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Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ordered emergency measures on Sunday to combat the wage theft and health hazards faced by the thousands of people who work in New York State’s nail salon industry.
With little fanfare, Gov. Bill Haslam on Friday signed into law a measure that requires Tennessee abortion providers to meet stricter standards as outpatient surgical care treatment centers.
The nation's top law enforcement officials are likely to have a watchful presence over Baltimore police for the next few years, as the U.S. Department of Justice examines whether officers commonly use excessive force and violate residents' constitutional rights.
Lawmakers effectively killed a bill Thursday that sought to overhaul Georgia teachers' pensions, refusing to allow a study of the potential financial effects.
The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled unconstitutional a landmark state pension law that aimed to scale back government worker benefits to erase a massive $105 billion retirement system debt, sending lawmakers and the new governor back to the negotiating table to try to solve the pressing financial issue.
What the best public-sector leaders do doesn't sound very exciting. It helps to be great at chess.
In the last few years, most states have stopped taking assets like retirement and education savings into account when deciding whether people qualify for aid.
Changes in death rates of people on Medicare — both those who had been in the hospital and among the broader populace — were no different than those for people in similar places where no hospital had closed.
AB 1356 authorizes law enforcement to use a new device to check drivers for use of pot, cocaine and other drugs.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Local governments are likely headed for legal trouble after taking a stand against the state's new law that blocks them from banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Instead they'll help put people on a fast track to recovery, representing a major shift in drug policy.
A bill signed into law Monday creates a Marijuana Control Board that will take the lead in crafting Alaska's marijuana laws.
The chief judge of the state's special-school finance court assigned the state's top education finance official some homework Tuesday:
In a win for consumers, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that settlement agreements between pharmaceutical companies that keep cheaper, generic drugs off the market may be illegal if they include excessive cash payments.
For the first time in at least four decades, Ohio State University plans to freeze all of its costs -- tuition, fees, room and board -- for in-state, undergraduate students, who represent most of the university's enrollment.
The state employee who manages fraud investigations for the state welfare department was charged with fraud himself Wednesday for lying about his assets on an application to refinance his home mortgage.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder sought to end weeks of speculation Thursday when he issued a statement saying he will not be a Republican nominee for president in 2016.
The New York governor's maneuver is the culmination of a fight for $15-an-hour wages for fast-food workers that started in New York City almost three years ago.
The author of a bill to ban the substance postponed the measure until July 4 — more than a month after the end of the legislative session.
The governor of California last week announced major changes to his plan to build two tunnels to divert water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the south. The administration, while moving forward with a $15 billion conveyance, dramatically reduced the amount of habitat restoration originally proposed.
The final day of this legislative session resulted in a compromise to reduce the amount of state-mandated student testing and rein in red-light cameras and photo radar.
Kevyn Orr, the former Detroit emergency manager, got that much for about three months' work.
View annual tax collection data by state showing how the tax burden has shifted over time
The Christie administration on Wednesday told the New Jersey Supreme Court that granting public workers a contractual right to pension funding would violate the state constitution and place a "fiscal stranglehold on the state in perpetuity."
Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s high-stakes visit to Washington Wednesday to persuade the Obama administration to keep the federal government’s $1 billion in annual funding for hospital care of the poor produced no breakthrough.
In the clearest sign yet that the Great California Recovery is proceeding on pace, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins announced Tuesday that the state's revenue has climbed as much as $8 billion in the last four months.
Republicans used their supermajorities in the Missouri Legislature on Tuesday to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto and enact a bill that the GOP says will reform welfare.
When the Obama administration imposed new safety rules on oil trains last week, the railroad industry said its goal was to have zero accidents in the future.
Many states are weighing policies to shift their tax burden. View data showing how it's changed in each state over time.
Baltimore's unrest has cast a negative spotlight on the probable presidential candidate's tough-on-crime policies as mayor. But as governor, he left a liberal legacy on nearly every front.
Portland has a vegetarian pedigree that stretches back to the late 1800s, when members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, who adhere to strict health and dietary rules, began to settle there.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake also announced that Baltimore officers would have body cameras by the end of the year.
The American lawn could become an ornament of the past, at least beyond the Rockies.
Uber halted its service in Kansas on Tuesday afternoon after state legislators overrode the governor's veto of a bill regulating on-demand transportation companies.
A bill to bring online voter registration to Texas is dead thanks to a small but vocal group of officials from the state's largest county, according to the measure's sponsor, state Rep. Celia Israel. But Israel, whose legislation had the backing of a majority of the Texas House, says she's not giving up.
It's now legal to use cannabis oil for limited medical purposes in Tennessee.
Proposal 1, likely one of the most complicated and confusing questions ever placed on a Michigan ballot, was soundly rejected Tuesday as many voters expressed anger at lawmakers and state government for failing to come up with a better solution to the sorry state of the roads.
The head of the Maricopa County Community College District said he hopes that a ruling allowing in-state tuition for "dreamers" will lead to more young immigrants attending the colleges.
Early this year, Megan E. Green, a St. Louis alderwoman, met with officials of a local police union to discuss a proposal for a civilian oversight board that would look into accusations of police misconduct.
Cash-strapped states are looking to tax amnesty programs that give scofflaws a bit of a break on penalties and interest if they own up and pay up.
Traditionally by spring, the forest is green and lush due to a substantial rainy season. But four years of drought and warm temperatures have taken their toll.
Instead of just turning its underused land into housing and retail like most cities, Denver is building a community that blends its Wild West roots with the 21st century.
Since Obamacare launched, few states have enacted any new rules to make sure patients have access to doctors.
Christie announced the decision on Monday saying that federal and state restrictions already impose stringent disclosure requirements.
Efforts to limit sugary drinks and junk foods in California elementary schools appear to have resulted in fewer kids who are overweight or obese. The benefits were limited to children at wealthier schools, however.
Among the biggest obstacles is simply getting the word out to enrollees that they can earn benefits if they lose weight or quit smoking.
State law enforcement officers are arresting fewer minors. Officials are hopeful that means juvenile justice reforms are working.
Important statewide elections don't normally happen in May, but Tuesday's vote on Proposal 1 is a blockbuster -- and not just for Michigan's battered roads.
Grayson County authorities wanted to extend the Dallas North Tollway to Oklahoma and keep the lucrative toll dollars in their own community.
The prosecution of Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni has just begun in the George Washington Bridge saga, but the two have already made part of their legal strategy clear: Neither is stupid enough to have closed lanes at the bridge to punish Fort Lee's mayor. And the government's key witness is a liar.
State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son were arrested Monday by federal authorities, who alleged the state's top Republican extorted bribes and campaign contributions from companies in exchange for steering key real estate legislation and rigging a lucrative Nassau County environmental contract to his son's benefit.
The number of abortion providers in Ohio has shrunk by half amid a flurry of restrictive new laws over the past four years, and the number of the procedures also is declining, according to a review of records by The Associated Press.
Kansas and Texas are joining in Gov. Rick Scott's lawsuit against the Obama administration, Scott's office said Monday.
Mike Huckabee may be one of the more conservative presidential candidates, but as governor, he expanded government programs and increased taxes.
A new survey tries to quantify for the first time how much it costs state transportation agencies to cope with snow and ice.
At a time when legislative leaders desperately needed intervention to break a budget deadlock, the governor was far from the action -- attending political fund-raisers, casting for jobs in California and dedicating a new amusement park ride in Orlando.
Justices won't review the appeals court’s ruling in Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Glenn and JoLynn Bragg – the first time a Texas appeals court found that groundwater regulation resulted in a violation of property rights under the Texas Constitution.
The Legislature awarded the California Department of Justice $24 million in 2013 to launch a three-year program to confiscate guns from owners who had lost their rights. Halfway through the effort, the department has spent 40 percent of the funds and reduced the list by only 17 percent.
Dennis Milligan has his campaign deleted all its emails after the election. His office also requires employees to delete email after 30 days.
It's another year, and state Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, has found himself on the receiving end of an impassioned veto of one of his bills by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.
Late Friday night, Gov. Scott Walker announced that he signed a bill into law that creates statewide standards for rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft.
Cleveland's unusual method of taxing professional athletes is illegal, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a pair of opinions released this morning.
After days of demonstrations and unrest, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake lifted the 10 p.m. curfew across the city, sparking a burst of celebrations.
Income-tax cuts in Kansas championed by Governor Sam Brownback have led to credit downgrades, political turmoil and deepening budget deficits.
The U.S. and Canadian governments on Friday unveiled a long-awaited new standard for the tank cars used to transport crude oil and ethanol that includes numerous safety improvements.
While transparency may promote government accountability and reduce corruption, rules to improve openness in government also can have negative consequences.
Massachusetts doesn't have much to show for a billion-dollar program to boost life sciences employment. It's just not something that government is good at.
A measure shutters two key renewable energy programs in Texas, which could stir up the regulatory environment in the state.
The price of a single camera ranges widely, but managing and storing the video costs many times the price of the cameras themselves.
Oregon is one of eight states that have reaped financial benefits from expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
After her state takes her child, a Kansas woman is at center of a national marijuana debate.
A former ally of Gov. Christie's pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to conspiracy in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, admitting the closures were retribution against a local mayor for failing to endorse the Republican governor's 2013 reelection.
Rick Snyder wants to split Detroit Public Schools in two to eliminate its crippling debt but at the expense of other districts across Michigan.
A California judge on Thursday ordered Google to turn over the computer IP addresses for all correspondence to and from the Florida governor’s private Google email account since Jan. 15, 2011, and the accounts of two of his staff members.
All six Baltimore police officers involved in the arrest and transport of Freddie Gray, who was fatally injured while in police custody, will face serious criminal charges ranging from second-degree murder to assault, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said on Friday.
The substance has been legal since February, but policymakers proposed rules for growing and selling it during an Alcoholic Beverage Control Board meeting in Anchorage,
Struggling to afford new lifesaving drugs for low-income patients, states are trying to force manufacturers to reveal their costs and profits.
A Miami federal judge has determined that the state is violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by not serving kosher meals to prisoners.
The legislature reached its date by which all non-budget bills must have passed either the House or Senate to remain alive. Of more than 1,500 bills filed in the session so far, 11 have been written into law.
Lawmakers say reform is going going to be difficult of the industry’s clout and heavy spending on lobby efforts. There’s also huge reluctance among the GOP majority to impose greater restrictions on any businesses.
Georgia Republicans who have long rejected the mandates in President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul managed to find one insurance requirement they could get behind.
The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a key piece of the Legislature's 2013 reform work on the Public Employees Retirement System, setting the stage for a heavy financial cost to government agencies across the state while restoring lost benefits to retirees.
Legislative panels Wednesday killed yet another effort to allow Medicaid expansion in Louisiana.
Backers of Medicaid expansion celebrated in Helena Wednesday as Gov. Steve Bullock signed the bill extending the health coverage to an estimated 45,000 more Montanans.
In Baltimore, they call it a “rough ride.” In Philadelphia, they had another name for it that hints at the age of the practice — a “nickel ride,” a reference to old-time amusement park rides that cost five cents. Other cities called them joy rides.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter called on the three supervising educators that he resentenced Thursday to start giving back to the community while they wait for their appeals to be heard.
President Obama on Thursday signed into law the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio), Mr. Portman's office announced.
Almost every state has been sued for not investing enough in education, especially in poorer districts. But localities may be more to blame.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Once considered a "master of disaster" and frontrunner in the presidential race, the New Jersey governor is now neither.
While many in downtown and Midtown are hailing upcoming developments as things that will boost the local economy while bringing people together, man residents sees them as just more projects serving others.
The law would protect employees in Washington, D.C., from being fired for reproductive health choices. Members of Congress who want to see the law overturned say that it discriminates against employers who have religious objections to birth control and abortion. But is it worth fighting?
Third-graders in seven schools are touring local colleges. But only the black kids can participate.
The state's House and Senate have approved a framework that allows needle-exchange programs in cities and counties across Indiana.
The House and Senate were unable to reach a final agreement this week on several policy issues contained within the state's Retirement and Investment Office and Public Employees Retirement System budget, which means the governor may call a special session.
Gov. Jerry Brown accelerated California's effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions Wednesday, burnishing the state's reputation as a pacesetter in the battle against climate change.
A sharply divided Supreme Court engaged in an hour of contentious arguments Wednesday about the effectiveness of an Oklahoma lethal injection drug and whether death penalty "abolitionists" were actually making executions more painful.
Pledging that "we are going to heal our communities," Gov. John Kasich created an advisory board on Wednesday to develop first-ever standards for law-enforcement agencies statewide as a step toward "bridging the gap" between officers and those they serve.
The high-profile unrest in Baltimore triggered protests in several American cities Wednesday.
After arresting more than 200 people this week while bringing order to the streets of Baltimore, police said Wednesday they had to let half of them go.
Public officials in Kansas can conduct public business on private e-mails without those e-mails becoming public records, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Tuesday.
Motel 6 will now hand over to Warwick, R.I., law enforcement a daily list of who’s staying at the establishment so guests can be screened for outstanding warrants or other criminal history.
Many hope a new nationwide proposal will finally stop payday lenders from keeping poor people stuck in a cycle of debt.
The latest Brookings report is perhaps the broadest ranking yet, rating more than 4,000 two- and four-year schools.
"Judges are not politicians," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in a 5-4 ruling.
All library locations, including those at the epicenter of the riots, are welcomed patrons yesterday, because "the community needs us."
Gov. Rick Scott filed a lawsuit claiming that the federal government tried to force Medicaid expansion on the state after federal health officials said they would be more likely to continue a $2.2 billion hospital funding program if state lawmakers voted to expand healthcare coverage to low-income Floridians.
Judge Catharina Haynes stopped short of rebuking state lawmakers, but she sounded perplexed that lawmakers had not made the law more palatable to critics as it winded through the federal court system.
The state privatized its Medicaid services in 2013 under the KanCare umbrella. None of the three companies awarded a state contract have turned a profit.
Thanks to a February federal court victory, Douglas Marshall set up the table with pamphlets for the first time today. It's across from a prayer station that has been in City Hall since 2009.
Freddie Gray's death sparked the riots in Baltimore, but they reveal deep systemic problems that plague many American cities.
Waste California's water, risk a $10,000 fine.
The House's decision to leave town Tuesday, three days earlier than scheduled, is ending the chance many bills will make it to Gov. Rick Scott's desk for his signature.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on Oklahoma's execution protocol, specifically whether or not the use of a particular drug in the state's lethal cocktail is constitutional.
Gay rights lawyers went to the Supreme Court hoping to find a majority of justices ready to support a historic ruling that would declare same-sex couples have an equal right to marry nationwide.
With the National Guard on patrol and the city under curfew, officials struggled Tuesday to prevent a second night of rioting and appeared to succeed.
President Barack Obama forcefully condemned the riots in Baltimore as "counterproductive" on Tuesday, labeling the rioters as "criminals and thugs" and striking a new tone of frustration with the cycle of allegations of deadly police abuse followed by violent protests.
Police said in an earlier statement that they have received information that members of "various gangs" — including the Black Guerrilla Family, the Bloods and the Crips — have "entered into a partnership" to harm police.
States and localities are afraid to take on new debt these days, missing a golden opportunity to invest in infrastructure and other long-term projects.
More than 200 state legislators have participated in workshops aimed at improving civil discourse and building bipartisan trust. Can they work?
State Rep. Randy Boehning says a Capitol employee told him a fellow lawmaker vowed to out him as gay if he continued to vote against bills granting gays legal protections against discrimination.
The state legislature approves budget with funding shortfall. Gov. Bill Walker calls members back into special session to fix the problem.
Transportation advocates all agree on the need to boost the country's spending on roads, bridges and transit. But they, like Congress, are split on how to pay for it.
Attorney Kevyn Orr had been a consultant after leading the Detroit bankruptcy case.
Anthony M. Kennedy was a 44-year-old appeals court judge in Sacramento, Calif. _ a Republican appointee and happily married Catholic _ when he first confronted the question of whether the Constitution protected the rights of gays and lesbians.
Ride-share giant Uber has signed several high-profile lobbyists -- including Gov. Sam Brownback's former campaign manager -- to represent it in an expected legislative fight over new regulations for the ride-share industry.
The City Council voted 7-1 Monday night to prohibit people from using e-cigarettes in public places, making Portland the 275th U.S. community to restrict use of the relatively new technology.
Fallout from a shooting earlier this month involving a reserve Tulsa County sheriff's deputy continued Monday with the resignation of the department's undersheriff.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, who struggled Monday to stop rioting in the city, spent most of his law enforcement career in California, confronting unrest during a rocky two-year tenure in Oakland.
After two weeks of tension over the death of Freddie Gray, Baltimore devolved into chaos Monday.
Some states are looking to give senior citizens additional saving on their taxes, although they are the richest age group and already enjoy favorable treatment.
Investigators with the city police and other agencies are still trying to recreate the events that caused Gray to sustain a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody.
A recent survey shows how Americans feel about the job police are doing and how they can improve.
Cities are supposed to implement positive train control by the end of this year, but many are lagging. Los Angeles, however, got a head start years ago.
Several cities are starting to see more potential in once dangerous and usually underused backstreets.
In Jersey City, N.J., ex-offenders are getting an opportunity to start their lives over again -- and so is a familiar public figure trying to help them.
Unlike mortgage and payday lenders, the growing number of institutions that offer quick cash to small businesses are still largely unregulated. Chicago is the first trying to change that.
State Dream Acts have drawn passionate responses from both advocates and critics. But evidence suggests these measures have had limited impact.
The new app's focus on positive feedback helps cities improve services and boost employees’ morale.
With an influx of rich people and exodus of poor and middle class, a less liberal San Francisco could soon emerge?
Wealthy communities guzzle water as poorer neighbors conserve by necessity.
Seattle is the latest city to offer discounted rates to low-income riders. Some say it's a misguided attempt to address income inequality.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County and city and state officials partnered to launch the Maryland Green Prisons Initiative to come up with cheap ways to improve vacant lots while studying urban ecosystems.
As the saga of Hillary Clinton’s emails has shown the world yet again, looking like you might have something to hide immediately arouses suspicion.
The region's two top law enforcement agencies have been locked in a conflict over last year's fatal police shooting of a mentally ill homeless man--a case the officers said was self-defense, but which the city's chief prosecutor alleged was murder.
The dwindling number of bees has a direct impact on the economy, which is what keeps state beekeepers like Tammy Horn going.
Supporters of "aid-in-dying" have had little success in state legislatures, so they're turning to the courts for help.
