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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.

State legislatures will have a lot on their plates. They’ll deal with issues in wildly differing ways. We set the context for the 2022 session with an overview of everything from abortion to taxes.
The COVID-19 variant is creating a new round of safety challenges for parents and teachers. Masking can prevent transmission, but some are working to limit its use.
Confusion and misinformation have made it difficult to gauge the impact of the omicron variant on the economy and work. Data that tracks unemployment rates since the start of the pandemic provides a rough guide.
The 2021 Clean Energy Scorecard from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranks progress in 100 major U.S. cities, and the findings show there’s plenty of room for improvement.
Billions of dollars available to state and local governments might be enough to bring affordable broadband to all Americans. But some states have yet to produce plans for these funds.
State and local governments have billions to invest in recovery and equity. Emphasis on diversity and purpose-driven jobs could get them the workers they need to make the most of a historic opportunity.
The federal government is sending billions to cities and counties to overcome pandemic setbacks. Plans from 150 local governments offer a preview of how these dollars might be spent.
Against all odds, election officials delivered a safe and secure election during a public health crisis. But a year later, they are looking for innovative ways to restore public trust in their work.
The over-65 population is growing faster than the generations who will take their place. Demographer James Johnson Jr. discusses the opportunities for growth given current demographic trends.
The best and worst state highway systems have common traits that have little to do with miles of roadway.