Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.
Smith_Carl_Headshot-400RGB

Carl Smith

Senior Staff Writer

Carl Smith is a senior staff writer for Governing and covers a broad range of issues affecting states and localities. For the past 30 years, Carl has written about education and the environment for peer-reviewed papers, magazines and online publications, with a special focus on conservation and sustainability. He has guest-edited special issues of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health focused on the Precautionary Principle and the human rights dimensions of environmental degradation. Carl attended the University of Texas and the University of Georgia. He can be reached at carl.smith@governing.com or on Twitter at @governingwriter.

Health departments across the country rely on manual processes, like phone calls and fax machines, to get access to crucial data, a new study finds.
There's bipartisan agreement that immigration reform is essential. But mass deportation brings its own risks to communities.
Over the last decade, Wisconsin's largest county has made dramatic progress in reducing its homeless population.
A memo from the Office of Management and Budget freezing federal grants to states was canceled. But funds are still being kept back, and budget officers are looking for answers.
State and local public health departments rely on federal funding to operate. With those dollars at risk amid the Trump administration’s federal funding freezes, they’re bracing for the future.
The Eaton Fire consumed a home and community I had loved for decades. I went from writing about homelessness to living it.
States face a tricky year, with their own revenues stalling and federal aid running low.
There's turnover in Washington with each new administration. Departing federal workers can bring valuable skills and experience to state and local governments.
Some communities are investing in new infrastructure and designs not only to protect residents but improve quality of life.
State and local governments will be forced to return pandemic relief funds if they aren’t properly obligated by the end of December.