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As prescription drug overdose deaths soar nationwide, most states have failed to take a simple step that would make it harder for doctors to prescribe the deadliest of all narcotics.
As the Tennessee House debated a bill Wednesday that could determine whether he can eventually afford college, 15-year-old Carlos Reyes was in the balcony.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam on Friday signed into law a bill that immediately overrides city and county bans on permit-holders bringing firearms into local parks, playgrounds and ballfields.
A few hours before the gavel came down on the regular session, Gov. Jay Inslee signed one of the most-discussed laws, one that brings medical marijuana under much of the same state control and oversight as the newer recreational pot system.
The five New England governors at a closed-door energy meeting Thursday updated their agreement to pursue major investments in natural gas pipelines and transmission wires.
A day of mostly peaceful demonstrations against the death of Freddie Gray turned confrontational as dark fell over Baltimore Saturday evening, as protesters blocked traffic near the Inner Harbor, smashed police car windows and shouted, "Killers!" at officers in riot gear.
In the state's standardized test at Nathan Hale High School this week, 100 percent of the 11th graders opted out of the examination.
In an effort to make rentals more sustainable, 14 college towns banded together to create a website that shows people what they would pay in utilities.
Brue Rauner's budget will make roughly $106 million in cuts to the Medicaid health care program for the poor, much of which takes the form of a 16.75 percent reduction to reimbursement payments to doctors and pharmacies.
Legislators formally adjourned the 2015 regular session, acknowledging that they will probably return at some point for a special session to address Medicaid expansion and other issues.
"Advanced industry" jobs are expected to drive economic growth. But cities must invest in training and education to build a qualified workforce.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
Since Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo was gunned down by his wife last year, she has waged a public battle with his brother over who was to blame.
The parents of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old who was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer in August, are suing the city of Ferguson.
State Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn is expected to name Paul Comfort as the new head of the Maryland Transit Administration on Friday, a day after the resignation of the head of the State Highway Administration.
North Carolina is the first state to consider spending money to hire graduates from a new national internship program that trains military veterans as computer forensic analysts to catch people who sexually abuse children.
The Florida House made an offer on health care funding Thursday in hopes of ending a budget stalemate with the Senate in the final day of the legislative session.
While proponents continue their efforts to set aside 150,000 acres in northern Maine for a national park and recreation area, Gov. Paul LePage voiced his opposition to the plan in a letter addressed to President Barack Obama.
Facing an HIV outbreak, some lawmakers want to extend needle-exchange programs to more at-risk counties. But time and the governor may not be on their side.
The city council in this rural town has voted to fly a unique flag in town, despite the city attorney telling them it was a violation of church/state separation.
The state's new governor pointed out that voters have twice since 1994 backed measures sharply limiting contributions, but this hasn't gone anywhere due to Oregon's strict protections on "free speech."
By moving to shift highway costs away from those who benefit the most, Texas is taking a troubling detour.
The state Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which administers Medicaid, is being sued over a plan to stop paying for disabled children's nursing care.
Gov. Nathan Deal's plan, which must be approved by a majority of voters in November 2016, would put 100 schools deemed to be persistent failures under state control.
Doug Ducey issued an order late Wednesday voiding a Department of Child Safety policy of refusing to certify legally married gay couples for adoption or permitting them to jointly be foster parents, saying he had just learned of the policy.
The union for MBTA workers wields huge clout to derail reforms through political donations and aggressive lobbying
After intense pressure from civil rights advocates, the police chief of Inkster resigned Wednesday, three months after the beating of an autoworker in her city sparked national outrage.
As Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday released a long-term blueprint for the city — calling on New Yorkers to send no waste to landfills by 2030, and aiming to lift 800,000 people from poverty or near-poverty in a decade, among other far-reaching goals — attention turned quickly to a follow-up question.
The California raisins were back before the Supreme Court, and the justices sounded ready to rule in favor of a Fresno farmer in his long battle against a Depression-era law that allows the government to seize privately grown crops to reduce supply and prop up prices.
A bill that would make vaccines mandatory for California schoolchildren passed its toughest committee Wednesday and now heads to a panel dominated by lawmakers who support the proposal.
The morning after Freddie Gray's death, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake sat at a table with two dozen clergy members, activists and community leaders she had invited to City Hall.
Freddie Gray gave a cry of pain as the arresting officers hoisted him to his feet. Something seemed wrong with his legs as he was dragged in handcuffs to a police van.
Happy Earth Day. DNR staff received layoff notices from the Wisconsin governor amid talk of budget cuts.
The technology giant and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers are working to defeat a bill to update Texas law for driverless cars.
A new Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative aims to help 100 cities govern more effectively.
New Jersey Education Association accuses Chris Christie of mischaracterizing its agreement for political gain. On Tuesday, it formally abandoned talks with the governor's commission.
The city's shift to privatized trash pickup last March brought with it the opportunity for homeowners citywide to opt in to curbside recyling. But a year later, the recycling program remains largely unused.
Amid angry jeers from Portland taxi drivers, the City Council voted 3-2 Tuesday night to allow ride-hailing companies to operate in the city as part of a 120-day pilot program.
Fed new revenue forecasts Monday, Kansas lawmakers now face roughly $400 million in tax increases or budget cuts in the wake of deep income tax cuts.
Using some of its strongest language to date, the Oklahoma Geological Survey said Tuesday the state's ongoing earthquake swarm is "very unlikely to represent a naturally occurring process."
A federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday ordered the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to display an ad from a pro-Israel group on buses after the agency declined to run it last year.
Add Tennessee and Kansas to the list of states that have been warned by the Obama administration that failing to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act could jeopardize special funding to pay hospitals and doctors for treating the poor.
Officials and community leaders welcomed Tuesday the Justice Department's announcement that it is opening a criminal investigation into Freddie Gray's death in Baltimore police custody _ an incident that continues to spark angry demonstrations.
The Frederick County Council delayed a vote Tuesday on whether to approve a historical designation for Trout Run, a Camp David stand-in on “The West Wing” that a Scientology-affiliated drug rehabilitation program wants to use as a treatment facility.
There are two primary ways retiring baby boomers will impact revenues.
A project that was designed to study space colonization has lessons for communities on this planet.
As they search for ways to reduce incarceration and improve public safety, federal policymakers can look beyond the Beltway for inspiration.
License requirements are intended to improve the safety of services like nail salons. But in many other professions, the negative effects of licensing can outweigh the positive.
Gregg Abbott's refusal to expand Medicaid will likely lead to a fight with the feds over billions of federal dollars for hospitals.
A roundup of public-sector management news you need to know.
To the surprise of many, Lincoln Chafee, the Republican-turned-Independent-turned-Democrat, joined the presidential race Wednesday.
Called "Turnaround Illinois," the fund will be able to raise an unlimited amount of money as a super political action committee to support legislative candidates who will implement Gov. Bruce Rauner's reforms.
Three members of the New Jersey governor's transition team are backing the former Florida chief executive for president.
A 10-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax increase will start to pay off.
The state's law banning welfare spending on entertainment and luxury goods and services sparked a national debate about how people use public assistance.
Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed a bill Monday that would have put new regulations on Uber and other rideshare services in Kansas, citing the importance of innovation.
If you call the fire department in Mesa, Ariz., chances are it won’t respond with a big ladder truck.
Gov. Scott Walker appears to have some key allies in the race for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination: influential conservative political donors Charles and David Koch.
In a stunning, abrupt end to the first trial in years of a Chicago police officer for a fatal off-duty shooting, a Cook County judge acquitted the veteran cop Monday on a legal fine point, drawing outrage from the black victim's family and leaders in the African-American community.
The drugstore is long gone. So, too, are the bank and the barbershop, the opry house and the hardware store.
A state appeals court dealt a potentially serious blow Monday to local governments' attempts to encourage water conservation in drought-parched California, ruling that they cannot charge higher rates to big users simply because those customers guzzle more water.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out a North Carolina Supreme Court ruling that had upheld the state's Republican-drawn legislative and congressional districts.
Economists have a new idea that could revolutionize how struggling cities attract private funds.
The Legislature approved a request from Gov. Asa Hutchinson to use $2.65 million in rainy-day funds to pay to put people in Texas jails.
Federal officials called the state's health agency this week to say that Texas' reluctance to expand Medicaid will play into whether his administration extends a waiver that helps the state's hospitals cover uninsured patients.
Based on 2014 elections, dynastic branding doesn't mean as much as it used too.
A 25-year-old Baltimore man died Sunday a week after reportedly suffering a partially severed spine during an arrest, and the mayor vowed "to find out exactly what happened" and "hold the right people accountable."
An end-of-session baby and a marathon series of confirmation votes on Gov. Bill Walker’s political appointees helped propel the Alaska Legislature into overtime Sunday, as the House and Senate were certain to miss the scheduled end of their 90-day session at midnight.
Gov. Jay Inslee declared a drought emergency in nearly half of usually damp Washington on Friday, and officials said the entire state could be classified as drought-stricken by early May.
The beginning of the 2016 campaign has thrust Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe back into a familiar role as a spokesman for Hillary Clinton, with one appearance Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and another scheduled this week in South Carolina.
State Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Montgomery) formally announced his candidacy Sunday for the Maryland 8th Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D).
Gov. Nathan Deal signed legislation Thursday that legalizes medical marijuana in Georgia, though tremendous hurdles remain for patients who want to get the drug.
California pharmacists can hand out an overdose antidote to patients on powerful painkillers without requiring a prescription under new rules aimed at curbing drug-related fatalities.
The program that insures millions of lower-income kids has been extended for two more years, but questions about its long-term role in a post-Obamacare world still persist.
Legislation is on the table that would expand use of programs that incentivize customers to use less power during high demand times.
Part of Indiana’s Medicaid expansion plan calls for raising reimbursement rates to try to persuade doctors to accept Medicaid patients. Fourteen other states are doing the same.
While Wisconsin and Florida are the first states to outright ban employees from working on climate change, at least publicly, Republican legislators have long tampered with how governments address global warming.
Directing a city-government "i-team" demands distinctive traits that are unique to the process.
Sewer plants? Do-it-yourself water recycling takes off in the state's drought.
The city of Chicago put Barbara Byrd-Bennett on leave due to a federal investigation of a no-bid contract with a company she once worked for.
The law Obama signed Thursday marks the third time in three years that cuts to safety-net hospitals have been pushed back but the first time the amount of cuts has increased.
A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday said it has launched an internal review of its reserve deputy program after a reserve deputy apparently confused his revolver with his stun gun and killed a man earlier this month.
Efforts to designate the "Holy Bible" as Tennessee government's official book failed in the state Senate Thursday after the controversial bill, which had attracted national attention, was forced back to committee.
State Auditor Troy Kelley was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of concealing stolen property, lying to federal investigators, filing false tax returns and "corrupt interference with Internal Revenue laws."
Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill that could jeopardize health insurance for more than 150,000 Arizonans if the U.S. Supreme Court rejects subsidized coverage in Arizona and 33 other states.
The state Board of Health on Wednesday passed new immunization rules that officials say strengthen school policies and will improve the state's low vaccination rates.
With the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525, caused by a rogue pilot with a history of depression, people are calling for better mental-health screenings for pilots. But it’s not just in aviation where mental-health treatment is a concern.
President Barack Obama's ambitious plan to battle climate change by forcing power plants to reduce their greenhouse gases appeared to survive its first court challenge Thursday, but only because the formal rules are still pending at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Once inaccessible and crime-ridden, Charlottesville, Va.’s now-popular pedestrian mall offers a blueprint for other cities.
The focus has been on California’s drought, but dozens of other states are facing their own water woes.
Will small cities be able to exploit technology the way bigger cities have?
Republicans are attacking the state’s ethics board for engaging in partisan witch-hunts, particularly for its investigation of Gov. Scott Walker.
In 1994, Seattle won praise from urbanist thinkers nationwide with its 20-year plan for population and economic growth.
The $1.3-billion iPad effort was a signature program under then-Supt. John Deasy. But it faltered almost immediately during the fall 2013 rollout of the devices. Questions later arose about whether companies involved enjoyed an advantage in the bidding process; an FBI criminal investigation is ongoing.
Actual ministers support the decision of Maine Sen. David Burns to withdraw his bill, which was nearly identical in substance to the controversial religious freedom law passed in Indiana.
Gov. Sam Brownback will sign a welfare reform bill that has gained national attention Thursday morning at the Department for Children and Families service center in Topeka.
Christy Denault leaves Gov. Mike Pence's office after PR disasters with the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and botched plans to start a state-run news service called JustIN.
Scott Walker backs trade deal, signs research pact on a trip Walker designed to bolster his foreign affairs credentials.
Most cities are failing to tell their fiscal stories well or at all. New York and Chicago, though, offer models of true transparency.
A San Francisco appeals court said it again: Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies can't detain car occupants simply because they're Latino.
A bill to prevent parents from opting their children out of school-required vaccinations could be headed for a major rewrite after lawmakers heard impassioned testimony from hundreds of parents who threatened to take their kids out of school.
Federal health officials turned up the pressure on Florida Tuesday, saying the future of $1.3 billion in federal funding for hospitals that treat low-income patients is tied to whether the Legislature expands Medicaid.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, dismayed by a Democratic Party that he believes has moved too slowly to embrace a populist platform, arrived in the Midwest on Wednesday with an audacious mission: leading the nation leftward.
The last time Kenneth Seay lost his job, at an industrial bakery that offered health insurance and Christmas bonuses, it was because he had been thrown in jail for legal issues stemming from a revoked driver’s license. Same with the three jobs before that.
A congressional drafting error and clunky phrase is putting a second of President Barack Obama's signature endeavors in jeopardy. This time it's climate change.
Democratic senators wanted a four-year extension but ultimately joined most Republicans in voting for a wider package that also reforms Medicare.
Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday vetoed legislation which would have made the sale and use of the new product illegal in the state.
Bush vowed Tuesday that he would not criticize his "friend," the Florida Senator.
A new report examines the ways in which struggling cities mismanage federal grants and offers ideas for fixing it.
Many departments have been using them for decades, and the technology for some recently improved.
A Missouri inmate was executed Tuesday night for killing a man in a fit of rage over child support payments 16 years ago.
A new audit recommends that Missouri refund more than $34 million to the federal government because the state did not comply with Medicaid regulations.
Nicole Galloway, a certified public accountant and the Democratic county treasurer in Boone County, was tapped by Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday to replace the late Tom Schweich as state auditor.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spent his first day in New Hampshire pitching overhauls to Social Security and federal health care, visiting a pizzeria and courting Republicans during what appeared to be a campaign trip in all but name.
The longest criminal trial in Georgia history ended Tuesday with two former educators admitting guilt in the nation's largest test-cheating conspiracy and eight others proclaiming innocence as a judge ordered them to prison.
New Orleans is using data analytics to get smoke alarms into the buildings that need them the most.
The D.C. Council on Tuesday rejected a controversial health-care contract proposed for the city’s jail after weeks of fierce arguments and heavy lobbying by supporters and opponents.
Voters in a wealthy suburb of St. Louis rejected tax increases to fund schools last week.
House Bill 1283 lost the support of its original advocates after the Senate amended it to prohibit students from skipping the ACT, work assessments or any test required to graduate or pass a certain grade level.
Charlie Baker's sweeping directive alarms advocates for labor and the environment.
By moving to wealthier areas, hospitals can reduce the percent of uninsured and lower-paying Medicaid patients, while increasing the proportion of privately insured patients.
The head of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division Special Litigation Section said two weeks ago that the city had stopped responding to phone calls and emails about an excessive force investigation.
View state health data depicting disparities among children
Holly Leonard has been homeless on and off for years. There was a stint in jail and, more recently, a period in a women’s homeless shelter, while her husband slept in their car.
Indiana's economic development and tourism agencies announced Monday they have hired global PR firm Porter Novelli to help rebuild the state's image in the wake of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act debacle.
President Barack Obama is crossing South Dakota off his list.
A cadre of wealthy liberal donors aims to pour tens of millions of dollars into rebuilding the left’s political might in the states, racing to catch up with a decades-old conservative effort that has reshaped statehouses across the country.
A volunteer Oklahoma sheriff's deputy was charged with manslaughter Monday after prosecutors said he was negligent for shooting an unarmed suspect with a gun instead of a Taser during an arrest.
Ten former Atlanta educators convicted of racketeering in a test cheating scandal have been given an evening to make a life-changing decision: apologize for their crimes and waive a right to appeal or go to jail.
Gov. Chris Christie failed to report as income or pay taxes on $380,000 in expense allowances he received from the state, according to a New Jersey Watchdog examination of Treasury data and the governor’s tax returns.
Many states are looking to end the “double deduction” of state and local taxes from their state income taxes.
Nearly two-thirds of California voters say race relations in the state are better than elsewhere in America.
As more states consider photo requirements for food stamps, a new report finds Massachusetts' law to be ineffective in preventing fraud.
Because the state is so big, the impact of a change in the law is likely to matter significantly for the rest of the nation.
After stumbling off the stage during his last presidential run and being indicted on criminal charges, Texas’ longest-serving and possibly most influential governor wants to redeem his political career.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents finalized tuition increases for nine campuses on Friday, and pushed back against a key lawmaker who blasted UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank for proposing a 35% tuition increase over four years for nonresident undergraduates.
Gov. Jerry Brown has billed his $25 billion plan to build two massive tunnels under the Delta as a way to not just make it easier to move water from north to south, but also increase the reliability of water supplies and bring back salmon and other endangered species.
The Lenape tribe got a better deal on the sale of Manhattan island than New York City’s pension funds have been getting from Wall Street, according to a new analysis by the city comptroller’s office.
The State of New Jersey tracks hundreds of workers, gathering data from their cellphones about when they clock in, where they are at any given moment, what route they take to get there, how fast they drive, and whether they make unauthorized stops.
As they scramble to balance the state budget, N.C. lawmakers could use a little help from Koren Robinson.
A reserve sheriff's deputy accidentally shot an unarmed man with a gun instead of a Taser, and Oklahoma law enforcement officials berated the man as he lay dying on the ground, according to body-camera footage released this weekend.
Poor people are unhealthier not only because of their lower incomes, but also as a result of where they live.
Rosy, unrealistic scenarios just cause trouble down the road. It's far better for managers not to deceive their leaders -- or themselves.
Transit agencies and companies have tried raising toll prices at peak times, but even that's not keeping drivers away, so they're looking for new ways to reduce congestion.
Police across the country are being outfitted with body cameras, but managing all the hours of footage comes at a price and poses unintended consequences.
The New Jersey governor wanted to take $160 million out of trust funds to build low-cost housing units for poor, disabled and elderly people.
The lost funds would have helped subsidize various new construction projects.
