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alan-greenblatt

Alan Greenblatt

Alan Greenblatt is a former editor of Governing. He is the co-author of a standard textbook on state and local governments. He previously worked as a reporter for NPR and CQ and has written about politics and culture for many other outlets, print and online. He can be reached at Alan.greenblatt@outlook.com and on X at @AlanGreenblatt.

States have been twice as likely to block paid sick leave mandates at the local level as they've been to impose such requirements themselves. That may change.
An effort to overturn a law requiring vaccines in Maine went down to resounding defeat on Tuesday. That doesn't mean the fight is over in other states.
State and local governments have adapted plans for other pandemics and are putting them into action. They're hoping for better coordination and more funding from the feds. Officials insist that they’re up to the challenge.
Study after study shows that tax incentives don't pay off in real economic gains and often fail to produce the jobs that were promised. When managed correctly, however, they can build on local strengths.
Four years ago, Oakland established an advisory commission to look at city policies through a privacy lens. Today, it remains the only body with such a wide scope and may become a model as the use of tech grows.
Never before have policymakers faced such daunting questions on regulating and legislating the growing impact of digital technology. We pick the most important issues they will grapple with this year.
Once hailed for innovation and transformation, the tech industry is in the midst of a backlash. With growing public concern over privacy and the threat to existing jobs, expect to see more government regulation.
The voting meltdown in Iowa has increased mistrust in the traditional American election system. Support is growing for new ways to cast ballots, including ranked choice and approval voting.
Growth is increasingly concentrated in a small number of cities. That creates problems within those metro areas and threatens to deprive most of the country of prosperity.
For too long, tech has been someone else’s problem — something policymakers didn’t believe they needed to think about or even fully understand. It’s time to define what we want from a revolution that’s affecting everything.