon Steven Avery or his nephew for a 2005 homicide that has received widespread attention after a new documentary raised questions about the case.
Gov. Bill Walker's administration on Tuesday put in place a hiring freeze and travel restrictions for state workers, citing Alaska's ongoing budget crisis.
After more than a decade as Florida's chief insurance regulator, Kevin McCarty resigned Tuesday, nearly a year after he overcame a failed effort by Gov. Rick Scott to get rid of him.
The people who probe governments' finances and effectiveness often have little power and are at risk of losing more, says Philadelphia Controller Alan Butkovitz.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission said Monday it has asked operators of five nearby saltwater disposal wells to reduce volumes after a swarm of earthquakes hit the Edmond area in the past week.
Calling Baltimore's abandoned rowhouses "hotbeds for crime," Gov. Larry Hogan on Tuesday announced a nearly $700 million plan to tear down thousands of vacant buildings and replace them with new developments -- a level of investment in Baltimore's poorest neighborhoods some say is unprecedented.
The Commonwealth Court has blocked Pennsylvania from enforcing a lifetime ban on work in nursing homes and other health care facilities for people convicted of certain crimes.
Gov. Nathan Deal retreated on Monday from an order he signed weeks ago that tried to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Georgia, relenting after the state's top lawyer concluded he had no legal power to stop them from coming.
Gov. Rick Snyder declared a state of emergency for Flint and Genesee County Tuesday as a result of the contaminated drinking water crisis, on the same day the U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed it is investigating the contamination of Flint's drinking water supply.
President Barack Obama's blueprint to address gun violence touches every major aspect in the gun control debate: background checks, mental health issues and flaws in the federal system that tracks who can buy a gun.
The proposed changes would mark unprecedented federal authority over state and local pensions and make their financial status look a lot worse.
Most increased their reliance more on income taxes from people instead of corporations in the past few decades. View data for every state.
Mayor Kenney on Monday barred almost all cooperation between city law enforcement and federal immigration agents, reverting to a policy that made Philadelphia one of the nation's "sanctuary cities."
A recent decision by the Illinois Supreme Court will allow Cook County to collect about $3 million in unpaid taxes from Des Plaines' Rivers Casino.
Maryland has some of the toughest restrictions on gun sales in the nation, but gun control advocates said Monday they hope President Barack Obama's executive actions on the issue address an outstanding concern: weapons trafficked to Baltimore from other states.
The two Oregon ranchers at the center of a controversial resentencing decision that has led militants to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters reported Monday to federal prison in California.
The Obama administration on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Texas abortion law that has shuttered nearly half the clinics in the state, saying the Republican-backed regulations would harm rather than protect women's health.
A veteran attorney in Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration resigned hours after a federal judge ruled Monday that he intentionally concealed crucial evidence in a trial over a fatal Chicago police shooting and then lied about his reasons for doing so.
But at least one state is leading the charge to change that.
A package of new laws taking effect Friday aims to keep more juveniles out of the prison system, including changes that stop youths from being detained for misdemeanor crimes and give judges more discretion on whether teens should be tried as adults.
After hours of Capitol testimony, passionate floor debates and deadline-beating votes in the Legislature, the state's new "open carry" gun law takes effect on the first day of 2016. You have questions. We have answers.
Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration plans to borrow $480 million this month to pay for construction projects.
In this remote and rugged country of snowcapped foothills, a band of gunmen and self-proclaimed defenders of the U.S. Constitution have chosen to make their latest and boldest stand.
Former Arkansas Gov. and U.S. Sen. Dale Leon Bumpers, 90, born in Charleston on Aug. 12, 1925, died Friday at his residence in Little Rock surrounded by his family.
The hike in the minimum wage that gave about 150,000 of Connecticut's lowest-paid workers a 45-cents-an-hour raise on Friday -- to $9.60 -- seemed progressive when it was first proposed two years ago.
An executive order by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to keep homeless New Yorkers off the streets goes into effect Tuesday as extreme cold sets in and temperatures are expected to drop.
Plenty more could be done to transform public workforces into meritocracies.
Trying and failing to take the White House has historically spelled trouble for governors' future political careers. In 2016, however, there may be one exception.
From proposing Planned Parenthood mascots to silencing 10-year-old advocates, lawmakers weren't always on their best behavior around the children.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday upheld Gov. Tom Wolf's moratorium on executions in the commonwealth, affirming that the governor has the constitutional authority to grant reprieves to inmates on death row.
A grand jury refused Monday night to issue any indictments related to the death of Sandra Bland, who died in custody at the Waller County Jail in July, a decision expected to intensify the nationwide debate about the treatment of minorities at the hands of law enforcement.
When then-Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) first pushed the idea in 2010, it was easy to find Virginians who favored oil and gas drilling along the Virginia coast, even in this tourism-dependent city of 450,000.
The allegations read like a movie plot: a lottery industry insider installs undetectable software giving him advance knowledge of winning numbers, then enlists accomplices to play those numbers and collect the jackpots. And they secretly enrich themselves for years — until a misstep exposes them.
Gov. Bruce Rauner said Friday he does not expect to meet again with legislative leaders until early January, a day after House Speaker Michael Madigan skipped out on such a meeting because of an unexplained scheduling conflict.
A newly qualified November 2016 ballot measure would impose price controls on state drug purchases, potentially setting up an expensive battle with the pharmaceutical industry.
States that tie their taxes to the price of gas are in a tight spot as fuel prices hit six-year lows.
Thursday’s announcement by Kaiser Permanente that it plans to open its own medical school in Southern California has attracted a lot of attention in the health care community.
For all the resources and attention paid to combating poverty, the whole endeavor suffers from relatively limited data.
How exactly Pennsylvania's nearly six-month budget impasse will end remained unclear Sunday, the day after the collapse of a pension overhaul bill that was part of a deal many hoped would end more than 170 days of state budget gridlock.
The assignment on world religions that was handed out to students at Riverheads High School in rural Virginia seemed pretty simple, on its face.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said on Sunday that he would seek out and pardon thousands of people who were convicted of nonviolent crimes as teenagers but have since led law-abiding lives.
New Census data show the areas of the country where more businesses are being established.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is providing a useful roadmap for results-oriented governance.
In cities across the country, the rise of taxicab alternatives like Uber aren't hurting just the taxicab companies.
There are a number of reasons emergency rooms get chaotic around the holidays -- some of which may be surprising.
A judge ruled on Thursday that the New York City health department could not require young children to be vaccinated for the flu to attend city-licensed preschools and day care centers, striking down one of the more ambitious public health initiatives of the Bloomberg administration.
Montana health officials have signed a two-year contract worth more than $16 million making Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana the first commercial insurance provider to administer a state's Medicaid expansion program under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.
The state plans a new initiative aimed at inmates ages 18 to 25 that would dedicate one of its 18 existing prisons to male inmates in that age group, and create a separate program for women in that age range within York women's prison in Niantic.
Federal officials told the state on Thursday it doesn't believe Iowa is ready to transition its $5 billion Medicaid program to managed care on Jan. 1 -- delaying the move until March 1.
A coalition of civil rights advocates Tuesday called for a federal investigation of California’s Medicaid program, alleging that it discriminates against millions of low-income Latinos by denying them equal access to health care.
The future of popular vehicle-for-hire services Uber and Lyft in Austin was up in the air early Friday morning after the city council voted 9-2 in favor of an ordinance aimed at regulating the firms more like traditional taxi companies.
City and federal officials announced Wednesday that Philadelphia has "effectively ended" homelessness among military veterans, meaning every veteran in the city who wants housing has it.
Texas has violated the constitutional rights of foster children by exposing them to an unreasonable risk of harm in a system where children "often age out of care more damaged than when they entered," a federal judge ruled Thursday.
After a teacher at a Virginia school handed out a standard homework assignment on Islam, such an angry backlash flooded in that it prompted officials to close every single school in the county as a safety precaution.
Imagine for a moment that you're a member of a city council and you are really peeved at Donald Trump's recent idea to ban Muslim immigrants 1) because you don't agree with the idea and 2) what he said risks undermining all your hard work to build ties to your city's Muslim community.
The conviction and incarceration of former Secretary of State Dianna Duran is the latest in a long history of scandals. Lawmakers are pushing ethics reforms, but some doubt change will come.
A health law insurance program that was expected to boost consumer choice and competition on the marketplaces has slipped off course and is so far failing to meet expectations.
The administration of Gov. Bill Walker missed a legal deadline Tuesday to file the state's annual financial report, and it blames a new accounting rule for the problem.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Chicago Public Schools will pay $280,000 in damages and back pay as part of an agreement to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought against the district by the federal government last year.
